BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The first-place Western Washington University men's soccer team concludes a stretch of four consecutive road games this week traveling to play Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser in a key week for positioning in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.

 

WWU is 7-3-1 overall and is on top of the GNAC table with an undefeated 4-0-1 record for 13 points. The Vikings will play both schools that are right behind them in the conference standings, with MSUB and SFU tied for 2^nd with matching 3-1-1 league records. 

 

The Vikings begin the road trip Thursday at Montana State Billings with a 3:30 pm MT/2:30 pm PT afternoon game, and conclude the four-game road trip on Saturday night against border rival Simon Fraser with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm at Terry Fox Field. 

 

Western is riding a current six-game undefeated streak, going 5-0-1 over this stretch dating back to the 2-1 victory over Point Loma on September 28. During this stretch, the Vikings have out-scored opponents 12-3, which features a 6-1 advantage in the first half and 6-2 in the second half. It is the longest undefeated streak for the program since a seven-game streak (6-0-1) at the end of the 2016 season that concluded with a second-round defeat in the first trip to the NCAA Championships in program history. 

 

Following the two road matches this week, the Vikings will play for of their final five regular-season matches at home at Harrington Field in Bellingham, beginning with a Halloween night matchup (October 31, 7 pm) vs. rival Seattle Pacific. 

 

 

The Vikings have recorded three consecutive shutouts, the longest stretch of shutouts by the program since also having a three-game streak Oct. 5-12, 2017. The last time WWU had a longer streak of shutouts was a four-game streak Oct. 20-Nov. 3, 2016. Freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke has been in goal for every minute of the shutout, logging 329:26 consecutive scoreless minutes. The program record for consecutive scoreless minutes is 474:44 by Michael Lockwood in 2007.

 

WWU climbed into the national rankings picture this week as one of four programs outside of the top 25 receiving votes. The Vikings are the lone GNAC program to appear in this week's version of theUnited Soccer Coaches Division II Poll. The Vikings last appeared in the national rankings at the beginning of the 2018 season, which marked the first time to land inside the national top 25.

 

Here are some quick notes on the Vikings heading this weekend's action vs. Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser:

 

»    Tough Schedule – The NCAA lists WWU has having the second-toughest schedule in the nation, with past and future opposition combining for a .616 winning percentage (109-65-15)…trails only Seattle Pacific (.621).

»    Undefeated Stretch – The Vikings are 5-0-1 over their last six games and 4-0-1 in GNAC play.

»    Defense – WWU is tied for the GNAC lead with four shutouts and ranks 2^nd with a 0.963 goals against avg.

»    Close Contests – All three of WWU's losses have been by a one-goal margin, falling to Chico State 2-1, No. 6 West Texas A&M 1-0 and No. 3 Azusa Pacific 2-1 in double overtime.

»    Dramatic Goal – Senior Nick Morgan scored the game-tying goal with 1 second remaining in regulation vs. Saint Martin's (10/5)…WWU tied Saint Martin's 1-1 to earn one point in the standings.

»    Freshman Keeper – True freshman Brandon Locke has started all five of WWU's GNAC matches, allowing only two goals for a 0.383 goals against average…Locke leads all GNAC goalkeepers with .350 goals against average, which is currently ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II.

»    By Georg – Junior Georg Cholewa has scored 12 career goals (2 this season), tied for 19^th in program history.

»    Rotter's Points – Senior Christian Rotter has 36 career points (12 goals, 12 assists), 17^th-most in WWU history…Rotter leads the GNAC with 5 assists this season.

»    Goal Scorers – WWU has scored 20 goals in 11 games this year, with Ryan Schaefer (5 goals), Drew Farnsworth (4 goals), Georg Cholewa (2 goals) and Camron Miller (2 goals) accounting for 13 of the 20 goals. 

»    Scoring Schaefer – Ryan Schaefer leads the team and ranks tied for 4^th in the GNAC with 5 goals.

»    Brace Me – Drew Farnsworth has recorded a pair of two-goal games this season (9/7 vs. SSU, 10/19 at NNU).

 

Here is a look at the updated records of all seven teams that compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. WWU is undefeated in GNAC play at 4-0-1, with a current three-game winning streak, and is on top of the table with 13 points:

 

 

Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and opponents this week:

 

»    MSU Billings – WWU leads the all-time series vs. MSUB 18-11-2, including a 0-1-1 record last season…MSUB has won 5 of last 8 matches in the series (WWU is 2-5-1 during this stretch)…series has been pretty even in last 12 matches in Billings at 6-6-2.

»    Simon Fraser – WWU went 1-1-0 vs. Simon Fraser last season, including a 2-1 Senior Night victory over the then No. 1 ranked and undefeated (16-0-0) Clan…Vikings trail the all-time series 17-39-8.

 

For the third consecutive season, the WWU men's soccer team placed 11 players on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. The 11 selections to the all-academic team matches the program record originally set in 2017, and then equaled in 2018 and 2019. Prior to the 11 award winners in 2017, the previous program record for academic all-conference selections was six set in 2012. Highlighting the Vikings 11 selections are five players that are now three-time selections to the GNAC All-Academic team. Seniors Taylor Allen, Jeremiah Lee, Nick Phillips, Christian Rotterand Cameron Unks are now part of a select club of 13 players in program history that have earned three GNAC Academic awards in their career. The complete list of WWU's GNAC Academic All-Stars for 2019 can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/MSOC.

 

A WWU player has earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in each of the last four weeks, with freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke earning the honor for his back-to-back shutout performances Oct. 14-20. Here is a listing of the GNAC Players of the Week for men's soccer so far this season:

 

 

The Vikings are 4-1-0 on the road this season, with the only defeat a 1-0 contest at No. 6 West Texas A&M in a game decided on an own goal. WWU has played road games in Texas, Colorado and Idaho (in addition to Washington) and will add Montana and British Columbia to that list this week. 

 

Both road matches this week feature a live webcast in HD with live statistical updates, with all links available at  WWUVikings.com/Live. All WWU home games at Harrington Field will feature an HD webcast that will simulcast on GNAC.tv and WWU's YouTube channel. 

 

Fans can watch all WWU home games, most GNAC road games, and a handful of non-conference road games not only on their phone, computer or tablet, but also on a big-screen television. All games that stream on GNAC.tv are also easily viewed on Roku players, AppleTV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV (just search for GNAC). WWU's home games also stream on YouTube for a great viewing experience with rewind capability. 

 

Head coach Greg Brisbon announced that seniors Christian Rotter, Ryan Schaefer and Jeremiah Lee will serve as team co-captains for the 2019 season.

 

Tickets for all of WWU's home matches can be purchased online in advance by visitingWWUVikings.com/MS_Tickets. The box office at Harrington Field will also open one hour prior to kickoff for each home game. All seats are general admission at Harrington Field ($5 – WWU student/faculty/staff/senior 60+, $8 – Adult).

 

WWU is 3-2-1 this season at Harrington Field, and will play four of its final five matches in Bellingham following the conclusion of this current four-game road trip. Since debuting in 2014 at the on-campus facility, the Vikings are 26-16-8 (.592), including a 6-2-0 record last season.

 

The Vikings feature a tough schedule in 2019, with five matches against teams that were ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Division II Top 25, including No. 9 West Texas A&M (No. 6 when played), No. 11 Azusa Pacific (No. 3 when played), No. 13 Simon Fraser (2 matches) and No. 16 Colorado School of Mines. Additionally, WWU's 18-match schedule features six matches against teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championships last season. According to the NCAA's metric of ranking tough schedules, which takes into account past and future opposition, the Vikings have the 2^nd-toughest schedule in the nation with an opponent winning percentage of .616. Only GNAC foe Seattle Pacific has a tougher NCAA-rated strength of schedule (.621).

 

Here is a look at the complete 2019 GNAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, with the Vikings listed No. 2 in a vote of the conference's seven head coaches:

 

 

Greg Brisbon is in his seventh season as the head coach of the men's soccer program and his 19^thoverall associated with WWU soccer. Brisbon has directed the Vikings to a 59-42-18 (.571) record. Prior to taking over as the head coach of the men's program, Brisbon spent the previous 12 seasons as an assistant coach with the Vikings, including eight as the associate head coach. He was the 2016 GNAC co-Coach of the Year, helping lead the Vikings to its first NCAA Championships appearance and in 2018 guided Western to its first national ranking in program history.

 

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).

 

The Western Washington University men's soccer program is in its 40^th season at the varsity level with head coach Greg Brisbon leading the program in his seventh season as the head coach. The program has recorded an overall record at or above the .500 mark in six of the last seven seasons, including a 11-6-1 mark overall in 2018 and a 7-4-1 mark in the GNAC to finish second in the conference. 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 43 GNAC Players of the Week selections, 27 First Team All-GNAC players and 3 GNAC Players of the Year since joining the conference in 2001.