BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Senior midfielder
Drew Farnsworth curled home a free kick goal in the closing stages to send the Western Washington University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Colorado School of Mines Thursday night in front of 212 fans at Harrington Field.
The Vikings earned their first win of the season to improve to 1-2-0, defeating the Orediggers (3-2-0) with Farnsworth's strike at the 82:38 mark in the contest. Mines was the preseason No. 8 team in NCAA Division II and was ranked in the top five in the nation following the first week of the season.
"Mines is a very tough, physical squad, and I am really proud of how the team defended tonight against a quality opponent," said WWU head coach
Greg Brisbon. "We had some quality chances tonight on offense and Patrick (Restum) made some great reaction saves. We had a great week of training and the guys were really focused tonight. It was fun to watch and see them enjoy the game and play like I know they can."
The physical contest was scoreless until late in the second half, when WWU junior
Danny Fazio broke through the defense near midfield when his pass attempt towards the box was touched by a Mines player for a handball foul.
Farnsworth, a senior from Auckland, New Zealand and team co-captain, curled the free kick from 25-yards out around the wall and into the left side of the net.
"It was a special free kick from Drew and a great moment for the team to celebrate during a really hard-fought game," added Brisbon.
WWU's defense limited the Orediggers to five shots on goal, with junior
Patrick Restum earning the clean sheet in his first action of the season making five saves.
The contest was evenly-matched with each team recording 11 shots – four each in the first half and seven in the second half.
GAME NOTES
Drew Farnsworth scored his 10th career goal and fourth game-winner in 60 career games (all starts)…the 60 starts are 12th-most in program history…WWU improved to 2-1-0 all-time vs. Mines, winning 4-3 in Golden, Colorado on a penalty kick goal by
Georg Cholewa in overtime…the Orediggers suffered its first shutout loss since 2018 in a 2-0 blanking against West Texas A&M in the NCAA Championships (35 consecutive games)…Mines had scored a goal in 17 consecutive games dating back to a 0-0 tie vs. Regis on Nov. 3, 2019.
UP NEXT
WWU (1-2-0) returns to action Saturday hosting No. 22 nationally-ranked Regis University (3-1-0) in a game that is scheduled to start at 4 pm. The men's game will serve as the first contest of a Viking Soccer doubleheader with No. 8 WWU Women's Soccer team hosting Biola at 7 pm.
Western Washington 1, Colorado School of Mines 0
Date: September 16, 2021
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Weather: 58-degrees Attendance: 212
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-----------------------------------------
Colo. School of Mines...... 0 0 - 0
Western Washington......... 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 82:38 WWU Farnsworth (Free Kick)
Shots: WWU 11, CSM 11
Shots on Goal: CSM 5, WWU 2
Saves: WWU 5 (Restum – 5), CSM 1 (Symmes - 1)
Corners: CSM 3, WWU 2
Fouls: WWU 15, CSM 13
Offsides: WWU 2, CSM 1
Kits: WWU (White), CSM (Navy)
