Nov. 6, 2010
Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Forward Gibson Bardsley (Sr., Fall City/Mount Si) tied the school career scoring record as Western Washington University closed out its season with a 2-0 win over Seattle Pacific University in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer action Saturday at Orca Field on the Whatcom CC campus.
Western finished 10-6-2 overall and 5-4-1 in the GNAC, winning seven of its last nine games.
Seattle Pacific ended at 10-6-2 overall and 7-2-1 in conference play. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Falcons, who had blanked previously unbeaten Simon Fraser 4-0 on Thursday.
"It was a great effort by our guys," said Western coach Travis Connell. "Our intensity and effort were fantastic. We sacrificed for each other, we picked each other up. It was our best team effort of the season."
Western opened the scoring just 38 seconds into the game. Midfielder Jin Dangvan (So., Vancouver/Mountain View) crossed a ball in from the right that found midfielder Tyler Bjork (Jr., Kirkland/Juanita) on the back post, and Bjork headed home from six yards.
The Vikings doubled the lead in the 35th minute with Bardsley's 18th goal of the season and 41st of his career. Midfielder Tye Hastings (Fr., Mill Creek/Jackson) split two defenders with a pass from the back edge of the center circle that found Bardsley 30 yards out on the right and the senior did the rest finishing from 17 yards with a low shot to the far post.
The goal pulled Bardsley even with Peter LaBarge (1989-90) for most career goals in Western history. He also became the first player in school history to reach 100 career points with the goal.
"It's a great accomplishment and it is well deserved," said Connell. "He has literally been unstoppable the second half of the season. I'm really happy for him."
Bardsley, who had at least one goal in eight of the Vikings' last nine games, entered the week as the NCAA Division II leader in points per game (2.6) and second in goals per game (1.07).
Western goalkeeper Leo Cohen (R-Fr., Seattle/Roosevelt) made four saves for the shutout, the toughest being when he pushed a blast by Richie Evoy around the post in the 36th minute.
It was the third straight shutout for the Vikings, matching their total through the first 15 games of the season.
"You have to have a balance of defense and attack," Connell said. "We had that in the second half of the season. It's something we need to carry through to next year."
Bardsley was one of eight Viking seniors completing their eligibility. The others were defender Matt Fishbaugher (Redmond), defender Cristian Geday (Vancouver/Skyview), defender Thomas Kauffman (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township), midfielder Kenny Parker (Seattle/Blanchet), midfielder Brendan Quilici (Battle Ground/Columbia River), midfielder Darragh Simm (Woodinville) and goalkeeper Christian Warman (Sedro-Woolley).
Western Washington vs. Seattle PacificDate: 11/6/10 Attendance: 474Goals by Period 1 2 TotalSeattle Pacific 0 0 --- 0Western Washington 2 0 --- 2SCORING SUMMARY:WWU - Bjork (Dangvan), 0:38WWU - Bardsley (Hastings), 34:36Shots: Western Washington 16, Seattle Pacific 14Corner kicks: Western Washington 2, Seattle Pacific 4Fouls: Western Washington 14, Seattle Pacific 12Saves: Western Washington 4 (Cohen 4), Seattle Pacific 3 (Kuehn 3)
