MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois opens the 2015 regular season on Friday, August 28, as the Leathernecks travel to Rochester, Michigan, to take on former Summit League foe Oakland. The match, the season opener for both teams, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Oakland Soccer Field. Following Friday's match, Western heads south to take on the Falcons of Bowling Green on Sunday, August 30. The match is slated to begin at 12 p.m. (CT) on Cochrane Field. Western's contest against Oakland will be available to a national audience online at ESPN3. A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS: Oakland wrapped up the preseason portion of its schedule with a 1-1-1 record. The Golden Grizzlies dropped their first exhibition contest to Akron, 4-1, before posting a scoreless draw against Louisville and a 2-0 victory over Saginaw Valley State. Oakland is coming off a 2014 season in which the team claimed the Horizon League Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Bowling Green participated in one exhibition match this fall, a 1-2 loss at Cincinnati. Bowling Green defeated West Virginia in the semifinals of the 2014 MAC Tournament, 3-2 (OT), before falling to Akron in the Championship game. SERIES HISTORIES: Western holds a 12-9-2 record over Oakland in the all-time series, with the two schools last meeting in 2012. In the 2012 Summit League Championship game, Western Illinois defeated Oakland by a final score of 3-1 to claim its sixth Summit League title. Sunday's contest against Bowling Green marks the fifth meeting all-time between the Leathernecks and the Falcons, with Western trailing 1-2-1 in the series. The two teams last met in 2006, a 2-1 victory for Bowling Green. LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks closed the preseason with a 1-1 draw against Northern Illinois on Sunday, August 22. After a scoreless first half, Western got on the board in the 58th minute as Diego Lopez put one in the back of the net. Lopez was set up from Drew Whalen, whose thru ball from midfield found Lopez open in the box. Lopez would beat the keeper to the far post to put WIU up 1-0. Luke Read evened the score at one in the 70th minute, as Richard Hall's corner kick fell to Read's foot in the box. Read converted for the equalizer and the game finished in a draw. RETURNERS: Western Illinois returns a solid core from the 2014 team that made it to The Summit League Championship game. Senior Erick Bloom, a First Team All-Summit League selection in 2014 anchors the back line while senior Austin Gochneaur, a Second Team honoree, leads the attack. Sophomore midfielders Jacob Bjornsen and Alejandro Pacheco were named to the All-Newcomer Team following the 2014 campaign. FRESH FACES: The Leathernecks welcome nine new members to the 2015 roster. Freshmen Sam Copp, Bruce Corrie, Jamison Kozar, Nathan Bergstrom, and Josh Illana come off of standout prep careers. Sophomores Amadeo Ramon and Aziz Tahir join the program, as do juniors Nick Arnold and Johnathan Goliday. 2014 RECAP: The Leathernecks ended the 2014 regular season with a 9-7-3 record and a 3-2-1 mark in Summit League play. Western finished the season in a tie for first place in The Summit League, the fourth time the Leathernecks won or shared the regular season title under head coach Dr. Eric Johnson. Western defeated Oral Roberts by a 2-1 final in the semifinals of The Summit League Championships before falling to Denver, 3-1, in the championship game. WINNING LEGACY: Dr. Eric Johnson is the Summit League's all-time winningest coach, totaling 151 wins through his 18 years at the helm at Western Illinois. 2015 will mark Johnson's 19th season leading the Purple and Gold. He has earned the conference's 'Coach of the Year' award four times. PRESEASON POLL: Western Illinois was picked to finish third in The Summit League's preseason poll, which was voted on by the league's coaches. Western collected 30 points, including two first-place votes, while Omaha (31 points, 2 first-place) and Denver (32 points, 3 first-place) led the way. For the first time in Summit League history, the top three teams were separated by one point each. | 