BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 20 nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's soccer team remains one of only eight NCAA Division II programs to carry an undefeated record into this week's action.

 

The Vikings are 7-0-3 overall through the first 10 games of the season and off to a first-place 3-0-0 start in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. 

 

WWU has a full slate this week crossing the border Thursday to play at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. and then returns home to Harrington Field for a 7 pm game Saturday hosting Saint Martin's University.

 

The Vikings are coming off a 3-1 victory over rival Seattle Pacific on Saturday, putting Western in first place in the GNAC table with nine points. SPU (7 points) is in second place followed by a tight third-place tie with SFU, Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's all with six points.

 

Western heads into the week ranking in the top 15 in the nation with six shutouts (tied for 10th) and a .600 goals against average (tied for 10th). The Vikings offense has also been gaining momentum scoring a league-best 18 goals, including 10 in three GNAC contests.

 

Freshman forward Albin Jonsson continues to pace the conference with 15 points, six goals and three game-winning goals, while senior Alessandro Tomasi has scored in consecutive games and senior Dakota Stamnes and sophomore Andrew Rotter are tied for the GNAC lead with four assists. Junior midfielder Kyota Hiate is tied for 10th in the conference with six points on two goals and a pair of assists.

 

Senior goalkeeper Patrick Restum leads the GNAC in goals against average (.067) and shutouts (5), and tied with a .833 save percentage. Junior center back Mitchell Hutter (815 minutes), junior defender Theo Steinmetz (842 minutes) and freshman defender Joar Tidblom(704 minutes) have each started all 10 games to contribute to the stalwart defensive effort.

 

In addition to the top 20 national ranking at No. 20, WWU is listed No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches West Regional rankings behind No. 1 nationally-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State LA.

 

The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC, with direct links to game coverage, season statistics and program history.

 

 

The Vikings defeated rival Seattle Pacific University 3-1 on Saturday (10/1) on a pair of late second-half goals by Alessandro Tomasi (77') and Johan Espinoza (82'). WWU and SPU were tied 1-1 at the half before Tomasi and Espinoza combined on the game-winning goal. Espinoza and midfielder Kyota Hiate each had a goal and an assist in the 3-1 victory over the Falcons at Harrington Field. 

 

WWU is undefeated at 7-0-3 through the first 10 games of the 2022 season, marking the best undefeated start to a season in the 43-year history of the program. Here is a look at the best undefeated starts to a season by the WWU men's soccer program:

 

• 2022 (7-0-3) – 10 games
• 1997 (4-0-1) – 5 games
• 1983 (4-0-1) – 5 games
• 2018 (3-0-0) – 3 games
• 1991 (3-0-0) – 3 games
• 1984 (3-0-0) – 3 games
• 2015 (2-0-1) – 3 games
• 2000 (3-0-0) – 3 games

 

Not only is WWU off to its best undefeated start to a season in program history (10 games), but the Vikings are also one of just eight NCAA Division II men's soccer programs that are still undefeated:

 

• Davis & Elkins (9-0-0)
• Franklin Pierce (11-0-1)
• Mercyhurst (10-0-1)
• Cal State Dominguez Hills (9-0-2)
• Saginaw Valley State (8-0-2)
• Western Washington (7-0-3)
• Florida Tech (5-0-3)
• St. Mary's-TX (5-0-4)

 

Western Washington University is one of only four programs with both its men's and women's soccer teams ranked in the NCAA Division II national top 25. The WWU men are listed No. 20 and the Viking women moved back into the national rankings this week at No. 14. WWU joins Adelphi (M: 17, W: 23), Catawba (M: 25, W: 8) and Mercy College (M: 24, W: 15) as the four programs with both soccer teams ranked nationally.

 

Here is a look at the current United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll (released 10/4). WWU has now been ranked in four consecutive polls for the first time in program history:

 

WWU is listed No. 4 in the West Region poll conducted by the United Soccer Coaches. The first edition of the NCAA regional rankings is scheduled to be released on October 19:

 

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:

 

 

The Vikings have scored 18 goals in 10 games this season (1.8 goals per game), with 11 coming in the second half, including five in the 80th minute or later.

 

Freshman forward Albin Jonsson leads the GNAC in scoring, tallying a league-best six goals and 15 points, also adding six assists to his season total. Three of his six goals have been of the game-winning variety this season. In addition to pacing the GNAC in offensive stats, the native of Skellefteå, Sweden is tied for 3rd in NCAA II in game-winning goals and 31st in total goals (6) and points (15).

 

The 2022 roster features a pair of brothers in sophomore forward Andrew Rotter (transfer from St. Mary's College) and freshman midfielder Ryan Rotter (true freshman out of Auburn Mountainview High School). The Rotter brothers join their older brother, Christian, who starred for the Vikings from 2016-19 appearing in 72 games while totaling 42 points with 13 goals and 16 assists.

 

Since moving home games to Harrington Field on the south edge of campus in 2014, the Vikings have combined to go 39-20-12 for a .634 winning percentage (4-0-3 in 2022). WWU is 22-8-5 at Harrington Field over the last five seasons (since 2018). Combining with the WWU women's team, both programs are 113-24-17 (.789) playing at Harrington Field.

 

WWU has recorded six shutouts in 10 games to rank tied for 12th in the nation (.600) and tied for 10th in overall shutouts. The team .600 goals against average also ranked in the top 15 nationally (T-11th) and leads the GNAC. The WWU single-season record for shutouts is nine set in 2001 and the goals against average season team record is 0.69 in 2013.

 

Fifth-year seniors Teagan Eldridge and Gus Diehl will serve as the team captains for the Vikings during the 2022 season. The senior duo has combined to play in 134 matches (Eldridge – 67, Diehl – 67) since arriving in the program as freshman during the 2018 season.

 

Senior co-captains Gus Diehl and Teagan Eldridge have each appeared in 67 games and will be looking to join the all-time top 10 in WWU history for career games played by a position player. The current record is 79 games played by Chris Jepson (2004-09) and the record for career starts by a position player is 74 by Drew Farnsworth (2017-21). Diehl has started all 67 games of his career. Here is a look at the current top 18 for career games played by position players in WWU history:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 7-0-3 on the season and 3-0-0 in GNAC heading into this week's slate vs. Simon Fraser and Saint Martin's:

 

 

Here is a look at the all-time series history between the Vikings and opponents this week:

 

• Simon Fraser: Meeting SFU for the first time this season…Vikings are 19-40-8 all-time vs. the Red Leafs…since 2016 season WWU is 4-4-2…went 1-1-0 vs. SFU last season with each team recording an overtime victory on its home turf.
• Saint Martin's: Defeated Saint Martin's 5-2 in the GNAC opener on Sept. 22 in Lacey…Vikings lead the all-time series 22-7-2 with a current 6-game winning streak and 8-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1)…13-1-1 all-time vs. the Saints in home games including a 6-1-1 mark at Harrington Field.

 

Here is a look at GNAC table and how the conference's seven teams have fared heading into the weekend schedule of the third week of league play. WWU is currently in first place in the GNAC with nine points at 3-0-0:

 

 

There are likely to be a lot of tie games this season with new NCAA soccer rules for 2022 which eliminates overtime during the regular season. Any match that is tied at the 90-minute mark will now end that way, which means no overtime or golden goal scenarios. In the postseason, there will be overtime but no more golden goal; teams will play two full 10-minute extra periods regardless of any goals and if it is still tied, the advancing team will be decided on penalty kicks. Just for kicks, the WWU single-season record for ties is five set in 2017.

 

Freshman forward Albin Jonsson earned the offensive player of the week honor for September 19-25 after scoring three goals in two games to lead the Vikings to a pair of wins to open GNAC play. The native of Sweden recorded a brace in the 5-2 road victory at Saint Martin's and had the game-winning goal in the 2-0 home win over Western Oregon. In eight games this season, the Vikings are undefeated at 8-0-3 overall (2-0-0 GNAC), with Jonsson leading the GNAC with six goals and 15 points.

 

Senior goalkeeper Patrick Restum was selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for games played September 12-18. Restum, a senior from Okemos, Michigan, made seven saves while recording a pair of shutouts during the week with a 2-0 victory over Concordia University Irvine and a 0-0 tie against Point Loma Nazarene.

 

Here is a look at the complete Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll for the 2022 season with the Vikings picked to finish 2nd in the GNAC:

 

 

In his 10th season as head coach and 22nd associated with WWU soccer, head coach Greg Brisbon returns 16 letterwinners, including seven starters, from the 2021 squad that went 7-8-2 overall and were in contention for the GNAC title until the final game of the season with a 5-3-2 mark in conference play. The Vikings are just one full season removed from playing in the 2019 NCAA Championships and are in the midst of a strong seven-season stretch (since 2016) combining to go 57-31-17 (.624) with a 36-15-10 (.672) record in GNAC play. Brisbon owns an all-time head coaching record of 82-53-24 (.591). He is assisted in 2022 by 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).

 

The Western Washington University men's soccer program is led by head coach Greg Brisbon, who has spent over 20 seasons affiliated with WWU Soccer. The Vikings won the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship, the third league trophy in program history, and advanced to the NCAA II Championships for the second time. The program is in its 43rd season in 2022 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 71 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last six years.