BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team pushed the No. 3 nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific Cougars to the limit Thursday night in front of a packed Harrington Field crowd, but fell 2-1 on a golden goal in the second overtime.
WWU (2-3-0) scored a dramatic goal with 31-seconds remaining in regulation to push the game to overtime, when junior defender Camron Miller looped a header over the APU goalkeeper for the equalizer. Sophomore midfielder Gus Diehl delivered a long pass from the midfield point, where Miller's 6-3 frame connected on a beautifully placed header for his first career goal.
After a scoreless first half, APU (6-0-0) took the lead in the 70th minute when Arturo Astorga took a long pass from Bruno Pagani on a counterattack, and beat WWU goalkeeper Brandon Wolter to the ball around the 35-yard mark with an empty-net finish.
The Cougars looked to have the game in hand until the Vikings struck in the 90th minute to push the game to overtime.
The Vikings nearly ended the match in the 93rd minute when forward Johan Espinoza connected on a rebounded ball in the box, but APU made a team save to keep the game going.
After the first 10-minute overtime ended with the game still tied at 1-1, APU recorded the golden goal less than two minutes into the second overtime. With the ball deep in WWU territory, a failed clearance led to David Kwinn chipping the ball over the defense where Astorga had a clinical one-touch finish on a volley at the 101:43 mark for the game-winner.
WWU out-shot Azusa Pacific 11-8 in the game, while holding a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal, and also held a decisive advantage in corner kicks (10-1)
APU goalkeeper Brendan Fix finished with five saves for the Cougars. Astorga, a second-team All-American in 2018, finished with the brace scoring his second and third goals of the season.
"I am proud of the team's effort tonight as they battled a very good Azusa Pacific team," said head coach Greg Brisbon. "We played in front of a fantastic crowd at Harrington Field and we are really appreciative of the community support. We had some good moments tonight, and I think we are a really good team, we just need to find the right result. Another big match is in front of us on Saturday with Point Loma."
WWU (2-3-0) remains at Harrington Field hosting Point Loma on Saturday with kickoff at 7 pm. The complete 18-match regular-season schedule, in addition to roster information and social media posts, can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/MSOC.
#3 Azusa Pacific 2, Western Washington 1 (2 OT)
Date: September 26, 2019
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 678
Goals by period 1 2 OT 2OT Tot
----------------------------------------------
Azusa Pacific........... 0 1 0 1 - 2
Western Washington...... 0 0 0 0 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 69:12 APU Astorga (Pagani)
2. 89:29 WWU Miller (Diehl)
3. 101:43 APU Astorga (Kwinn)
Shots: WWU 11, APU 8
Shots on Goal: WWU 7, APU 2
Saves: WWU 0, APU 6 (Fix - 5)
Corners: WWU 10, APU 1
Fouls: APU 22, WWU 15
Kits: WWU – White; APU – Black
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 enters its 40th season at the varsity level in 2019 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 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.
