BELLINGHAM, Wash. – After a week of competition off, the Western Washington University men's soccer team returns to action with a pair of tough non-conference matches vs. West Region schools. 

 

The Vikings (2-2-0, 0-0-0 GNAC) host No. 3 nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific (5-0-0) on Thursday night and Point Loma (4-1-0) on Saturday. Both non-conference matches vs. the PacWest programs feature a 7 pm kickoff at Harrington Field. 

 

WWU was last in action on September 16, when the Vikings defeated preseason ranked Colorado School of Mines 4-3 on an overtime golden goal by junior midfielder Georg Cholewa. The Vikings played No. 6 West Texas A&M tough on September 13, falling 1-0 on an own goal.

 

With nine days off between matches, the Vikings have trained hard getting ready for these key contests against the PacWest powers. APU was 17-2-1 last season advancing to the West Regional Final and Point Loma was 10-6-2. The Vikings defeated PLNU 2-1 with Cholewa recording a brace and were shut out 2-0 by APU.

 

 

Here are some quick notes on the Vikings heading this week's action vs. No. 3 Azusa Pacific on Thursday and Point Loma on Saturday:

 

»    Close Contests – Both of WWU's losses have been by a one-goal margin, falling to Chico State 2-1 and No. 6 West Texas A&M 1-0.

»    Series History – WWU is 0-1-0 vs. Azusa Pacific and 2-0-0 vs. Point Loma.

»    By Georg – Junior Georg Cholewa has scored 12 career goals (2 this season), tied for 19^th in program history.

»    Rotter's Points – Senior Christian Rotter has 32 career points, just outside the top 20 in WWU history.

 

Both home matches this week will feature a live via webcast (pay per view) and live stats, with 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. 

 

WWU scored a big 4-3 road victory at Colorado School of Mines in its last match, September 16 in Golden, Colorado. The Vikings trailed 3-2 early in the second half, but battled back with a game-tying goal by Ryan Schaefer in the 66^th minute and Georg Cholewa scored the golden goal on a PK in the 96^th minute in the first overtime. The victory improved the Vikings to 2-2-0 overall.

 

All WWU fans, parents, alums and the Bellingham soccer community are invited to attend the annual Men's Soccer Bunker Party prior to Saturday's match vs. Point Loma. Come hang out with WWU soccer fans prior to and during the match. More info on the event, with registration links available at WWUVikings.com/MS_BunkerParty. 

 

Head coach Greg Brisbon announced that seniors Christian Rotter, Ryan Schaefer and Jeremiah Lee will serve as team co-captains for the 2019 season.

 

The home matches vs. Azusa Pacific and Point Loma this week wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule, with the 12-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference slate looming. The Vikings open the conference schedule with rival Seattle Pacific on Thursday, October 3 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. WWU will then host Saint Martin's at Harrington Field in the GNAC home opener on Saturday, October 5 (7 pm).

 

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 scheduled to play 10 of its 18 matches this season at home on the friendly confines of Robert S. Harrington Field (1-1-0 record this season). Since debuting in 2014 at the on-campus facility, the Vikings are 24-15-7 (.598), including a 6-2-0 record last season.

 

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. 11 Azusa Pacific, 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.

 

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:

 

 

Highlighting the returning players from a squad that ranked second in the conference in goals scored and had the second-lowest goals against average is junior midfielder Georg Cholewa (8 goals, 7 assists in 18 games in 2018) and sophomore goalkeeper Brandon Wolter (1.08 GAA, 7 shutouts in 2018). Cholewa was a First Team All-GNAC selection and a second-team pick to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Team. The Vikings also return five of their top seven goals scorers from a year ago, with senior forwards Christian Rotter (5 goals, 3 assists in 2018) and Ryan Schaefer (5 goals, 2 assists) and junior midfielders Cholewa and Drew Farnsworth (2 goals, 5 assists) combining for 23 of the team's 33 goals last season. Senior defenders Jeremiah Lee (43 G/38 GS in his career) and Nick Morgan (50 G/41 GS) are three-year starters that will play a key factor on the back line. WWU ranked second in the GNAC with a 1.20 goals against average last season and recorded seven shutouts.

 

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 43 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.