BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team clinched the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship with a 1-0 victory over Montana State Billings Saturday evening at Harrington Field.
Needing just one point over its final three games to claim the title, the No. 19 nationally-ranked Vikings recorded their third consecutive shutout to pick up three points with the win over the Yellowjackets. The Vikings improved to 12-3-1 overall and 9-0-1 in GNAC play, extending their winning streak to eight straight and are undefeated over the last 11 games (10-0-1).
WWU will receive the GNAC's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Division II Championships marking the second appearance for the program in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2016. The GNAC title is the third for the program and the first since 2008.
"This is a fantastic accomplishment for the players and I am very proud of them," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "They deserve this and earned it. I thought we played a solid match tonight and deserved the victory to raise the trophy. This was one of our team goals, to win the league, but not our main goal."
After a scoreless first half, the Vikings broke through with the only goal they would need in the 55thminute. Senior defender Jeremiah Lee one-timed a low hard volley from 6-yards out inside the box off a corner from junior midfielder Georg Cholewa.
Lee was also part of a stingy back line that did not allow Montana State Billings (8-8-2, 5-5-1) a shot on goal in the contest. WWU out-shot MSUB 15-6 in the contest, with a 6-0 advantage in shots on goal.
WWU (12-3-1, 9-0-1 GNAC) closes out the home portion of the regular season on Thursday with Senior Night against Simon Fraser. Kickoff is set for 7 pm at Harrington Field with Senior Night festivities beginning at 6:50 pm. Advanced tickets can be purchased online at WWUVikings.com/MS_Tickets.
The 2019 regular-season finale for the Vikings will be next Saturday at Concordia in Portland. 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.
WINNING & UNDEFEATED STREAK NOTES
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 – This is the longest winning streak by a WWU team also recording 8 consecutive wins in 2007…the last winning streak longer than 8 games was a 9-gamer in 1990. The program record for longest winning streak is 13 straight set 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 – Is the first undefeated streak by a WWU team to reach double-digits since the program-record 13-game winning streak in 1989.
WWU has won its last 8 games and is 10-0-1 during the current 11-game unbeaten streak…WWU has recorded three consecutive shutouts and has a current string of 288:10 consecutive scoreless minutes…Vikings have recorded 7 shutouts this season…Western is 2-0 in November this season and 7-2-1 in November games over the last four seasons…Jeremiah Lee recorded his third career game-winning goal (5th overall goal) in 59 career games.
#19 Western Washington 1, Montana State Billings 0
Date: November 9, 2019
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 170 Weather: Mid 40s, Light Rain
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-----------------------------------------
Montana State Billings...... 0 0 - 0
Western Washington.......... 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 54:46 WWU Lee (Schaefer)
Shots: WWU 15, MSUB 6
Shots on Goal: WWU 6, MSUB 0
Saves: WWU 0 (Locke – 0), MSUB 5 (Martin - 5)
Corners: WWU 3, MSUB 0
Fouls: MSUB 18, WWU 11
Kits: WWU – Black; NNU - Yellow
Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through all games played on Saturday. WWU has clinched the 2019 GNAC title and will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA II Championships. Updated standings, results and the upcoming schedule are always available at GNACsports.com:
|
MEN'S SOCCER
|
CONF
|
PTS
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Western Washington
|
9-0-1
|
28
|
12-3-1
|
.781
|
6-2-1
|
6-1-0
|
0-0-0
|
Won 8
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
6-3-1
|
19
|
9-4-1
|
.679
|
4-4-0
|
4-0-1
|
1-0-0
|
Won 2
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
5-5-1
|
16
|
8-8-2
|
.500
|
4-3-1
|
4-3-0
|
0-2-1
|
Lost 3
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
4-6-1
|
13
|
9-7-2
|
.556
|
5-4-1
|
4-3-1
|
0-0-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
Concordia
|
4-6-0
|
12
|
7-8-0
|
.467
|
5-2-0
|
2-6-0
|
0-0-0
|
Lost 3
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
4-6-0
|
12
|
5-9-1
|
.367
|
3-5-1
|
2-4-0
|
0-0-0
|
Won 2
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
2-8-0
|
6
|
6-10-0
|
.375
|
3-4-0
|
3-6-0
|
0-0-0
|
Lost 2
|
|
Saturday's Results (home team in bold)
Western Washington 1, Montana St. Billings 0
Simon Fraser 2, Northwest Nazarene 1
Seattle Pacific 4, Saint Martin's 2
|
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.
