BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team placed 10 players on the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-League team.

 

WWU's selections were highlighted by senior Jeremiah Lee being named the Defensive Player of the Year and Greg Brisbon earning his second Coach of the Year award. WWU had three first-team selections, four second-team honorees and three players earn honorable mention. The Vikings 10 all-conference selections led the seven-member conference, with Montana State Billings placing seven players on the 43-member All-GNAC team.

 

"All of these awards are very well deserved for our players as they are having great seasons," said Greg Brisbon, who was selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year. "While these 10 players were recognized, the entire team was the guiding factor behind our success and we will celebrate all of these accomplishments as a group."

 

The large contingent of WWU student-athletes on the All-GNAC team is representative of the Vikings record-breaking season in 2019. The Vikings clinched the conference title with a 11-1-1 record to earn the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA II Men's Soccer Championships. WWU was announced as the No. 6 seed in the Super 4 Region and will play No. 3 St. Mary's in San Antonio, Texas this Saturday at 5 pm CT/3 pm PT. This marks the program's second appearance in the NCAA II Championships. 

 

Lee, a senior center back from Marysville, became the first WWU player to earn the conference Defensive Player of the Year honor since the award debuted in 2010. Lee has started all 18 games as a key part of the defense that leads the GNAC with a 0.761 goals against average and 8 shutouts. He is now a three-time All-GNAC selection earning second-team honors as a junior in 2018 and honorable mention as a freshman in 2016.

 

"Jeremiah was a rock for us and the perfect selection for Defensive Player of the Year," said Brisbon on his senior co-captain. "He did a lot of little things that never show up in the results, but he was the leader of a very tough defense this year. He has worked hard to improve every season and this is a great award to cap his GNAC career."

 

 

Brisbon added his second GNAC Coach of the Year award, also voted as the top head coach in the conference in 2016. Western's 13 wins this season are tied for 4^th-most in the 40-year history of the program. In his seven seasons as the Vikings head coach, Brisbon has led the Vikings to a 65-43-18 (.587) record, including a 40-21-11 (.632) mark over the last four seasons. He is in his 19^th season overall at Western as a coach in the soccer program.

 

 

Junior midfielder Georg Cholewa and junior defender Camron Miller were also voted as First Team All-GNAC selections.

 

Here is a look at the WWU players named to the 2019 GNAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Team, with voting conducted by the nine conference coaches:

 

 

Lee has started all 18 games at center back and played in 1,538 out of 1,657 minutes on the back line. Helped lead the top defensive unit in the conference with a 0.761 goals against average and eight shutouts. He scored a pair of goals, including the game-winning goal in the 1-0 win over Montana State Billings to clinch the GNAC title. He is also a three-time GNAC All-Academic selection, two-time GNAC Defensive Player of the Week and currently pursuing his Master's in Business Administration. Became the first player in program history to win the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year award.

 

Cholewa has appeared in all 18 games, making 17 starts as an attacking midfielder. A two-time First Team All-GNAC selection after also earning the award as a sophomore in 2018. Heads into the postseason ranked 2^nd on the team with 17 points, contributing 4 goals and 9 assists. Tied for the conference lead with 9 assists and ranks 4^th in program history with 17 career assists. Selected as the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week after scoring two goals at Simon Fraser and recording a pair of assists at Montana State Billings.

 

Miller has started all 18 games in the middle of the defensive line, logging 1,531 minutes. In addition to helping lead the top defense in the conference with 0.761 goals against average, Miller was also a set-piece weapon scoring four goals. He scored a last-minute header goal vs. top-5 ranked Azusa Pacific to send the game into overtime. Miller was a two-time GNAC Defensive Player of the Week.

 

Rotter has started all 18 games during his senior season and has broken the WWU all-time record for starts by a position player with 70 during his career. He is tied for the GNAC lead with 9 assists (with Georg Cholewa) and has also scored a pair of goals this season. In 71 career games, Rotter ranks 14^th in program history with 42 points (13 goals, 16 assists).

 

Schaefer has started all 18 games and is the team leader with 9 goals and 19 points. He heads into the postseason tied for 2^nd in the conference in goals scored and tied for the lead with 5 game-winning goals. In 36 career games, Schaefer has scored 14 goals to tie for 16^th-most in program history. His 9 goals this season are currently tied for 13^th-most in single-season WWU history.

 

Diehl has started all 18 games at central midfielder and has been a key piece to the GNAC's leading defense and second-highest scoring offense. He has started all 36 games in his WWU career, with the Vikings going 24-10-2 over that span. He was an honorable mention All-GNAC selection as a freshman in 2018.

 

Locke is a true freshman goalkeeper that took over starting duties in the first GNAC contest of the season. He shined in his first collegiate season leading the GNAC and ranks 4^th in NCAA II with a 0.393 goals against average. He also led all GNAC goalkeepers with seven shutouts and had the top save percentage in the league (41 saves, 5 goals allowed, .891). In his 12 starts, the Vikings were 10-1-1 to capture the GNAC title.

 

Eldridge was another mainstay on the backline starting all 18 games so far this season. The sophomore logged 1,303 minutes to help form the top defense in the conference with a 0.761 goals against average. He also recorded one assist, which setup the game-winning goal by Georg Cholewa at Simon Fraser. He was the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for October 21-27.

 

Farnsworth has also started all 18 games in the midfield position while recording 10 points on 4 goals and 2 assists. All of his goals came in two-goal performances vs. Sonoma State (9/7) and at Northwest Nazarene (10/19). Farnsworth has started all 51 games that he has dressed for in his WWU career and has 26 career points (9 goals, 8 assists). He was also an honorable mention selection as a sophomore in 2018.

 

Morgan has appeared in 15 of 18 games, making 12 starts during his senior season as a defender. He has helped the Vikings to a league-best 0.761 goals against average and GNAC-leading eight shutouts. He was the co-author of one of the greatest goals in WWU history scoring a last-second header goal to push the game vs. Saint Martin's on Oct. 5 into overtime.

 

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 Vikings are the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions, the third league title in program history, and the No. 6 seed in the Super Region 4 of the NCAA II Championships. The program has recorded an overall record at or above the .500 mark in seven of the last eight 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 go 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 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.