BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team had its furious comeback attempt fall just short in a 2-1 season-opening loss against Chico State Thursday evening at Harrington Field on the WWU campus.

The Vikings fell behind 2-0 on goals in the 27^th minute in the first half and 77^th minute late in the second half, before scoring on a free kick by junior midfielder Georg Cholewa (Leipzig, Germany) early in the 80^th minute. A furious comeback attempt that included two close misses by sophomore defender Teagan Eldridge (Enumclaw, WA) put the Vikings at 0-1-0 to start the 2019 campaign.

"I thought it was a fun and exciting game to be part of," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "Chico State did a good job of converting on the chances they created, and that's what you have to do in big games like this. I am confident in our team, I really like the improvement we've made from last fall, through the spring, and I think we are going to get there…just need to get there quick. We have another big match Saturday and going to give Sonoma State a good game."

WWU out-shot Chico State 7-1 in the first half, but the Wildcats made the most of their one opportunity with a goal in the 27^th minute by Matt Hafizi to go up 1-0. Hafizi headed home a perfect cross from Mikey Hirsch to stake Chico to the early lead.

Western looked to pull even in the 66^th minute when sophomore forward Johan Espinoza (East Wenatchee, WA/Eastmont/Wenatchee Valley College) drilled a thundering shot towards goal that was saved by Chico's Jose Paredes.

The Wildcats went up 2-0 at the 76:20 mark when Garrett Hogbin converted after a header clearance attempt by WWU didn't make it out of the box.

Shortly after the second Chico goal, the Vikings went on the offensive and brought the game to within one goal in the 80^th minute. Cholewa, a second-team All-West Region selection a year ago, converted on one his trademark free kicks from 22-yards out, bending it around the wall to beat the CSUC keeper to the near post.

Trailing by a goal, the Vikings created a pair of scoring opportunities late in the game with Eldridge earning clean shots on goal, but sailing both of his shots above the crossbar in the 87^th (86:13) and 89^th (88:55) minutes.

The Vikings continue its season-opening slate of games hosting another West Region rival, Sonoma State (0-0-1), on Saturday with a 7 pm contest at Harrington Field. WWU then takes to the road for a pair of matches against ranked opponents traveling to play at No. 9 West Texas (Friday, 9/13, 7 pm CT) and No. 16 Colorado School of Mines (Monday, 9/16, 5:30 pm MT). The complete 18-match regular-season schedule, in addition to roster information and social media posts, can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/MSOC.

Chico State 2, Western Washington 1
Date: Sept. 5, 2019
Field: Harrington Field  Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 102
 
Goals by period              1  2  Tot
---------------------------------------
Chico State................  1  1 -  2
Western Washington.........  0  1 -  1
 
Shots: WWU 13, CSUC 6
Shots on Goal: WWU 3, CSUC 3
Saves: WWU 1 (Wolter - 1), CSUC 2 (Paredes - 2)
Kits: WWU – Navy; CSUC – 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 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.