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Men's Soccer to Face Oral Roberts for Senior Day in Macomb

Western Illinois looks to extend its unbeaten streak to nine games on Saturday (Nov. 1).

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois men's soccer will honor its seniors on Saturday, November 1 while looking to extend its current unbeaten streak of eight consecutive games against Oral Roberts University on John MacKenzie Field in Macomb, Illinois.

Seniors Charlie Bales, Yves Dietrich, Torrence Brown, Drew Whalen, Mario Alvarez, Oscar Ortega and Zachary Walsh will be honored before the game for their contribution to the team and the university as well.

The Leathernecks currently sit in first place in The Summit League and have already clinched a berth in the league tournament. A win over the Golden Eagles would put the Purple and Gold in the drivers seat to win The Summit League regular season title and host the 2015 tournament.

MATCH LOGISTICS
 
WHO: Western Illinois vs Oral Roberts
WHEN: Saturday, November 1 at 1 p.m. (CT)
WHERE: John MacKenzie Alumni Field, Macomb, Ill.
LIVE STATS: HERE
SOCIAL MEDIA: @WIUMensSoccer

GAME NOTES:
 
SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS: The Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University come into Macomb with a Summit League record of 1-2-1 and an overall record of 5-7-2... ORU's last action was a midweek nonconference match against Central Arkansas on Tuesday (Oct. 28)... The Golden Eagles fell to UCA on the road by a score of 4-2, marking the third time this season Oral Roberts has surrendered at least four goals in a game... Head coach Ryan Bush is in his second season at the helm of the men's program after  leading the Oral Roberts women's soccer program for five years... Bush carries a career coaching record of 48-52-6 after posting a 42-44-6 record with the women and a 11-15-8 record with the men... ORU's scoring attack is led forward Johnny Chavez, Chavez has scored six goals and notched two assists this season... The senior forward has notched a goal in three of Oral Roberts' five wins, including a two goal outing against Houston Baptist University on September 22... Brian LaCourse anchors the Golden Eagle defense in goal with a goals against average of 1.9 on 65 saves... LaCourse has allowed a league-high 26 goals in 2014 and ranks second in The Summit League in saves. 
 
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's game is the 23rd meeting between WIU and ORU in program history... The Leathernecks lead in the series 13-7-2... The teams' last meeting was in the 2013 Summit League Tournament semifinals on November 15 in Macomb... Western defeated the Golden Eagles 3-1 to advance to its third consecutive tournament final... WIU's tournament victory avenged its regular season 2-0 loss to ORU in Tulsa. 

LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois (8-4-3, 3-0-1) enters the weekend unbeaten over the last eight games... The last action for the Leathernecks was a Summit League showdown against IUPUI in Indianapolis on Saturday, October 25... WIU battled the Jaguars to 1-1 double overtime draw... Austin Gochneaur was the lone goal-scorer for the Purple and Gold with the equalizer coming in the  58th minute from a Ben Fiddes assist... IUPUI's goal marks the first tally given up by the Leathernecks in Summit League play this season and only the second one in the opening 45 minutes since WIU's season opener against UNLV on September 29. 

STILL UNBEATEN: With the draw against IUPUI, Western remains undefeated over the last eight games... The IUPUI goal ended Western's shutout streak in The Summit League... The Leathernecks last defeat came at the hands of regionally ranked Valparaiso in the 105th minute in a double overtime thriller.

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS: On Saturday's (Oct. 25) game against IUPUI, senior midfielder Mario Alvarez tied Western Illinois' all-time record for shots in a game with 10... Five of Alvarez's shots went on goal in the match, but none failed to find the back of the net... In 2014, Alvarez has notched career highs in goals (3), and Shot percentage (.120).  

ONE OF 'THE BEST AROUND': Goalkeeper Yves Dietrich recorded a career high 11 saves against Drake on Tuesday (Oct. 21)... Dietrich's 11 saves tie the senior for 9th in Western history for saves in one game... The captain did not allow a goal in 586:18 minutes of play, which was previously the longest active shutout streak in NCAA Division I... Despite ending the streak against Drake, Dietrich still boasts a .69 goals against average which ranks 19th in the nation as of October 29... The German native also ranks ninth in the country in saves with 76... He leads The Summit League in several statistical categories and is  in WIU's career 'Top 10' in seven rankings as well.

THE BACK LINE: The Leatherneck defensive back line is made up of Charlie Bales, Erick Bloom, Ben Fiddes, and Jacob Bjornsen... Besides, Bales, the back line has recorded a combined nine shots but held opponents to five or less shots on goal in three of the last seven games.

HE'S GOT A GOLDEN TICKET: Senior defensemen Charlie Bales has scored a team leading six goals in 2014 and is tied for the lead in total points (14) in The Summit League... Since starting the season with eight shots and no points in the first four games, Bales has  posted 30 shots, five goals and one assist over the last seven games... In Western's game against Northern Kentucky the captain notched his first career multi-goal game, converting two out two penalty kick opportunities... He is currently ranked in WIU's career 'Top 10' in four statistical categories... Bales made it to the 'Final 30' for the men's soccer Senior CLASS award that is given to one NCAA Division I senior.

QUALITY NOT QUANTITY: In 2014 the Purple and Gold have been outshot by their opponents 204-213... Despite the discrepancy in attempts, Western has outscored their foes 19-11.

A GAME OF TWO HALVES: The Leathernecks are 8-1-2 in 2014 when scoring first and 6-1-2 when leading at halftime... Western's only loss when scoring first came against regionally ranked Valparaiso on Sept. 19... WIU has not lost since Sept. 19... The Purple and Gold have outscored their foes 11-2 in the first 45 minutes in 2014... In the second half this season, opponents have outshot Western 122-91 but trail in scoring 7-8... Western Illinois has not lost a match by more than one goal all season and has held opponents to an average of .69 goals per game.   

 
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Players Mentioned

Ben Fiddes

#25 Ben Fiddes

MF
6' 0"
Sophomore
Peoria Notre Dame
Torrence Brown

#27 Torrence Brown

D
5' 9"
Senior
Belleville West
Yves Dietrich

#1 Yves Dietrich

GK
6' 1"
Senior
UW-Whitewater
Austin Gochneaur

#4 Austin Gochneaur

F
6' 3"
Junior
Ankeny
Mario Alvarez

#10 Mario Alvarez

MF
5' 10"
Senior
Aurora West
Erick Bloom

#15 Erick Bloom

F
5' 11"
Junior
Centennial
Zachary Walsh

#18 Zachary Walsh

F
5' 11"
Junior
St. Dominic
Oscar Ortega

#11 Oscar Ortega

MF
5' 11"
Senior
Hononegah / Rockford College
Charlie Bales

#2 Charlie Bales

D
5' 8"
Senior
Xavier
Drew Whalen

#7 Drew Whalen

F/MF
6' 1"
Sophomore
Peoria Notre Dame
Jacob Bjornsen

#3 Jacob Bjornsen

MF
5' 7"
Freshman
CR Washington

Players Mentioned

Ben Fiddes

#25 Ben Fiddes

6' 0"
Sophomore
Peoria Notre Dame
MF
Torrence Brown

#27 Torrence Brown

5' 9"
Senior
Belleville West
D
Yves Dietrich

#1 Yves Dietrich

6' 1"
Senior
UW-Whitewater
GK
Austin Gochneaur

#4 Austin Gochneaur

6' 3"
Junior
Ankeny
F
Mario Alvarez

#10 Mario Alvarez

5' 10"
Senior
Aurora West
MF
Erick Bloom

#15 Erick Bloom

5' 11"
Junior
Centennial
F
Zachary Walsh

#18 Zachary Walsh

5' 11"
Junior
St. Dominic
F
Oscar Ortega

#11 Oscar Ortega

5' 11"
Senior
Hononegah / Rockford College
MF
Charlie Bales

#2 Charlie Bales

5' 8"
Senior
Xavier
D
Drew Whalen

#7 Drew Whalen

6' 1"
Sophomore
Peoria Notre Dame
F/MF
Jacob Bjornsen

#3 Jacob Bjornsen

5' 7"
Freshman
CR Washington
MF