BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 23 nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's soccer team recorded its sixth consecutive victory with a dominating 4-0 win over rival Seattle Pacific Thursday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Harrington Field.

 

Senior forward Ryan Schaefer scored the first goal and assisted on another to help led Western to the lopsided victory over the Falcons. Schaefer's goal in the fifth minute set the tone for the match, with Western scoring a pair of goals in each half.

 

With their sixth consecutive victory, the Vikings improved to 10-3-1 overall and strengthened their hold on the top spot in the GNAC with an undefeated 7-0-1 record in league play. WWU also have a nine-game undefeated streak going 8-0-1. With 22 points the Vikings are on top of the table in the GNAC, with a six-point advantage over 2^nd-place Montana State Billings. SPU (3-9-1, 2-6-0) endured the season sweep against the Vikings, being out-scored 7-1 in the two contests. 

 

"Scoring four goals against a tough team is hard to do. They are a team that has been in all of their games, so I was nervous at halftime, and we had to do things right to close the game out…and we did," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "Hats off to the entire team. Jeremiah (Lee) had a fantastic night and to me was one of the best players on the pitch tonight."

 

The Vikings took the early 1-0 lead, much like the first meeting between the schools in Seattle, whenSchaefer scored in the 5^th minute. Senior forward Christian Rotter dribbled down the left side and swung a cross into the box where Schaefer redirected into the lower left corner for his seventh goal of the season.

 

Western extended its lead in the 25^th minute when junior midfielder Georg Cholewa lofted a free kick from 30-yards out into the box, where junior defender Camron Miller flicked on a header to the far post for his fourth goal of the season.

 

The Vikings added a pair of second-half goals to seal the convincing victory. Sophomore forwardJohan Espinoza scored in the 59^th minute, taking a feed in the box after a long dribble drive fromRotter that resulted in his second assist of the game. Junior forward Alex Whiting scored his first goal of the season in the 73^rd minute off an assist from Schaefer.

 

"We are starting to get a well-balanced attack and the guys are understanding their roles, working well together and doing a good job of finishing their chances when they get them," added Brisbon.

 

Freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke made four saves between the pipes while recording his fourth shutout victory in eight starts. Locke has started all of WWU's matches in GNAC play.

 

WWU's back line limited the Falcons to nine shots, with only four on goal, to post the team's fifth shutout victory of the season.

 

WWU (10-3-1, 7-0-1 GNAC) is off this weekend, but remains at home for its next three matches beginning with a pair of GNAC contests at home next week. The Vikings host Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday, with both conference matches featuring a 7 pm kickoff at Harrington Field. Advanced tickets can be purchased online atWWUVikings.com/MS_Tickets.

 

WWU has a nine-game undefeated streak, going 8-0-1 during this stretch…is the longest since also having a nine-game undefeated streak (6-0-3) in 2017…Christian Rotter recorded a pair of assists, giving him 14 in his career to move into a tie for 5^th in program history…Georg Cholewa also had an assist, the 14^th of his career, share the 5^th spot in the record book with Rotter and three other players…freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke recorded his fourth shutout of the season and is 7-0-1 in his eight starts this season…Ryan Schaefer leads the Vikings with 7 goals.

 

The Vikings recorded the season sweep over the Falcons, out-scoring SPU in the two games 7-1 (3-1, 4-0). WWU has now won five of the last six in the series vs. SPU and is 5-1-2 vs. the Falcons dating back to the 2016 season (3-0-1 in Bellingham). SPU maintains a 48-19-9 lead in the series.

 

#23 Western Washington 4, Seattle Pacific 0

Date: October 31, 2019

Field: Harrington Field    Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 73    Weather: Cold and Clear

 

Goals by period           1  2   Tot

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

Seattle Pacific.........  0  0 -  0

Western Washington......  2  2 -  4

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.    4:37   WWU   Schaefer (Rotter)

2.   24:20   WWU   Miller (Cholewa)

3.   58:08   WWU   Espinoza (Rotter)

4.   72:14   WWU   Whiting (Schaefer)

 

Shots: WWU 14, SPU 9

Shots on Goal: WWU 5, SPU 4

Saves: WWU 4 (Locke – 4), SPU 1 (Helleren – 1)

Corners: WWU 5, SPU 2

Fouls: WWU 13, SPU 10

Kits: WWU – Black; SPU – White

                  

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through all games played on Thursday. WWU is in first place with 22 points with an undefeated 7-0-1 record in GNAC play. Updated standings, results and the upcoming schedule 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.