WMU, MSU to meet after winning NCAA soccer openers

Kalamazoo — Juniors Ben Thornton and Kosti Moni scored as Western Michigan beat Albany, 2-0, for the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history Sunday afternoon.

Western Michigan (17-3-1), which received a first-round bye, advances to a third-round showdown against Michigan State (12-3-3), which had a 3-0 victory over Virginia Tech in East Lansing on Sunday.

"Word's can't describe this," Western Michigan redshirt senior goalie Drew Shepherd told WMUBroncos.com on Sunday. "We've been talking about this for five years and it's finally happened here in Kalamazoo.

"We couldn't be happier."

Shepherd stopped both shots on goal as Western Michigan's defense kept Albany (14-5-3) in check.

Western Michigan is the No. 4-ranked team in the nation, and Michigan State is No. 14. The teams met Oct. 4 in Kalamazoo, with Michigan State winning, 1-0. The Broncos have lost just once since.

Western Michigan and Michigan State will play 6 p.m. Saturday in East Lansing.

More NCAA second-round soccer

(At) Michigan State 3, Virginia Tech 0: Juniors Ryan Sierakowski and DeJaun Jones and sophomore Michael Pimlott scored as Michigan State, which received an opening-round bye, advanced to the Sweet 16. The Spartans scored all three goals in the first half, and never looked back, with goalie Jimmy Hague, a redshirt junior, stopping all seven shots he faced. It was his 17th career shutout. Virginia Tech finishes 10-10.

Colgate 3, (at) Michigan 2: Sophomore Jack Hallahan scored twice for 10th-ranked Michigan (12-6-2), which saw its season come to an end on a late goal in the 88th minute by Colgate (13-10-1). The Wolverines received a bye into the second round.