NAMPA, Idaho – Western Washington University sophomore midfielder Georg Cholewa recorded his second multi-goal game of the season, leading the Vikings to a decisive 5-0 shutout victory over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at NNU Field.
 
WWU ran its unbeaten streak to three consecutive matches (2-0-1) to improve to 6-4-1 overall and 2-2-1 in GNAC play. The win over the second-place Nighthawks will move the Vikings up the GNAC standings now with 7 points. NNU drops to 3-2-0 in conference play and 3-6-1 overall.
 
The Vikings dominated the match holding a 19-8 edge in shots and 11-5 in shots on goal. WWU recorded its fourth shutout of the season, with the defense not allowing a shot on goal in the second half.
 
"It was a dominating performance, on both sides, and we were able to convert on our scoring opportunities," said head coach Greg Brisbon. "That's three really good games in a row we've played and I am really happy with how the guys have responded. We need to get them rested and prepped for two tough matches next week."
 
Cholewa (Leipzig, Germany) put the Vikings on the board finding the back of the net in the 28^th minute. Sophomore midfielder Drew Farnsworth (Auckland, NZ) delivered a perfect pass off a free kick to the left side of the top of the box, where Cholewa was waiting on the left flank, and curled a ball perfectly into the upper right quadrant from 20 yards out for his team-leading sixth goal of the season at the 27:03 mark in the first half.
 
"It was a super important first goal to get out to the lead, but I think the second goal was even more important as we kept the momentum in our favor and eventually put the game away," added Brisbon.
 
Just over six minutes later at the 33:10 mark, junior Taylor Allen (Russellville, AR) had a pretty header finish off a free kick from freshman midfielder Gus Diehl (Bellingham, WA/Sehome). Diehl delivered the ball into the far corner box, where senior defender Stephen Jinneman (Redmond, WA) headed it back to the far post where Allen finished from close quarters for his first career goal.
 
Western extended its 2-0 halftime lead with Cholewa's second goal of the contest in the 75^th minute. Jinneman intercepted a pass on WWU's side of the field, with his aggressive header finding a streaking Cholewa who split the defense and fired a low ball from 25-yards out beat the NNU keeper inside the left post.
 
Just over two minutes later at the 76:35 mark, senior forward Drew Barker (Tacoma, WA/Bellarmine Prep) curled a free kick with a left-footed strike from 22-yards out into the upper left quadrant for his second goal of the season and fifth of his career.
 
Junior forward Ryan Schaefer (Burien, WA/Kennedy Catholic/Univ. of Denver) put the finishing touches on the 5-0 victory with a penalty kick goal in the 89^th minute. Schaefer was one-on-one vs. the NNU keeper, who came off his line and tripped him up in the box, to set up the penalty kick. Schaefer fired to the right, with the NNU keeper diving left, for his second goal of the season.
 
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brandon Wolter (Vancouver, WA/Union) made five saves, all in the first half, to record his fourth clean sheet of the season.
 
"Today was a good performance to cap a good road trip," said Brisbon. "We need to focus on getting better each day and play to our potential. I see it…they see it…we just need to keep after it."
 
The Vikings (6-4-1, 2-2-1) remain on the road as part of string of four consecutive road games, meeting rival Seattle Pacific at Interbay Stadium on Thursday at 4:30 pm. WWU will then take on nationally No. 1-ranked Simon Fraser in Burnaby on Sunday at Terry Fox Field at 7 pm. Both matches will stream live via GNAC.tv and YouTube.
 
Game Notes: The five goals are the most in a GNAC contest since a 5-1 victory at Concordia on Nov. 5, 2016…WWU is unbeaten over its last three matches (2-0-1) after opening league play 0-2-0…WWU is now 16-6-3 all-time vs. NNU, with the series at 3-2-2 in favor of the Vikings over the last 7 games dating back to the 2015 season…WWU is 9-4-1 all-time in Nampa…improved to 4-0-0 in the white kits this season…Georg Cholewa has 7 goals and has scored at least one point in 7 of WWU's 11 games…Stephen Jinneman had a pair of assists and has 7 points this season (2 goals, 3 assists)…Jinneman matches his season total in points from last season.