Sept. 28, 2009
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A four-game home stand ends Saturday (7:30 p.m.) when the Western Washington University men's soccer team faces unbeaten Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference counter at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus.
The game, which ends a stretch of nine home appearances for the Vikings in their first 11 contests, is Whatcom County Youth Soccer Association Day with all youngsters wearing jerseys admitted free.
The Vikings, 4-6-0 overall and 1-1-0 in GNAC play, travel to Saint Martin's on Monday (3 p.m.) for a league counter as they begin a string of eight straight road games.
Western opened conference play at home last week, losing 2-1 in overtime to Montana State Billings and rallying for a 3-1 victory over Northwest Nazarene.
Seattle Pacific, ranked fourth regionally in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America/NCAA Division II Poll, is 6-0-3 overall (host Saint Martin's on Thursday) and 0-0-1 in league play. Saint Martin's is 6-5-0 overall (at Seattle Pacific on Thursday) and 1-1-0 in GNAC action.
Western, which has dropped three games to nationally Top 25-rated teams, is the defending league champion and the unanimous choice in the preseason coaches poll to win this year's GNAC title.
Sophomore midfielder Kellan Brown (Tacoma/Bellarmine) leads the Vikings with 13 points, having five goals and three assists. He scored in the 89th minute to tie the Montana State Billings game at 1-1, and assisted on a goal against Northwest Nazarene.
Sophomore Oscar Jimenez (Mount Vernon) is Western's second-leading scorer with 10 points (four goals and two assists). He scored the game-winning goal versus Northwest Nazarene after the Vikings trailed 1-0 at halftime.
Scoring a goal and assisting on another in the win over the Crusaders was Western junior midfielder Matt Fishbaugher (Redmond).
Travis Connell (11th year, 98-93-11) is two wins shy of becoming the Vikings' first coach in program history to reach 100 career victories.
Western is 5-26-4 in its series with Seattle Pacific, but 2-1-1 in the last four encounters. The Vikings have not lost in four meetings with Saint Martin's.
