BELLINGHAM, Wash. – After taking last weekend off, the Western Washington University men's soccer team is back in action this Saturday with a road game against Saint Martin's University.
 
The Vikings and Saints are scheduled to play at 3 pm on Saturday in Lacey, Washington on the SMU Soccer Field.
 
WWU is 1-1-0 to start the abbreviated spring schedule and also played Seattle Pacific in a non-counting scrimmage at Harrington Field.
 
The Vikings defeated Saint Martin's 1-0 in their last game April 14 in Bellingham, with junior defender Iakov Shmelev scoring a golden goal in the 100^th minute.
 
Saint Martin's enters its season finale with a 2-6-1 record.
 
The Vikings opened the spring season on March 27 with a 1-0 loss to the University of Puget Sound. The game vs. the Loggers marked the first time in over 16 months that WWU played an official game dating back to the NCAA II Championships in November 2019 – a span that covered 490 days.
 
Due to Great Northwest Athletic Conference protocols, no fans will be permitted at home or away games. A live webcast will be available for Saturday's game provided by Saint Martin's via YouTube at WWUVikings.com/MS_Watch.
 
The Vikings are the defending GNAC Men's Soccer Champions after winning the third conference title in program history with a 13-5-1 overall record and 10-1-1 conference mark in 2019. Head coach Greg Brisbon is in his eighth season leading the program, and 20^th overall associated with WWU soccer. Brisbon has led Western to a 65-45-18 overall record for a .578 winning percentage.
 

THIS WEEK IN WWU MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, May 1	Live Coverage
WWU at Saint Martin's  »  3 pm  »  Lacey, WA  »  SMU Soccer Field	📊 LiveStats   🎥 Webcast

Junior Iakov Shmelev and redshirt freshman Mitchell Hutter swept the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Weekly Awards for April 12-18. Shmelev earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after his golden goal sent the Vikings to the 1-0 win over Saint Martin's in overtime and Hutter played 79 key minutes on the backline to help preserve the shutout victory.
  All WWU home games will feature a webcast that will stream to the official Athletics YouTube Channel at WWUVikingsAthletics. All men's soccer games, home and away, can be watched by pointing your browser to WWUVikings.com/MS_Watch, with the link updated for each game. Each game will also feature live statistical updates at WWUVikings.com/MS_Stats.
  The 2020-21 championship season currently features a five-game schedule that will be played in late March, April and early May. Here is a look at the 2021 spring schedule for the Vikings, which is subject to changes and possible game additions. To view the most up-to-date schedule, with direct webcast and live stats links, visit WWUVikings.com/MSOC.
 

Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Location	Result
March 27 (Sat)	7:00 pm	Puget Sound	Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)	L, 1-0
April 14 (Wed)	5:00 pm	Saint Martin's	Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)	W, 1-0 (OT)
May 1 (Sat)	3:00 pm	at Saint Martin's	Lacey, WA (SMU Soccer Field)
May 8 (Sat)	5:30 pm	at Seattle Pacific	Seattle, WA (Interbay Stadium)
May 15 (Sat)	1:00 pm	Seattle Pacific	Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)

The Vikings are the defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions, taking home the last conference trophy from the 2019 season. WWU finished with a 13-5-1 overall record, tying for the 4th-most wins in program history and the 4th-best winning percentage (.711) in the 40-year history of varsity status of the program. The season marked the third GNAC title in program history, recording a 10-1-1 league record, setting a program record for most conference wins in a season. Advanced to the NCAA II Championships for the second time in program history earning the No. 6 seed in Super Region 4 and topped out at No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, marking the second season to appear in the national top 25 in program history (also 2018).
  The Vikings 25-player roster was featured in a FIFA Card Project highlighting the attributes of each player just like the video game series. The WWU coaching staff evaluated – in fun fashion – each player to highlight the skills they bring to the program. The full series can be viewed by clicking on the image below.
  Seniors Georg Cholewa (Leipzig, Germany) and Drew Farnsworth (Auckland, NZ) were the focus of a feature story that debuted on GNACSports.com. The international duo talked about coming to Western and describes how they have helped create a winning culture in the program. Cholewa and Farnsworth have been part of 30 wins in their three seasons on the pitch since arriving in Bellingham for the 2017 season. 
  For the fourth consecutive season, the WWU Men's Soccer program has placed at least 10 student-athletes on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. After setting and tying program records with 11 conference academic awards the last three seasons, WWU had 10 players earn a spot on the 2020-21 GNAC All-Academic Men's Soccer Team presented by Barnes & Noble College. Junior midfielder Gus Diehl (Bellingham, WA/Sehome), junior defender Teagan Eldridge (Enumclaw, WA) and junior goalkeeper Brandon Wolter (Vancouver, WA/Union) became two-time All-Academic selections.
 

Name	Academic Major	Year	GPA	Hometown
Georg Cholewa	Business Administration	Sr.	3.21	Leipzig, Germany
Gus Diehl**	Business Administration	Jr.	3.94	Bellingham, WA
Teagan Eldridge**	Physical Education/Health	Jr.	3.59	Enumclaw, WA
Danny Fazio	English Literature	Jr.	3.88	Bellingham, WA
Brandon Locke	Manufacturing Engineering	So.	3.50	Federal Way, WA
Camron Miller	Business Administration	Sr.	3.70	Snohomish, WA
Theo Steinmetz	Political Science	So.	3.35	Shoreline, WA
Alessandro Tomasi	International Business & Spanish	So.	3.91	Bellingham, WA
Alex Whiting	Communications	Sr.	3.23	University Place, WA
Brandon Wolter**	Energy Policy & Management	Jr.	3.72	Vancouver, WA
* number of GNAC All-Academic awards in career

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 is led by eighth-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 41^st varsity season, and has recorded an overall record at or above the .500 mark in seven of the last eight 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 53 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.