BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team officially opens the 2021 season this week with a pair of games in Northern California.
 
The Vikings embark on their 17-match regular-season schedule with a pair of games vs. West Region foes, opening Thursday against Chico State University and concluding the road trip Saturday at Sonoma State University.
 
WWU enters the season ranked No. 2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and is the defending conference champions after going 13-5-1 overall and 10-1-1 in the GNAC during the last championship season in 2019. The Vikings played an abbreviated five-match spring 2021 schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going 3-1-1.
 
The seven-match home schedule begins by hosting No. 8 preseason nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines on September 16 at Harrington Field. The Vikings will play five consecutive home matches in GNAC play October 9-30. The 10-game conference slate begins September 30 on the road at Northwest Nazarene, and concludes with three consecutive road matches at MSU Billings, Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser.
 
WWU's 17-match regular-season schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_MS.
 

THIS WEEK IN WWU MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, September 2	Live Coverage
at Chico State »  7:00 pm  »  Chico, CA  »  University Soccer Stadium	📊 LiveStats
Saturday, September 4	Live Coverage
at Sonoma State »  1:00 pm  »  Rohnert Park, CA  »  Seawolf Soccer Stadium	📊 LiveStats   🎥 Webcast

  Fans can follow both matches this week in Northern California online, with the season-opening game vs. Chico State featuring only live statistical updates (no webcast) and the Sonoma State match having both a webcast and live stats. Here are direct links to follow the Vikings in action this week:
 

• WWU at Chico State – Thursday, 7 pm: Live Stats
• WWU at Sonoma State – Saturday, 1 pm: Live Stats  |  Webcast

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

• Chico State: The Vikings will be playing Chico State for the fifth consecutive fall championship season, going 2-2 against the Wildcats from 2016-19 (2-0 in Chico, 0-2 in Bellingham)…Chico State leads the all-time series over WWU 11-9, with the Vikings going 5-5 all-time in games played at University Soccer Stadium in Chico.
• Sonoma State: WWU is 3-11-1 all-time against Sonoma State, but carries a 2-game winning streak into the Saturday contest in Rohnert Park…the Vikings defeated the Seawolves 2-0 in the last meeting in 2019 in Bellingham, and won 4-3 in overtime on the road in 2018, a victory that snapped a 8-game losing streak in the series.

WWU has recorded a record of .500 or better in eight of the last nine seasons, and boasts a 43-23-12 (.628) record over the last five seasons (2016-20). WWU has qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in two of the last four seasons (2016 & 2019) and won the 2019 GNAC title with a 13-5-1 overall record and 10-1-1 mark in GNAC play.
  The Vikings have been predicted to finish 2^nd in the 2021 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Simon Fraser received a total of 34 points and four first-place votes, edging out WWU, which received 31 points and the remaining two first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll. Coming off a third-place finish in 2019, Seattle Pacific enters 2021 picked third with 21 points. The Falcons are followed by Montana State Billings with 18 points. Rounding out the poll is Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's with 11 points each. Here is a look at the complete 2021 GNAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll:
 

2021 GNAC PRESEASON MEN'S SOCCER COACHES POLL
Rank	School (1st Place Votes)	2019 Record (Finish)	Points
1.	Simon Fraser (4)	11-4-1 (8-3-1, 2nd)	34
2.	Western Washington (2)	13-5-1 (10-1-1, 1st)	31
3.	Seattle Pacific	7-9-1 (6-6-0, 3rd)	21
4.	Montana State Billings	8-9-2 (5-6-1, 4th)	18
5.	Northwest Nazarene	7-11-0 (3-9-0, 7th)	11
	Saint Martin's	9-8-2 (4-7-1, 5th)	11
Votes awarded on 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

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).
  Greg Brisbon is in his ninth season as the head coach of the men's soccer program and his 21st overall associated with WWU soccer. Brisbon has directed the Vikings to a 68-45-19 (.587) record, securing his spot as the program's all-time winningest coach by percentage. Prior to taking over as the head coach of the men's program, Brisbon spent the previous 12 seasons as an assistant coach with the Vikings, including eight as the associate head coach. He was the 2016 GNAC co-Coach of the Year and the outright 2019 GNAC Coach of the Year. He has guided the Vikings to the only two NCAA Tournament appearances in program history (2016, 2019) and his program has excelled in the classroom with 43 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last four seasons. He is assisted by fifth-year coach Kyle Segebart, as well as Matt Zigulis and Kyle Langowski.
  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 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.