BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 19 Western Washington University men's soccer team had its eight-game winning streak snapped with a 1-0 loss to Simon Fraser on Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Harrington Field.
SFU scored an early goal in the 4th minute that would stand in the game winner to spoil the Vikings Senior Night in their final regular-season game at Harrington Field.
The loss was WWU's first in conference play to drop to 12-4-1 overall and 9-1-1 in GNAC play, also snapping an 11-game undefeated streak (10-0-1), the second-longest in program history. WWU clinched the GNAC title last weekend to receive the conference automatic bid to the NCAA II Championships. SFU improved to 10-4-1 overall and strengthened its second-place standing at 7-3-1 in GNAC play.
"I thought we played well, and had some chances, but just couldn't convert," said WWU head coachGreg Brisbon. "SFU is a quality team and this game will help prepare us for the NCAA Tournament. We will learn from this and finish strong on Saturday in Portland."
SFU got on the board with an early goal in less than five minutes into the game, when Chris Guerreiro had a low, hard finish off a cross from Christian Hanche-Olsen at the 3:49 mark.
WWU had a quality scoring chance in the 16th minute with junior forward Alex Whiting drilling a shot on goal that SFU goalkeeper Aiden Bain made a diving save on.
The Vikings applied constant pressure on SFU in the second half, out-shooting the Clan 8-3, but couldn't find the equalizer. Junior midfielder Georg Cholewa had a good scoring chance in the 69thminute when his shot from close quarters got through the box but was knocked away for a team save.
WWU's comeback attempt fell short after a barrage of shots in the 87th and 88th minutes.
Viking freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke made five saves between the pipes, while SFU keeper Aiden Bain had six stops while recording his fifth shutout of the season.
WWU out-shot SFU 12-9 and held a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal.
WWU (12-4-1, 9-1-1 GNAC) closes the 2019 regular season on Saturday at Concordia in Portland, with kickoff at Tuominen Yard set for 7 pm. The 40-team field for the NCAA II Men's Soccer Championships will be announced on Monday, November 18 at 3:30 pm on NCAA.com.
Simon Fraser 1, #19 Western Washington 0
Date: November 14, 2019
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-----------------------------------------
Simon Fraser............. 1 0 - 1
Western Washington....... 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 03:49 SFU Guerreiro (Polisi, Hanche-Olsen)
Shots: WWU 12, SFU 9
Shots on Goal: WWU 7, SFU 6
Saves: WWU 5 (Locke – 5), SFU 7 (Bain - 6)
Corners: SFU 4, WWU 3
Fouls: WWU 14, SFU 10
Kits: WWU – Black; SFU - Red
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 40th 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 19th-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 50 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.
