BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team has been picked to place 4^th in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference for the upcoming 2018 season by the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released Thursday by the conference office.
 
Two-time defending champion Simon Fraser, claiming conference titles in six of the last eight seasons, received all seven 1^st-place votes to top the preseason poll with 49 points. Seattle Pacific (35 points) placed 2^nd in the poll while MSU Billings (32 points) was 3^rd as only 5 points separated the Falcons, Yellowjackets and Vikings. WWU totaled 30 points in 4^th ahead of Northwest Nazarene (5th, 25), Concordia (6th, 14) and Saint Martin's (7th, 11).
 
The Vikings placed in a tie for 3rd in the standings during the 2017 campaign, finishing 6-6-5 overall with a 5-4-3 conference mark. Last year followed a 2016 season during which WWU tied for 2nd in the GNAC standings before advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Head coach Greg Brisbon leads the Vikings entering his 6th season as head coach and 18th year overall with WWU soccer. The Vikings return 15 letterwinners from 2017, including 5 players with 10 or more starts during the year. The Vikings were one of the top defensive teams in the conference a year ago, ranking 2nd among conference leaders in goals allowed per game (1.41), goals-against average (1.29) and shutouts (5).
 
Among the returners are a pair of 2017 Honorable Mention All-GNAC selections in senior defender/forward Stephen Jinneman (Redmond, WA) and sophomore midfielder Georg Cholewa (Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Chemnitz).
 
Senior defender Garrett Strawn (Sammamish, WA/Skyline), junior forward Christian Rotter (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) and sophomore forward Drew Farnsworth (Auckland, New Zealand/Westlake Boys) join Jinneman and Cholewa as returners who made at least 10 starts last season. Senior forward/midfielder Drew Barker (Sammamish, WA/Skyline), who made 14 starts in 2016, returns for the 2018 campaign after redshirting last season.
 
WWU will play a pair of preseason exhibition matches to begin the year, traveling to face British Columbia (Aug. 18, 4 pm) before hosting Puget Sound (Aug. 25, 7 pm). The regular season begins in Northern California with non-conference against West Region foes Sonoma State (Aug. 30, 5 pm) and Chico State (Sept. 1, 7 pm).
 
Following two more games in California at No. 23 Point Loma (Sept. 6, 4:30 pm) and Azusa Pacific (Sept. 8, 2:30 pm), the Vikings will make their regular season home debut on Sept. 11 against Hawaii Hilo at 7 pm. WWU also hosts Hawaii Pacific on Sept. 15 (7 pm) at Harrington Field, before opening the conference schedule at Saint Martin's on Sept. 20 (1 pm).
 
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).
 
Here is a look at the complete GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll:
About WWU Soccer:
The Western Washington University men's soccer program enters its 39^th season at the varsity level in 2018 with head coach Greg Brisbon in his sixth season leading the program. The program has recorded an overall record at or above the .500 mark in five of the last six seasons, combining to go 49-41-18 (.537) over this stretch. In 2016 the Vikings advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the first time in program history, using a late-season surge that saw the Vikings 5-0-1 over the last six matches to advance to the postseason. WWU beat 19^th-ranked Dixie State in the first round of the NCAA Championships 3-2 in overtime on a golden goal header. Overall the program has produced 39 GNAC Player of the Week, 25 First Team All-GNAC selections and 3 GNAC Players of the Year since joining the conference in 2001.