Sept. 2, 2009
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Western Washington University men's soccer team completes a season-opening five-game home stand, meeting Humboldt State on Saturday (7 p.m.), Chico State on Monday, Sept. 7 (2 p.m.) and Metro State on Thursday, Sept. 10 (7 p.m.).
The Vikings are coming off a 4-1 victory over Evergreen State on Tuesday. They opened the campaign on Aug. 29 with a 2-1 overtime loss to Sonoma State, ranked No.17 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II Preseason Poll.
Sophomore midfielder Oscar Jimenez (Mount Vernon) tallied a goal in each of those games for Western. He has now scored a goal in five of the Vikings' last six contests going back to 2008. Jimenez also had an assist in three of Western's final four games last fall.
First-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-star goalkeeper Cameron Copps-Tilley (Sr., Vancouver/Fort Vancouver) made his first appearance of the season in the second half against Evergreen State.
Copps-Tilley is recovering from an appendectomy in late July. Last year, he had six shutouts and 73 saves with a 1.13 goals-against-average in helping Western to an 11-5-3 record and the GNAC championship.
Doing an outstanding job in Copps-Tilley's absence is junior Christian Warman (Sedro-Woolley), who has allowed two goals in 151 minutes.
Humboldt State, which is at Seattle Pacific on Thursday, began the season with a 3-0 victory over William Jessup as Scott Mariani had a goal and assist.
Chico State, which plays at Seattle Pacific on Saturday, is 2-0 with a pair of shutout victories over Academy of Art, 2-0, and Saint Martin's, 1-0 in overtime.
Wildcat forward Evan Armstrong scored a goal in each of those contests, heading in the game winner against the Saints.
Metro State moved up to No.13 in the national rankings after debuting with a 2-0 win over Mary ND on Aug. 29. Goalkeeper Dominque Griffith made five saves and was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference defensive Player of the Week.
The Roadrunners are on the road to play Midwestern State TX on Sept. 4 and Northeastern State OK on Sept. 6 before traveling to Bellingham.
Western had a 20-13 edge in shots over Sonoma State, and a 33-5 advantage over Evergreen State.
