KALAMAZOO, Mich.- After taking an early lead, Western Michigan settled for a 1-1 tie against IUPUI Tuesday afternoon at the WMU Soccer Complex.
The Broncos (7-2-1) drubbed IUPUI with 23 shots, however Jaguar goalkeeper Eduardo Cortes thwarted all but one of WMU's 10 chances on goal, a penalty kick by Shane Lyons in the 42nd minute.
"I can only be disappointed to come out of this match with a tie," said WMU head coach Stu Riddle. "To create as many clear-cut chances as we did and only capitalize on one is a concern. I felt our play in the first half especially was very good and if we can start being a bit more ruthless in front of goal we're going to be in good shape."
Western Michigan dominated the first half, out-shooting the 4-6-2 Jaguars 15-1, but IUPUI stepped up its play in the second half, holding a 7-5 shot advantage.
The Broncos took a 1-0 lead on Lyons' penalty kick strike to the left side of the keeper just before the half. Lyons was one-on-one with a defender in the box and got a shot away as the Cortes rushed off his line. The ball squirted free in front of the goal and as Lyons scrambled towards it, he was blatantly pulled down to the ground. Making good on his reward, he registered his third goal in as many games.
IUPUI came up with the equalizer off a corner kick in the 73rd minute. Kyle Hyland served the ball from the left and it found its way to the feet of Michael Sass on the far side. Sass struck a low ball across the box and ricocheted it off the post and in.
Western Michigan took three shots during extra play, one in the first overtime period and two in the second, while IUPUI had one shot in each OT period.
WMU keeper Sean Lewis faced 10 shots and made three saves. His most impressive was in the 87th minute, moving to his left to snatch a bullet out of the air by Tyler Thatcher.
Cortes also had several highlight saves, punching a backside volley by Jason Grant over the top in the opening minutes of the game, and turning away a hard blast from Kyle Farris at the beginning of the second half.
Grant, Lyons, Darren Jones and Yllson Asani each took three shots for the Broncos. Marco Lobo led the team with six.
Western Michigan heads into Mid-American Conference play Saturday, Sept. 29, hosting the newest MAC men's soccer affiliate member West Virginia at noon.
