MAOCMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's soccer team opens the home portion of its regular season slate on Friday, September 4, as the Leathernecks play host to Valparaiso in non-league action. Following Friday's contest, the Leathernecks hit the road as they travel north to take on Green Bay on Sunday, September 6. Kickoff between the Leathernecks and Crusaders is set for 5 p.m. on John MacKenzie Alumni Field while Western's contest with the Phoenix will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday. After a challenging pair of matches to start the season, Western is looking for its first victory in 2015. A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS: Valparaiso opened the preseason portion of its slate with a 2-1 exhibition victory over then #14 Indiana on the road. Once the regular season began, the Crusaders dropped a pair of road contests, 2-1 at #14 Kentucky, and a 1-0 double overtime loss at Cincinnati. In the game against the Wildcats, Valpo struck first with a 40th minute goal by Matthew Gweh. The Crusaders are led by ninth year head coach Mike Avery. Green Bay opened the season with a 0-1 double overtime loss to Northern Illinois on August 28 before bouncing back with a 1-0 victory over Drake on Sunday, August 30. Audi Jepson netted a penalty kick in the second minute to give Green Bay the early 1-0 lead. The score would hold for the final 88 minutes of play, giving first year head coach Jeremy Bonomo his first victory at the helm of the Phoenix program. SERIES HISTORIES: Western holds an 18-8-2 record over Valparaiso, with the two teams meeting last season. On September 19 last year, the Leathernecks went on the road and dropped a 2-1 double overtime loss to the Crusaders. Alejandro Pacheco gave Western the early lead, as his shot from 20 yards out beat the keeper. The Leathernecks trail the all-time series against Green Bay, 11-16-2, with the two teams meeting in Macomb last year. On September 9, the Phoenix came to Western and were able to walk away with a 1-0 decision. LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks opened the regular season with a pair of defeats. Western opened the 2015 season with a 3-0 defeat at Oakland on Friday, August 28, before falling by a final score of 4-1 at Bowling Green on Sunday, August 30. Trailing 2-0 against the Falcons, Conrad Hager netted his first career goal in the 26th minute to pull the Leathernecks within one. 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. 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. |
