Men's Soccer Summit League Slate Starts Saturday against Fort Wayne

The Leathernecks open conference play on Saturday at noon on John MacKenzie Alumni Field

MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's soccer team begins Summit League play this Saturday, October 4, as it hosts the Mastodons of Fort Wayne at noon (CT) on John MacKenzie Alumni Field. The Leathernecks enter their conference opener on a two-game win streak as they begin their bid for another berth in The Summit League Conference Tournament. Saturday's match also serves as a part of the finale for Western Illinois' homecoming week with the Leatherneck football team taking on North Dakota State at 3 p.m. on Hanson Field.

MATCH LOGISTICS

WHO: Western Illinois vs. Fort Wayne
WHEN: Saturday, October 4 at noon (CT)
WHERE: John MacKenzie Alumni Field
LIVE STATS: HERE
SOCIAL MEDIA: @WIUMensSoccer

GAME NOTES:

SCOUTING FORT WAYNE: The Mastodons come into Macomb with an overall record of 3-4-1 and a Summit League record of 1-0... On Wednesday (Oct.1) IPFW was shut out 1-0 by Bowling Green at home... Fort Wayne opened its own conference slate last Saturday (Sept. 27) with a 4-0 win over IUPUI... Against the Jaguars, junior forward Austin West recorded the first Summit League regular season hat trick since 2011... The Mastodons are led by 8th year head coach Mike Harper... Coach Harper holds a school and career record of 27-89-13... With three wins in 2014, Fort Wayne has already tripled its win total from a year ago after going 1-15-1 and failing to make The Summit League Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois enters conference play with an overall record of 4-4-1 following a decisive 2-0 road victory over Northern Kentucky last Sunday (Sept. 28)... WIU took advantage of two penalty kicks in the victory... The first opportunity came on a Northern Kentucky handball in the penalty area with only eight seconds remaining in the first half... The second spot-kick came as a result of a foul on sophomore midfielder Diego Lopez in the penalty area... Senior captain Charlie Bales successfully converted both opportunities... Sunday's win gives Western three wins, one tie, and only one loss in their last five outings.

SERIES HISTORY: The 2014 Summit League opener for the Leathernecks marks the 12th meeting with the Mastodons in program history... Western defeated Fort Wayne 3-0 on the road in 2013 and leads the all-time series 8-2-2.

CONFERENCE OPENERS: Western is 17-12-2 in conference openers since 1984... In the last 10 years the Leathernecks have posted a record of 4-5-1 in Summit League opening matches... All four wins in the past decade have come in years that resulted in Summit League Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament berths.

QUALITY NOT QUANITY: In 2014 the Purple and Gold have been outshot by their opponents 135-98... Despite the discrepancy in attempts, Western has outscored its foes 12-9 with a shot percentage of .135 compared to .067 from the opposition.

NATIONALLY RANKED: Goalkeeper Yves Dietrich (Floeha, Germany) has recorded 46 saves in 2014 which ranks him 7th in the country in that category as of October 2... The senior notched his second consecutive shutout and third overall in 2014 against Northern Kentucky on Sept. 28...The shutout gives Dietrich ten in his career and moves him into a tie for fifth on Western's all-time list... The senior currently leads or is tied for first amongst Summit League goalkeepers in games played (9), games started (9), minutes played (846:18), saves (46), and shutouts (3)... Dietrich currently holds seven top 10 rankings in Western's record book.

DEFENSE IS THE BEST OFFENSE: Since starting the season with only four shots in three games, Leatherneck defender Charlie Bales has exploded for ten shots and three goals over the last five games including his first career multi-goal game against Northern Kentucky, scoring two goals on two penalty kicks... Bales currently holds five top 10 rankings on Western's career lists... The senior captain is also in the nation's top 30 for the men's soccer Senior CLASS Award that honors accomplishments on and off the field for one NCAA Division I senior.

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE SUMMIT: Dr. Eric Johnson has led the Purple and Gold to six NCAA tournaments and Summit League Tournament Championships... Western's four wins through its first nine games in 2014 matches the program's best start since 2008 when the Leathernecks started 6-2-1... WIU's 2008 start resulted in a first round Summit League tournament loss to Kansas City... A 4-4-1 start in 2011 and a 2-5-2 start in 2012 led to back-to-back Summit League tournament championships and NCAA tournament berths... The Leathernecks have only once held a record above .500 through nine games in six championship campaigns.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Yves Dietrich: GK; 6' 1"; Senior; UW-Whitewater

#13 Diego Lopez: F/MF; 5' 6"; Sophomore; Warsaw Community

#2 Charlie Bales: D; 5' 8"; Senior; Xavier

Players Mentioned

#1 Yves Dietrich
: 6' 1"; Senior; UW-Whitewater
: GK

#13 Diego Lopez
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; Warsaw Community
: F/MF

#2 Charlie Bales
: 5' 8"; Senior; Xavier
: D

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Players Mentioned

#1 Yves Dietrich

#13 Diego Lopez

#2 Charlie Bales

Players Mentioned

#1 Yves Dietrich

#13 Diego Lopez

#2 Charlie Bales