BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 19 nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's soccer team hosts a pair of home matches at Harrington Field this week in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, with a chance to clinch the program's third conference title.

 

The first-place Vikings are 10-3-1 overall and lead the GNAC with 22 points with an undefeated 7-0-1 league mark. WWU is coming off a 4-0 shutout victory over rival Seattle Pacific last Thursday to move the Vikings up four spots in the national poll (No. 24 to No. 19) and one spot up to No. 5 in the Super Region 4 rankings.

 

WWU hosts Northwest Nazarene (6-8-0, 2-6-0 GNAC) on Thursday and second-place Montana State Billings (8-6-2, 5-3-1 GNAC) on Saturday at Harrington Field, with both games featuring a 7 pm kickoff at the on-campus facility.

 

The Vikings carry a six-game winning streak and nine-game undefeated streak (8-0-1) into this week's schedule and are 9-1-1 over the last 11 contests.

 

The current six-game winning streak is the longest since also posting six consecutive wins during the 2016 NCAA Championships run, ending with a 2-0 defeat at UC San Diego. The last time WWU won at least seven consecutive games was during an eight-game winning streak in 2007. The nine-game unbeaten streak is the longest since a nine-game stretch in 2017 (6-0-3).

 

The Vikings are in contention to win their third GNAC regular-season title and first since 2008. WWU has finished 2^nd in the standings in two of the last three years (2016 & 2018).

 

 

WWU moved up four spots to No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Poll. WWU entered the national top 25 at No. 23 a week 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, moving up one spot from No. 6 in the first edition of the poll that was released last week. 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.

 

 

Here are some quick notes on the Vikings heading this week's games vs. NNU and MSUB:

 

»    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 – Enter Thursday's match with a 6-game winning streak.

»    Undefeated Stretch – 8-0-1 over the last 9 games and 7-0-1 in GNAC play.

»    Double-Digit Wins – Has recorded 10+ wins in three of the last four seasons, going 37-20-11 (.625).

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

»    Tough Schedule – The NCAA lists WWU has having the second-toughest schedule in the nation, with past and future opposition combining for a .614 winning percentage (143-87-16)…trails only Seattle Pacific (.616).

»    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.

»    Defense – WWU 2^nd in the GNAC with five shutouts and leads the league with a 0.902 goals against avg.

»    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 eight of WWU's GNAC matches, allowing only 4 goals for a 0.459 goals against average…Locke leads all GNAC goalkeepers with his GAA which is currently 5th in NCAA Division II.

»    Assist Leader – Senior Christian Rotter leads the GNAC with 7 assists (17^th in NCAA II).

»    By Georg – Junior Georg Cholewa has scored 14 career goals (4 this season), 16^th in program history…also ranks tied for 5^th with 14 career assists and 13^th with 42 points.

»    Rotter's Points – Senior Christian Rotter has 38 career points (12 goals, 14 assists), tied for 16^th-most in WWU history…also tied for 19^th with 12 goals and tied for 5^th with 14 assists.

»    Goal Scorers – WWU has scored 28 goals in 14 games this year, with Ryan Schaefer (7 goals), Drew Farnsworth (4 goals), Georg Cholewa (4 goals) and Camron Miller (4 goals) accounting for 19 of the 28 goals. 

»    Scoring Schaefer – Ryan Schaefer leads the team and ranks 6^th in the GNAC with 7 goals…tied for the GNAC lead with 4 game-winning goals.

»    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 6-game winning streak and 9-game undefeated streak:

 

»    Winning – Current 6-game winning streak dating back to 2-0 victory over Concordia on Oct.12.

»    Longest Since – Matches 6-game winning streak at the end of the 2016 season, and the longest since an 8-game winning streak in 2007.

 

»    Undefeated – Current 9-game undefeated streak (8-0-1) dating back to 2-1 win over Point Loma on Sept. 28.

»    Longest Since – Matches 9-game undefeated streak (6-0-3) from 2017 season. The last undefeated streak by a WWU team to reach double-digits was during a program-record 13-game winning streak in 1989.

 

Here is a look at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. WWU is undefeated in GNAC play at 7-0-1, with a current six-game winning streak and nine-game undefeated streak (8-0-1), and is on top of the table with 22 points:

 

 

The Vikings are led by a balanced offensive attack with 11 players combining to score the 28 goals in the first 14 games of the season. Senior forward Ryan Schaefer leads the team with 7 goals and 15 points, with junior midfielder Georg Cholewa second on the team with 14 points contributing 4 goals and six assists. Senior forward Christian Rotter leads the conference with 7 assists, already tied for 6^th-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 2.00 goals per game.

 

The Vikings lead the GNAC and rank amongst the top 20 teams in NCAA Division II with a .902 goals against average, allowing 13 goals in 14 games. 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 7-0-1 in his eight career starts, all coming in GNAC play. Locke has recorded four shutouts and ranks 5^th in NCAA II with a 0.459 goals against average. He has allowed 4 goals in 785 minutes in goal and made 28 saves (including a pair of penalty kick saves).

 

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

 

»    Northwest Nazarene – Defeated the Nighthawks 3-0 on Oct. 19 in Nampa…WWU leads the all-time series 18-6-3 with a current 6-game undefeated streak (4-0-2) and a three-game winning streak…has not conceded a goal during the six-game undefeated streak for a string of 580 consecutive scoreless minutes vs. NNU…Vikings are 8-2-2 all-time vs. NNU in home games (10-4-1 in Nampa).

»    Montana State Billings – Defeated MSUB 2-1 in Billings on Oct. 24…WWU leads the all-time series 19-11-2…Vikings have won two of last three meetings in Bellingham, but dropped 2-1 games last season.

 

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 six weeks, with junior defender Camron Miller keeping the streak alive earning the honors for Oct. 28-Nov. 3. 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 seven 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 4-2-1 this season at Harrington Field, and will play three of its final four matches in Bellingham. Since debuting in 2014 at the on-campus facility, the Vikings are 27-16-8 (.608), including a 6-2-0 record last season. Combining the men's and women's programs, the Vikings are 83-18-9 (.795) at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings feature a 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 (2 matches) and No. 16 Colorado School of Mines. 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 2^nd-toughest schedule in the nation with an opponent winning percentage of .614 (143-87-16). Only GNAC foe Seattle Pacific has a tougher NCAA-rated strength of schedule (.616).

 

Here is a look at the complete 2019 GNAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, with the Vikings listed No. 2 in a vote of the conference's seven head coaches:

 

 

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 62-42-18 (.582) 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).

 

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 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 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.