BELLINGHAM, Wash. – It's crunch time for the Western Washington University men's soccer team, with five matches remaining in the 2021 regular season.

 

The Vikings close out the home portion of the schedule this week hosting Saint Martin's on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday for Senior Night. Both Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches feature a 7 pm kickoff at Harrington Field on the south edge of the WWU campus.

 

Western has won three of its last four matches and are currently tied for 2nd place in the GNAC table with nine points heading into this week's action. The Vikings are 5-7-0 after navigating a tough preseason schedule. 

 

With three weekend's remaining in conference play, the Vikings remain in the hunt for a postseason berth with the GNAC champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championships. Seattle Pacific currently holds the top spot in the standings with 12 points (4-1-0), with WWU, Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene all tied for the second spot. 

 

The Vikings will finish the regular season with three tough road matches, traveling to play Montana State Billings (11/4), SPU (11/6) and SFU (11/13).

 

WWU is led by five goals each from senior midfielder Drew Farnsworth and junior forward Gilbert De La Luz, a mark that is tied for 4th in the GNAC. The Vikings are third among the six GNAC squads averaging 1.58 goals per game and 5th with a 1.88 goals against average (3rd at 1.78 in GNAC play).

 

WWU's 17-match regular-season schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_MS.

 

Prior to Saturday's match vs. Northwest Nazarene, WWU's four seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony. Alex Whiting, Iakov Shmelev, Drew Farnsworth and Brandon Wolter will be recognized for their accomplishments and all they have done for the program in their final game at Harrington Field.

 

Here is a look at the top goal scorers in the GNAC this season, with Drew Farnsworth and Gilbert De La Luz tied for the team lead and 4th in the conference with five goals:

 

 

Fans are allowed to watch the games inside the venue at Harrington Field. Due to state of Washington and WWU policy, face coverings/masks are required for all fans and social distancing in the stands is encouraged. Tickets will be on sale to the general public beginning one hour prior to kickoff at the Harrington Field Box Office (General - $8, Kids/Seniors - $5) and free parking is available in the C lots on the south edge of the WWU campus.

 

Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and the opponents this week:

 

• Saint Martin's: The Vikings defeated the Saints 4-3 in comeback fashion on October 2 in Lacey, scoring a pair of second-half goals by Gilbert De La Luz, who finished with a hat trick…WWU leads the all-time series vs. SMU 20-7-2 and carries a four-game winning streak and six-game undefeated stretch (5-0-1) into Thursday's match…12-1-1 all-time vs. the Saints in home games, including a 5-1-1 mark at Harrington Field.
• Northwest Nazarene: WWU dropped the first meeting this season vs. NNU 3-2 on Sept. 30 in Nampa, snapping a seven-game unbeaten streak vs. the Nighthawks…Vikings hold a 19-7-3 lead in the all-time series and are 5-1-2 in the last eight games…WWU is 9-2-2 all-time vs. NNU in games played in Bellingham, including a 4-1-1 record at Harrington Field (since 2014).

 

Here is a look at the GNAC standings heading into this week's play, with the Vikings tied for 2nd place in the table with nine points (3-2-0):

 

 

All WWU home games (and most road games) will stream live online with the direct links available at WWUVikings.com/Live. Games at Harrington Field will feature an HD webcast on WWU's YouTube channel. For easy access, each WWU Men's Soccer game will feature a URL redirect that will send you right to the current game, so bookmark the following links:

 

• Webcast – wwuvikings.com/MS_Watch
• Live Stats – wwuvikings.com/MS_Stats

 

Junior forward Gilbert De La Luz recorded a hat trick in the 4-3 win over Saint Martin's on October 2. It marked the first hat trick by a Viking since Adam Talley on October 22, 2015 vs. University of Mary. Here is a list of WWU players scoring 3-or-more goals in a game dating back to the 1998 season and the start of the NCAA era:

 

 

News and notes on the 2021 WWU Men's Soccer team:

 

• The Record – 5-7-0 on the season, going 3-2-0 at home and 2-5-0 on the road.
• GNAC – Currently tied for 2nd place in the GNAC with 9 points at 3-2-0.
• Drew and Gil – Drew Farnsworth (5 goals) and Gilbert De La Luz (5 goals) have combined to score 10 of the Vikings 19 goals (52.6%).
• Hat Trick – Gilbert De La Luz recorded a hat trick at Saint Martin's (10/2), the first 3-goal game by a Viking since Adam Talley in 2015.
• The Kiwi – New Zealand native Drew Farnsworth is tied for 4th in the GNAC with 5 goals and tied for 3rd with a pair of game-winning goals…appeared in 69 career games (all starts) and is tied for 17th in program history with 38 points (14 goals, 10 assists)…also tied for 14th in career caps as a Viking.
• Welcome Back Locke – Sophomore goalkeeper Brandon Locke missed the first nine games of the season…returned for a 4-save shutout vs. Simon Fraser.
• Dependable Diehl – Gus Diehl leads the team with 1083 minutes played, starting all 12 matches…started 53 of 54 possible matches during his four-year WWU career.
• Defensive Playmaker – Theo Steinmetz is tied for the team lead and 9th in the GNAC with a pair of assists.
• Goalkeeping Trio – WWU has played three goalkeepers this season – Brandon Wolter, Brandon Locke, Patrick Restum – marking first time during a fall season to play three goalkeepers since the 2006 season. 
• Where's Cam? – Senior center defender Camron Miller is out for the season with a foot injury. 
• Student Athletes – 60 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last four years, including program-record 17 award winners in 2021.
• Harrington Field – Owns an all-time 33-20-9 (.605) record at Harrington Field since the on-campus facility debuted during the 2014 season.
• GNAC Champions – Defending GNAC champions winning the title in 2019 with a 10-1-1 league record.
• The Gaffer – Greg Brisbon is in his 9th season leading the WWU Men's Soccer program (21st overall at WWU)…owns an all-time 73-52-19 (.573) record as the Vikings head coach.
• Roster Breakdown – The 2021 roster features 25 players, with 20 from Washington, one from California, one from Alaska, one from Michigan and two international players (New Zealand, Russia).

 

The WWU men's soccer team placed a program-record 17 players on the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. WWU's 17 selections narrowly trailed the 19 by Northwest Nazarene for the conference lead, and was one better than Seattle Pacific with 16. Western has now placed at least 10 players on the GNAC All-Academic team in each of the last five years, combining for 60 academic all-conference honors during this stretch beginning in 2017. The lengthy 17-player list of WWU student-athletes is highlighted by three-time selections Gus Diehl, Teagan Eldridge and Brandon Wolter. The trio are now part of an exclusive club that features only 16 players in program history to record three GNAC All-Academic awards in a career.