BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team opens the 2019 season this week with a pair of home matches at Harrington Field against West Region rivals.

 

The Vikings will host Chico State on Thursday in the official 2019 season opener, and then remain at facing Sonoma State on Saturday. Both games will feature a kickoff time of 7 pm at Robert S. Harrington Field, the on-campus home of WWU soccer since 2014. 

 

WWU was selected No. 2 in the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, looking to build off the 2^nd-place finish and strong end to the 2018 season. The Vikings gathered 38 points in the preseason vote of the GNAC's seven head coaches, trailing only the 49 points by unanimous top choice and three-time defending conference champion Simon Fraser.

 

Head coach Greg Brisbon enters his seventh season leading the men's program and his 19^th overall at WWU, and returns a veteran group of players that includes eight starters and 18 letterwinners from last year's squad.

 

The Vikings finished the 2018 season with a five-game winning streak, including an upset victory over No. 1 nationally-ranked Simon Fraser on Senior Night at Harrington Field. Earlier in the 2018 season, WWU got off to a 3-1 start to earn its first national ranking by the United Soccer Coaches in program history.

 

This marks the fourth consecutive season the Vikings have opened their season playing Chico State and Sonoma State, including last season where WWU recorded a pair of victories in Northern California. WWU is 2-1-0 against Chico State over the last two seasons, and 1-1-1 against SSU. The last time the two schools visited Bellingham in 2017, WWU was dealt a pair of golden-goal defeats in overtime.

 

Both home matches this week will feature a live via webcast 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. 

 

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).

 

All fans ages 13-and-under will gain free admission into this weekend's home matches by wearing any youth sports team jersey.

 

Following the opening week of play against Chico State and Sonoma State, the Vikings will hit the road with a pair of matches against nationally-ranked opponents. WWU travels to Canyon, Texas to face No. 9 West Texas A&M on Friday, September 13 (7 pm CT/5 pm MT) and then takes on No. 16 Colorado School of Mines on Monday, September 16 in Golden, Colorado. Western then returns home for four home games over a five game stretch, beginning with non-conference games vs. No. 11 Azusa Pacific (9/26) and Point Loma (9/28) at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings officially went 2-0-0 during the exhibition preseason, scoring a 1-0 victory at the University of Puget Sound and a 7-0 win over The Evergreen State College. WWU played another exhibition scrimmage vs. Whatcom Community College, but results were not publicized due to NCAA rules interpretations.

 

WWU is scheduled to play 10 of its 18 matches this season at home on the friendly confines of Robert S. Harrington Field. Since debuting in 2014 at the on-campus facility, the Vikings are 23-14-7 (.602), including a 6-2-0 record last season.

 

The Vikings feature a tough schedule in 2019, with five matches against teams 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 enters its 40^th 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 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.