BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team celebrated Senior Night in style, defeating No. 1 nationally-ranked and previous unbeaten Simon Fraser University 2-1 on Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Harrington Field.
The Vikings improved to 10-6-1 overall with their fourth consecutive victory, and remain in second place in the GNAC with a 6-4-1 league record. SFU had its 16-game winning streak snapped by allowing two goals in a game for the first time this season. Entering play tonight, the Clan (16-1-0, 10-1-0 GNAC) had out-scored opponents 59-7, were 4
th in NCAA Division II with a 0.313 goals against average and the No. 2 scoring team in the NCAA II.
"I told my guys after the game, that probably is the best win in program history," said WWU head coach
Greg Brisbon. "Beating a team of that caliber…I am really proud of how we played tonight. We defended well and executed on the chances that we created."
The Vikings got off to the quick start when senior defender
Stephen Jinneman (Redmond, WA) scored early in the 27
th minute to put WWU up 1-0. Senior
Drew Barker (Tacoma, WA/Bellarmine Prep) delivered a perfect cross off a corner kick towards the far post, where Jinneman made a sliding touch to put the ball past the SFU keeper for his fourth goal of the season.
Leading 1-0, Western added to its lead in the 70
th minute when junior forward
Christian Rotter (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) dribbled up the left side of the field, juked his defender one-one-one, and then fired a shot to the far post from 11-yards out for his fifth goal of the season, all coming over the last six games.
"Big time goals by Stephen and Christian, in big games…that's what those two seem to do," said Brisbon.
Holding a 2-0 lead with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation, the Vikings held off the late SFU comeback attempt to pick up its second win over the Clan in the last five meetings. Since the beginning of the 2016 season, WWU is 2-2-2 vs. SFU, with the Clan holding a national ranking in all six of the meetings during this stretch.
Simon Fraser got on the board in the 84
th minute when Marcello Polisi curled a shot form 22-yards out into the upper right quadrant for his second goal of the season.
SFU had a scoring opportunity with a free kick with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Viking defense stiffened and did not allow the equalizer as the clock ran out setting off the on-field celebration.
Simon Fraser out-shot the Vikings 11-8 in the game, but WWU held a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal. SFU came into the game as the second-leading scoring team in NCAA Division II averaging 3.65 goals per game.
"We are playing with a lot of confidence now, and college soccer is kind of funny, you have a short window to get things right and we are getting things right," said Brisbon about his team's late-season surge. "I wish we had an extra two weeks, but I am proud of how we have responded. It is very fun to watch."
Securing the third 10-win season over the last six campaigns, the Vikings played their final home game of the season and honored senior players
Drew Barker,
Stephen Jinneman,
Louis Genty,
Garrett Strawn and
Jose Castillo before the game.
"What a great memory for these seniors," said Brisbon. "Of the four that played, they all made big plays to help the team to this victory. Really proud of their contributions and happy that they will always have this memory from their senior night."
UP NEXT
The Vikings (10-6-1, 6-4-1) close out the 2018 regular season on Saturday, traveling to Portland to face Concordia on Saturday at Tuominen Yard at 7 pm…WWU beat Concordia 2-0 earlier this season in Bellingham…the Cavaliers are 7-8-1 overall and 5-6-0 in GNAC play, and carry a 4-game winning streak into Saturday's contest.
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS
Fans can follow WWU men's soccer online at
WWUVikings.com/MSoc, and via social media on
Twitter (@SoccerWWU),
Instagram (@wwu_msoccer) and
Facebook (@WWUsoccermens).
UPDATED GNAC STANDINGS
| MEN'S SOCCER |
CONF |
PTS |
OVERALL |
PCT |
HOME |
AWAY |
NEUTRAL |
STREAK |
| Simon Fraser* |
10-1-0 |
30 |
16-1-0 |
.941 |
6-0-0 |
9-1-0 |
1-0-0 |
Lost 1 |
| Western Washington |
6-4-1 |
19 |
10-6-1 |
.618 |
6-2-0 |
4-4-1 |
0-0-0 |
Won 4 |
| Saint Martin's |
6-5-0 |
18 |
8-9-0 |
.471 |
4-3-0 |
4-4-0 |
0-2-0 |
Won 2 |
| Concordia |
5-6-0 |
15 |
7-8-1 |
.469 |
4-2-0 |
2-6-1 |
1-0-0 |
Won 4 |
| Montana State Billings |
4-6-1 |
13 |
7-9-2 |
.444 |
2-3-2 |
4-6-0 |
1-0-0 |
Lost 2 |
| Seattle Pacific |
4-8-0 |
12 |
8-11-0 |
.421 |
5-4-0 |
3-7-0 |
0-0-0 |
Lost 5 |
| Northwest Nazarene |
3-8-0 |
9 |
3-13-1 |
.206 |
1-6-0 |
2-7-0 |
0-0-1 |
Lost 8 |
| * Clinched GNAC championship |
