BURNABY, BC – Western Washington University junior midfielder Georg Cholewa scored a pair of late second-half goals to lead the first-place Vikings to a 2-1 victory over border rival Simon Fraser University Saturday night at Terry Fox Field.

 

In a battle of the top two teams in the standings, the Vikings came out on top in a clash with the perennial power Clan to remain atop the GNAC men's soccer standings. WWU won its fifth consecutive match, improving to 6-0-1 in league play to remain on top of the table with 19 points. SFU dropped to 4-2-1 in GNAC play (7-3-1 overall) and is now tied for 2^nd in the standings with Montana State Billings.

 

The Vikings continued its roll through the GNAC schedule, extending its current unbeaten streak to eight consecutive matches, with a 7-0-1 record dating back to a 2-1 victory over Point Loma on September 28. Saturday's win over the three-time defending league champions concluded a four-game road trip with games in Washington (1-0 win at Saint Martin's), Idaho (3-0 win at Northwest Nazarene), Montana (2-1 win at MSU Billings) and British Columbia (2-1 win at Simon Fraser). 

 

"It was one of the best college matches we have played in…a true battle between two good teams that played very well," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "There were three great goals, and in the end we got one more with a class goal by Georg to win it."

 

The game vs. SFU was a defensive battle for the first 70 minutes, and then a flurry of offensive activity resulted in three goals scored over a six-minute span.

 

Cholewa, a junior midfielder out of Leipzig, Germany, pushed the Vikings ahead in the 71^st minute after he gathered a loose ball in the box and put a shot on goal that inched past SFU goalkeeper Aidan Bain. Junior forward Alex Whiting was credited with an assist on the goal. 

 

SFU immediately answered when Matteo Polisi found the back of the net with the equalizer just over a minute later at the 71:50 mark with a shot tucked inside the lower half of the right post.

 

Cholewa put the game away in the 77^th minute for the game-winner blasting a shot from 18-yards into the top left corner of the goal. Cholewa received a long pass from sophomore defender Teagan Eldridge to set up the game-winning strike. It was Cholewa's fourth goal of the season to record his third career brace.

 

Freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke made five saves between the pipes, improving to 6-0-1 in his seven career starts.

 

The Vikings were out-shot 11-3 by SFU, but both shots on target resulted in goals for the 2-1 victory.

 

"We were tested on this road trip, and the guys passed with flying colors. I don't think we expected to get 12 points in the four road games, and that is quite an accomplishment to the team and their focus," added Brisbon. "We schedule tough non-conference games to get the team ready for matches just like this tonight and I think it prepared us well. We are on a roll, now we will get some rest and get ready for our rivalry match Thursday night in what will be another tough test against Seattle Pacific." 

 

WWU (9-3-1, 6-0-1 GNAC) will play four consecutive home games at Harrington Field, concluding the 2019 regular season with four of its final five matches in Bellingham. The homestand begins Thursday hosting rival Seattle Pacific in a Halloween derby match at 7 pm at Harrington Field.

 

WWU improved to 6-1-0 on the road this season, with a perfect 5-0-0 road mark in GNAC games…WWU finished its road trip 4-0-0 with games played across the GNAC footprint in three states (Washington, Idaho, Montana) and one province (British Columbia)…Georg Cholewa now has 41 career points (14 goals, 13 assists) to rank 14^th in program history.

 

The Vikings have won back-to-back games vs. SFU for the first time since 2002-2003. WWU beat SFU when they were ranked No. 1 in the nation and undefeated on Nov. 1, 2018 (also 2-1 final)…all-time series is now 18-39-8 in favor of SFU.

 

Western Washington 2, Simon Fraser 1

Date: October 26, 2019

Field: Terry Fox Field    Site: Burnaby, BC

Attendance: 72

 

Goals by period           1  2   Tot

----------------------------------------------

Western Washington......  0  2 -  2

Simon Fraser............  0  1 -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.   70:46   WWU   Cholewa (Whiting)

2.   71:50   SFU   Polisi,Matteo (Polisi,Marcello)

3.   76:48   WWU   Cholewa (Eldridge)

 

Shots: SFU 11, WWU 3

Shots on Goal: SFU 6, WWU 2

Saves: WWU 5 (Locke – 5), SFU 0

Corners: SFU 10, WWU 3

Fouls: WWU 10, WWU 10

Kits: WWU – Black; SFU – White

                   

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through all games played on Saturday. WWU is in first place with 19 points with an undefeated 6-0-1 record in GNAC play. Updated standings are always available at GNACsports.com:

 

 

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). All home matches feature a live webcast, as well as most road matches, with links on how to follow the games available at WWUVikings.com/Live.

 

The Western Washington University men's soccer program enters its 40^th season at the varsity level in 2019 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.