BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team scored a pair of first half goals, and held off Point Loma down the stretch for a 2-1 non-conference victory Saturday night at Harrington Field.
The Vikings evened their season record at 3-3-0 on the season, bouncing back from each of the three losses with a win the following game. WWU's losses this season include a pair of games against nationally-ranked opponents (#3 Azusa Pacific and #6 West Texas A&M) and current 5-0-0 Chico State. Point Loma falls to 4-3-0 on the season.
WWU scored both of its goals in the first 25 minutes of the contest to build the early 2-0 lead.
The Vikings struck first early in the 12th minute when Camron Miller (Snohomish, WA/Glacier Peak/Whatcom CC) scored on a header for the second consecutive game. Junior midfielder Drew Farnsworth (Auckland, NZ) sent a long free kick into the box from 45-yards out, where Miller broke free and headed it to the lower right for the go-ahead goal.
WWU added to its lead at the 25:05 mark when senior forward Ryan Schaefer (Burien, WA/Kennedy) scored his second goal of the season. Sophomore midfielder Gus Diehl (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) delivered a long pass from midfield to a streaking Schaefer, who positioned himself in front of his defender and flicked the ball over the PLNU goalkeeper to the upper right quadrant.
The Sea Lions answered in the 36th minute when Hunter Loomis intercepted a pass from WWU goalkeeper Brandon Wolter (Vancouver, WA/Union), dribbled into space and fired a low hard shot from the 19-yardline to the lower left.
PLNU had what looked to be the equalizer wiped off the scoreboard late in the first half when a foul was called on the Sea Lions for kicking the ball out of the possession of the WWU goalkeeper.
The Vikings defense held the Sea Lions without a shot on goal in the second half, with freshman goalkeeper Brandon Locke (Federal Way, WA/Todd Beamer) taking over for Wolter to make his collegiate debut.
"We created some chances tonight and it was nice to get one in the back of the net there in the first half," said Schaefer, a team co-captain. "We have been a resilient team this year, trying not to get too up after win or too low after a loss. It was good to get the win tonight."
WWU out-shot PLNU 18-5 and held a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal.
WWU (3-3-0, 0-0-0 GNAC) opens conference play next week with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches. The Vikings travel to face rival Seattle Pacific on Thursday night at Interbay Stadium (7 pm) and return to Harrington Field on Saturday to host Saint Martin's (7 pm).
Western Washington 2, Point Loma 1
Date: September 28, 2019
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 301
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
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Point Loma.............. 1 0 - 1
Western Washington...... 2 0 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 11:07 WWU Miller (Farnsworth)
2. 25:05 WWU Schaefer (Diehl)
3. 35:01 PLNU Loomis
Shots: WWU 18, PLNU 5
Shots on Goal: WWU 5, PLNU 2
Saves: WWU 1 (Wolter – 1, Locke - 0), PLNU 3 (McEwen - 3)
Corners: WWU 3, PLNU 2
Fouls: WWU 15, PLNU 8
Kits: WWU – Black; PLNU – White
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.
