BELLINGHAM, Wash. – It was rainy, it was windy, it was cold…but all that didn't matter for the Western Washington University men's soccer team when senior midfielder
Drew Farnsworth scored the game-winning goal in the 95th minute send the Vikings to a 1-0 overtime victory over Simon Fraser University.
Farnsworth scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season four minutes and 32-seconds into the first overtime period for the 1-0 victory over the Vikings border rival Saturday evening at Harrington Field on the WWU campus.
WWU improved to 2-1-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play and 4-6-0 overall. SFU dropped its fourth game in its last five matches to fall to 4-5-0 overall and 1-2-0 in conference play.
The game-winning goal was set up by a long run down the left side of the field by sophomore defender
Theo Steinmetz, who crossed a ball into the box with his left foot. An SFU defender attempted to clear the ball, but Farnsworth collected the loose ball near the top of the box and found the back of the net with right-footed strike that clipped an SFU player and found its way into the right side of the goal for the game-winner.
"A great win to pick up three points at home and to keep the momentum going from the end of our last road trip," said WWU head coach
Greg Brisbon. "I am very happy with the performance of the team tonight, sticking with the game plan and never giving up. This is a quality win against a good team and I think will really lift our confidence heading into the rest of this homestand."
SFU held a 13-5 advantage in shots, but all four of the shots on target were saved by WWU sophomore goalkeeper
Brandon Locke, who was making his season debut coming back from an injury. The Vikings strong defensive effort was bolstered by
Steinmetz,
Mitchell Hutter,
Iakov Shmelev,
Teagen Eldridge and
Gus Diehl playing all 95 minutes, in addition to
Farnsworth playing the whole contest.
UP NEXT
WWU (4-6-0, 2-1-0 GNAC) continues its five-game homestand next week hosting Seattle Pacific (Thursday, 4 pm) and Montana State Billings (Saturday, 7 pm) at Harrington Field. Both days of action will feature a WWU Soccer doubleheader with the women's team also hosting a home game. View the complete
2021 schedule at wwuvikings.com/MSOC.
QUICK STATS
Western Washington 1, Simon Fraser 0 (OT)
Date: October 9, 2021
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Weather: Rainy and Windy Att: 127
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------------------
Simon Fraser............... 0 0 0 - 0
Western Washington......... 0 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 94:32 WWU Farnworth
Shots: SFU 13, WWU 5
Shots on Goal: SFU 4, WWU 2
Saves: WWU 4 (Locke – 4), SFU 1 (Bain - 1)
Corners: SFU 6, WWU 2
Fouls: WWU 10, SFU 4
Yellow Cards: WWU 2, SFU 0
Offsides: WWU 2, SFU 2
Kits: WWU (Black), SFU (White)
SERIES HISTORY
WWU is now 5-5-4 in the last 14 meetings vs. SFU dating back to the 2013 season…SFU maintains a 39-19-8 lead in the all-time series…Vikings improved to 3-2-2 vs. SFU in games played at Harrington Field…WWU crossed the border for the regular-season finale at SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field on November 13.
GNAC TABLE
Here is a look at the GNAC standings following play on Saturday, with the Vikings in 3rd place in the table with 6 points (2-1-0):
MEN'S SOCCER |
GNAC |
PTS |
OVERALL |
PCT |
HOME |
AWAY |
NEUTRAL |
STREAK |
1. |
Seattle Pacific |
3-0-0 |
9 |
9-1-0 |
.900 |
4-1-0 |
5-0-0 |
0-0-0 |
Won 6 |
|
Northwest Nazarene |
3-1-0 |
9 |
6-4-0 |
.600 |
3-1-0 |
3-2-0 |
0-1-0 |
Won 1 |
3. |
Western Washington |
2-1-0 |
6 |
4-6-0 |
.400 |
2-1-0 |
2-5-0 |
0-0-0 |
Won 2 |
4. |
Simon Fraser |
1-2-0 |
3 |
4-5-0 |
.444 |
0-0-0 |
2-4-0 |
2-1-0 |
Lost 2 |
|
Montana State Billings |
1-2-0 |
3 |
3-5-1 |
.389 |
1-1-0 |
1-2-1 |
1-2-0 |
Lost 1 |
6. |
Saint Martin's |
0-4-0 |
0 |
1-9-0 |
.100 |
1-3-0 |
0-4-0 |
0-2-0 |
Lost 7 |
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS
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.
ABOUT WWU SOCCER
The Western Washington University men's soccer program is led by ninth-year head coach
Greg Brisbon, who has spent over 20 seasons affiliated with WWU Soccer. The Vikings are the defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions, winning the 2019 title for the third league trophy in program history, and advanced to the NCAA II Championships for the second time. The program enters its 42nd varsity season in 2021, and has recorded an overall record at or above the .500 mark in eight of the last nine seasons, including a 13-5-1 mark in 2019 and 11-6-1 in 2018. 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. Overall the program has produced 58 GNAC Players of the Week selections, 30 First Team All-GNAC players and 4 GNAC Players of the Year since joining the conference in 2001. Off the field, WWU has built a strong academic reputation with 43 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last four years and the program has earned three consecutive United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards.