BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer completes the 2019 regular season with a pair of matches this week, having already clinched the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship and punched its ticket to the NCAA Division II Championships.

 

WWU hosts Simon Fraser on Thursday night on Senior Night at Harrington Field and then travels south to Portland to play Concordia on Saturday in the regular-season finale. Both games feature a 7 pm kickoff and can be followed via GNAC.tv. The NCAA II Men's Soccer Championships Selection Show will air on NCAA.com at 3:30 pm on Monday.

 

The Vikings clinched the GNAC title with last Saturday's 1-0 win over Montana State Billings for the program's third title and first since 2008. WWU heads into the final week of the regular season looking to gain tournament hosting rights, with a 12-3-1 overall record and an undefeated 9-0-1 mark in GNAC play.

 

Western has a current 8-game winning streak, tied for 3^rd-longest in program history, and an 11-game undefeated streak (10-0-1). WWU is ranked No. 19 in the national coaches poll and No. 5 in the Super Region 4 rankings.

 

 

Here are some quick notes on the Vikings heading this week's games:

 

»    GNAC Champions – Clinched the 2019 GNAC title securing the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

»    National Ranking – No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA II National Poll.

»    Regional Ranking – No. 5 in the NCAA II Super Region 4 Poll.

»    Winning Streak – Current 8-game winning streak, tied for 3^rd-longest in program history.

»    GNAC Sweep – WWU's men's and women's program made it a sweep of the 2019 soccer titles.

»    Undefeated Stretch – 10-0-1 over the last 11 games and 9-0-1 in GNAC play…2^nd-longest undefeated stretch in program history trailing only 13-0-0 in 1989.

»    Double-Digit Wins – Has recorded 10+ wins in three of the last four seasons, going 39-20-11 (.636).

»    Winning – 12 wins are tied for 6^th-most in the 40-year history of the program (13 wins would tie for 4^th.

»    Player of the Week – WWU has set a program record with 8 GNAC Player of the Week awards, including a current string of 7 consecutive weeks with the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week.

»    Lee and Bardsley – Senior defender Jeremiah Lee has received a pair of GNAC Player of the Week awards this season and has four in his career to tie the program record by Gibson Bardsley.

»    Tough Schedule – The NCAA lists WWU has having the 3^rd-toughest schedule in the nation, with past and future opposition combining for a .597 winning percentage (155-102-17).

»    Scoreless Streak – WWU (and Brandon Locke) recorded a streak of 402:67 consecutive scoreless minutes, ending in the 74^th minute at Montana State Billings…streak included three consecutive shutouts.

»    Shutouts – WWU leads the GNAC with 7 shutouts, with Brandon Locke tied for the league lead with 6 shutouts…current streak of three consecutive shutouts (288:10 consecutive scoreless minutes).

»    Defense – Leads the GNAC and is 29^th in NCAA II with 0.793 goals against average.

»    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.

»    Freshman Keeper – True freshman Brandon Locke has started all 10 of WWU's GNAC matches, allowing only 4 goals for a 0.373 goals against average…Locke leads all GNAC goalkeepers with his GAA which is currently 4^th in NCAA Division II…also listed 3^rd with a .882 save percentage.

»    Assist Leader – Senior Christian Rotter leads the GNAC with 8 assists (14^th in NCAA II).

»    Scoring Schaefer – Ryan Schaefer leads the team and is tied for 2^nd in the GNAC with 9 goals…tied for the GNAC lead with 5 game-winning goals.

»    By Georg – Junior Georg Cholewa has scored 14 career goals (4 this season), 16^th in program history…also ranks tied for 4^th with 15 career assists and 13^th with 43 points.

»    Rotter's Points – Senior Christian Rotter has 39 career points (12 goals, 15 assists), tied for 15^th-most in WWU history…also tied for 21^st with 12 goals and tied for 4^th with 15 assists…leads the GNAC with 8 assists this season.

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

»    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.

»    PK Saves – Brandon Locke is 2-for-2 saving penalty kicks, turning away first-half scoring opportunities against Concordia (10/12) and at Montana State Billings (10/24).

 

Here are some notes on WWU's current 8-game winning streak and 11-game undefeated streak:

 

»    Winning – Current 8-game winning streak dating back to 2-0 victory over Concordia on Oct.12.

»    Longest Since – Tied for 3^rd-longest winning streak in program history and the longest since an 8-game winning streak in 2007. Had a 9-game winning streak in 1990 and a program record 13-game win streak in 1989.

 

»    Undefeated – Current 11-game undefeated streak (10-0-1) dating back to 2-1 win over Point Loma on Sept. 28.

»    Longest Since – Second-longest undefeated streak in program history, trailing only a 13-0-0 winning streak in 1989 to establish the program record.

 

WWU is ranked No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Poll. WWU entered the national top 25 at No. 23 two weeks ago for the third national ranking in program history, with the Vikings appearing twice in the top 25 at No. 13 and No. 24 at the beginning of the 2018 season.

 

WWU is listed No. 5 in the NCAA Division II Super Region 4 rankings for the second consecutive week, after previously being listed No. 6 in the first poll. The top 10 teams in the regional rankings at the end of the year will advance to the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championships. The NCAA II Championships Selection Show will air Monday at 3:30 pm on NCAA.com.

 

Here is a look at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. WWU is undefeated in GNAC play at 9-0-1, with a current 8-game winning streak and 11-game undefeated streak (10-0-1). The Vikings have clinched the 2019 GNAC Championship and will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA II Championships.

 

 

The Vikings are led by a balanced offensive attack with 11 players combining to score the 31 goals. Senior forward Ryan Schaefer leads the team with 9 goals and 19 points, with junior midfielder Georg Cholewa second on the team with 15 points contributing 4 goals and 7 assists. Senior forwardChristian Rotter leads the conference with 8 assists, tied for 3^rd-most in WWU single-season history. Junior midfielder Drew Farnsworth has also added 4 goals and 2 assists for 10 points. WWU is 2^nd in the GNAC averaging 1.94 goals per game.

 

The Vikings lead the GNAC and rank amongst the top 20 teams in NCAA Division II with a .793 goals against average, allowing 13 goals in 16 games, and tallying 7 shutouts. Senior defenders Jeremiah Lee and Nick Morgan, along with junior Camron Miller and sophomore Teagan Eldridge have formed one of the best back lines in the nation with all four winning GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

 

Freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke is 9-0-1 in his 10 career starts, all coming in GNAC play. Locke has recorded 6 shutouts and ranks 4^th in NCAA II with a 0.373 goals against average. He has allowed 4 goals in 965 minutes in goal and made 30 saves (including a pair of penalty kick saves). His six shutouts are tied for 7^th-most in WWU single-season history.

 

Here is a quick look at the series history between WWU and its opponents this week:

 

»    Simon Fraser – Defeated SFU 2-1 in Burnaby on Oct. 26, with both goals scored by Georg Cholewa…have won back-to-back games vs. SFU for the first time since 2002-03…SFU leads all-time series 39-18-3…since 2016, WWU leads the series 3-2-2.

»    Concordia – Defeated the Cavaliers 2-0 on Oct. 12 to start the current 8-game winning streak…WWU leads the all-time series 10-6-1 with a current 3-game win streak…WWU is 6-2-1 vs. CU since 2015 when the Cavaliers joined the GNAC.

 

Junior midfielder Georg Cholewa was selected as the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Player of the Week by United Soccer Coaches for games played October 21-27. Cholewa helped lead the Vikings to a pair of wins last week, playing a part in all four goals in 2-1 road victories over Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser. In the win at MSUB, Cholewa had a pair of assists and he recorded his third career brace in the victory at SFU. The junior midfielder also picked up Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in games played Oct. 21-27. He becomes the first player in program history to earn the National Player of the Week honor that is presented each week by United Soccer Coaches.

 

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 seven weeks, with senior Jeremiah Lee keeping the streak alive this week (Nov. 4-10) with his fourth career GNAC weekly award. Junior midfielder Georg Cholewa won the Vikings first offensive honor Oct. 21-27 while also earning national player of the week honors Here is a listing of the GNAC Players of the Week for men's soccer so far this season, with WWU setting a program record with eight GNAC weekly awards:

 

 

The Vikings are 6-1-0 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, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia (in addition to Washington), and will add Oregon to the list at the end of the regular season. Western recently went 4-0-0 during a stretch of four consecutive road games in Washington (1-0 at Saint Martin's), Idaho (3-0 at Northwest Nazarene), Montana (2-1 over MSU Billings) and British Columbia (2-1 at Simon Fraser).

 

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.

 

Here is an updated look at the WWU career scoring leaders in goals, assists and points with Georg Cholewa, Christian Rotter and Ryan Schaefer all inking their name in WWU history:

 

 

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 6-2-1 this season at Harrington Field and since debuting in 2014 at the on-campus facility, the Vikings are 29-16-8 (.623), including a 6-2-0 record last season. Combining the men's and women's programs, the Vikings are 85-18-9 (.799) at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings played a brutally 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 (unranked when played) and No. 16 Colorado School of Mines (receiving votes when played). 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 3rd-toughest schedule in the nation with an opponent winning percentage of .597 (155-102-17).

 

The Vikings were picked No. 2 in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll behind Simon Fraser, but will walk away with the 2019 conference title.

 

 

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 64-42-18 (.589) 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). 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 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 seven of the eight 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. WWU has clinched the 2019 GNAC title, the third conference championship in program history and first since 2008. 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 51 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.