Story Courtesy of Western Michigan Athletic Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The top-seeded Western Michigan Broncos defeated the fourth-seeded Ball State Cardinals, 1-0, in the second 2025 Mid-American Conference Women's Soccer Championship semifinal match on Tuesday evening at Historic Crew Stadium. With the win, the Broncos advanced to Friday's Championship Match against sixth-seeded Bowling Green at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. 

FIRST HALF
The Brown and Gold came out firing, as Drew Martin ripped a shot just over the right corner of the goal in the opening minutes of the match. That was followed by a Peters shot that the keeper just got a piece of, deflecting off the post and out for a corner kick.

The Broncos would strike first on that chance, as Baldridge found a bouncing ball at her feet and drilled a shot by the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. Peters picked up the assist on the play.

WMU didn't take its foot off the gas, getting a shot from Abby Smothers just a few moments later. Martin and Meredith Vance also had looks in the middle portion of the opening half. In the 28th minute, Vance nearly added to the lead, ripping a shot off the right post and out of play.

Down the stretch of the half, June Mullen would get one more chance for the Broncos. Ball State would keep it out of the net, and the Brown and Gold carried a one-goal lead into the second half.

SECOND HALF
WMU's offense kept up the pressure, as Martin ripped a shot off the crossbar in the early stages of the second 45 minutes. Following that, Peters nearly extended the lead, but her shot was pushed away by the BSU keeper.

In the later portion of the second half, Smothers had a shot miss just over the bar. Down the stretch, Ball State pushed more players forward looking to tie the game. Despite all of the Cardinals' efforts, Western Michigan would lock down defensively and close out the 1-0 win.