WAIPAHU, Hawai'i  – The Western Washington University men's soccer team scored a pair of first-half goals, and received a brilliant second half of goalkeeping from Brandon Wolter to record a 2-0 road victory over Hawai'i Pacific Friday evening at Waipio Stadium.
 
The Vikings snapped a mini two-game losing streak to improve to 2-4-0 on the season, evening its Hawaiian road trip record at 1-1 following a 4-3 double-overtime loss Tuesday at Chaminade. HPU had its two-game winning streak snapped dropping to 2-3-0 on the season.
 
"This was a great win for us. I am really proud of the defensive effort in transition and our ability to capitalize on our chances to get two great goals," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "Now a quick turnaround to get ready for Hawai'i Hilo on Sunday."
 
The Vikings took a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Alessandro Tomasi put WWU on the board with a sharp shot in the middle of the box to the lower right of the goal, with assists credited to Drew Farnsworth and Teagan Eldridge.
 
With less than four minutes remaining in the half, Johan Espinoza drilled home the Vikings second goal at the 41:32 mark with an assist to Jacob Sundberg.
 
With the Vikings leading 2-0, junior goalkeeper Brandon Wolter had a pair of big saves early in the second half to preserve the two-goal lead. In the 54th minute, he saved a dangerous opportunity on a ball that skidded through traffic in the box. In the 62nd minute he denied a potential goal with a kick save on a sharp shot from the right side by Makana Srivongsana.
 
Wolter made five saves – all in the second half – to record his ninth career shutout.
 
HPU held a 12-11 advantage in shots, with a 5-2 edge in shots on target. The Sharks also had a 4-1 lead in corner kicks, but were held off the scoreboard for the third time in five games this season.
  WWU (2-4-0) closes out its three-game trip to Hawai'i playing at Hawai'i Hilo on Sunday with kickoff scheduled for 11 am HT/2 pm PT at Hall Stadium. WWU opens GNAC play next week with road contests at Northwest Nazarene (9/30) and Saint Martin's (10/2). The Vikings are two games into a stretch of five consecutive road games, which will be followed by a season-high five-game homestand October 9-30.
 

Western Washington 2, Hawai'i Pacific x
Date: September 24, 2021
Field: Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium
Site: Waipahu, HI

Goals by period              1  2    Tot
-----------------------------------------
Western Washington.........  2  0  -  2
Hawai'i Pacific............  0  0  -  0

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.      31:48       WWU    Tomasi (Farnsworth, Eldridge)
2.      41:32       WWU    Espinoza (Sundberg)

Shots: HPU 12, WWU 11
Shots on Goal: HPU 5, WWU 2
Saves: WWU 5 (Wolter – 5), HPU 0 (Margo – 0)
Corners: HPU 4, WWU 1
Fouls: HPU 14, WWU 7
Yellow Cards: HPU 3, WWU 0
Offsides: WWU 0, HPU 0
Kits: WWU (White), HPU (Black)