Men's Soccer Finishes Regular Season at Western Illinois

Who: Western Illinois
When: Saturday, November 3 | 2 p.m. ET
Where: John MacKenzie Alumni Field | Macomb, Ill.
All-Time Series: Western Illinois leads 10-3-2
Last Meeting: September 23, 2017 | L, 3-1 | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Stats

SCOUTING THE MASTODONS (10-6-1, 2-2-0 Summit):
The 'Dons have a winning streak of four matches and are coming off a 2-1 victory over conference opponent Eastern Illinois on October 27. Ryan Bernt and Blake Cearns earned a pair of goals against the Panthers. Cearn's goal against the Panthers combined with his game winning goal against IUPUI the previous Tuesday earned him the Summit League Offensive Player of the Week award. The win over Eastern Illinois also gave the Mastodons their 10th win for the season, setting a new single-season Division I era record for the program. To top it all off, the 'Dons have now earned one of the four Summit League Tournament spots. This is the first time the Mastodons have made it to the Summit League Tournament since the 2014 season.

SCOUTING THE LEATHERNECKS (3-10-3, 0-3-1 Summit):
The Leathernecks are coming off of a 1-0 loss against Bradley on Saturday (Oct. 27). Paul Kirdorf leads the team with two goals and two assists on the season thus far. The Leathernecks have six players holding one goal apiece to give them a team total of eight goals. Junior goalkeeper Tim Trilk is ranked fourth in the Summit league with 50 total saves and owns a .667 save percentage. Western Illinois' last league game was a 4-0 loss against the Denver Pioneers at Denver. The Leathernecks only tie in conference play was against Oral Roberts back in September and ended with a score of 1-1.

SERIES HISTORY:
Western Illinois leads the series 10-3-2. The Leathernecks have won the past two meetings. The last time the Mastodons won against the Leathernecks was at Fort Wayne on October 24, 2015 thanks to a score of 2-1.

DOUBLE-DIGITS:
Matthew Lieshout has 11 goals on the season. He is second in the league. His total has him tied him for 16^th place in the nation. He is tied for 11^th most in a season all-time in program history. His 11 goals is the third most for a season in the Division I era for the 'Dons. Only Max Touloute in 2011 (13) and Chas Parry (13) in 2004 have scored more goals in a season during the DI era.

SAVES ON SAVES:
Tor Erik Larsen is first in the league with 87 saves and second in the nation.

ON LO:
Romain Lopez has 10 assists, the most in the Summit League and sixth in the nation. It is the most for a Purdue Fort Wayne men's soccer player in a season in the Division I era (2001 to present).

FOUR IS MORE:
The Mastodons are on their first four-game win streak of the season. This is their longest win streak of the year.

UP NEXT:
Purdue Fort Wayne will head out to Denver for the Summit League Championships on November 8 and 10. It has yet to be determined who the 'Dons will play in the first round of the tournament.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Men's Soccer Finishes Regular Season at Western Illinois

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Bernt

Blake Cearns

Tor Erik Larsen

Matthew Lieshout

Romain Lopez

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics