Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Sonoma State midfielder Evan Roehrig netted a golden goal in the 96th minute to lift the Seawolves to a 2-1 overtime victory as the Western Washington University men's soccer team dropped a close season-opening non-conference game on Thursday evening at Harrington Field.

WWU (0-1) scored early in the first half to grab a lead before Sonoma State (1-0) answered just over 8 minutes later to tie the game before the eventual golden goal in overtime. The Vikings return to action Saturday, hosting Chico State at 12 pm while Sonoma State (1-0) travels to face Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

Roehrig netted a goal from near the top of the 18-yard box during the first overtime period to give Sonoma State the victory. He ran down a lead pass and fired a one-touch shot just as a WWU defender attempted a sliding tackle to stop the play, which resulted in a slight ricochet redirect shot into the goal.

WWU had taken a 1-0 lead when senior midfielder Luke Olney (Enumclaw, WA) put WWU ahead in the 11th minute. Sophomore forward Christian Rotter (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) delivered a corner kick into the box that was flicked on from the near post by senior forward Anthony Dean (Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Bellevue College) to Olney who finished from 7 yards away.

The Seawolves responded quickly, scoring in the 19th minute to tie the game with a goal from forward Andrew Ogilvy. Ogilvy received a pass from midfielder Josh Sanchez and scored to the far post with a shot from close range in the right side of the 18-yard box.

Sonoma State held a slight 12-10 edge in total shots for the game. Both teams limited shots on goal opportunities, as the Vikings and Seawolves each put 3 shots on goal during the contest. WWU took 5 corner kicks compared with 2 for the Seawolves.

The lone official save recorded by WWU in the game was a team save late in the second half, which helped prevent a potential goal with fewer than 3 minutes to play in the half.

Sonoma State goalkeeper Mitch North made two saves and, with help from the Sonoma State back line, also halted a scoring opportunity early in the overtime period by preventing a shot when freshman midfielder Georg Cholewa (Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Chemnitz) found space with a potential look at goal after receiving a lead pass near the top of the 18-yard box.

Thursday's game marked the second consecutive season WWU and Sonoma State played each other during the opening week of the regular season after the teams battled to a 0-0 double overtime tie in the 2016 season opener played in California.