BURNABY, B.C. – The No. 20 Western Washington University men's soccer team had its undefeated start to the season come to an end with a 2-1 defeat Thursday evening against Simon Fraser University at SFU Stadium.

 

The Vikings and Red Leafs exchanged early goals in the first five minutes of the contest before SFU scored the game winner off a set piece in the 72nd minute.

 

WWU had its 10-game unbeaten streak snapped and is now 7-1-3 on the season and tied with SFU and Northwest Nazarene on top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference table at 3-1-0 (9 points). The Vikings entered the game as one of just eight remaining undefeated teams in all of NCAA Division II men's soccer. The Red Leafs improved to 6-3-0 overall and 3-1-0 in GNAC play.

 

SFU got off to a quick start drawing a penalty in the box just 1:34 into the match and Mark Talisuna converted from the spot tucking his strike into the lower left corner. Michael Ojo drew the foul in the box when he flicked ball over the head of Hutter, and then went down in the box trying to get around the defense.

 

The Vikings wasted little time finding the equalizer when Andrew Rotter scored late in the fifth minute. Defender Teagan Eldridge instigated the counterattack blocking a pass deep in Viking territory and found midfielder Kyota Hiate with a short pass. Hiate fed the ball to speedy forward Albin Jonsson who raced through the SFU defense all the way to the six-yard box where his outside-of-the-foot shot clanked off the crossbar. Rotter headed home the deflection from close quarters for his second goal of the season.

 

The game settled into a defensive battle over the remainder of the game before SFU went ahead with the eventual game-winning goal in the 72nd minute. Niko Papakyriakopoulos curled a corner kick into the box and Devin O'Hea connected on a header through a sea of defenders into the back of the net.

 

The Vikings pressed for the equalizer over the final 18 minutes, but fell short in the 2-1 loss. With 10 seconds left in the game defender Theo Steinmetz took a free kick shot from 30-yards out that was saved by the SFU goalkeeper.

 

WWU held a narrow 12-10 advantage in shots with both teams logging four shots on goal. 

 

The end of the game had a lengthy 75-minute injury delay (1:28 remaining on the clock) with WWU junior midfielder Kyota Hiate suffering an undisclosed injury (no update at the time of this news release).

 

The Vikings (7-1-3, 3-1-0 GNAC) return to action Saturday hosting Saint Martin's University (2-7-2, 2-2-1 GNAC) with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm at Harrington Field. The game vs. the Saints will feature WFC Rangers and Whatcom County Youth Soccer Night with all youth players wearing their jersey receiving free admission. The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC.

 

Simon Fraser 2, #20 Western Washington 1

Date: October 6, 2022

Field: Terry Fox Field at SFU Stadium   Site: Burnaby, B.C.

Attendance: 197

 

Goals by period               1  2    Tot

-----------------------------------------

#20 Western Washington......  1  0  -  1

Simon Fraser................  1  1  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.        1:34     SFU     Talisuna (PK)

2.        4:48     WWU     A. Rotter (Jonsson)

3.       71:24     SFU     O'Hea (Papakyriakopoulos)

 

Shots: WWU 12, SFU 10

Shots on Goal: WWU 4, SFU 4

Saves: WWU 2 (Restum – 1, Team - 1), SFU 3 (Sandhu - 3)

Corners: SFU 7, WWU 3

Fouls: SFU 16, WWU 11

Offsides: WWU 1, SFU 1

Kits: WWU (White), SFU (Red)

Records: WWU (7-1-3, 3-1-0), SFU (6-3-0, 3-1-0)

 

WWU trails the all-time series 19-41-8 vs. SFU and is 4-5-2 in the last 11 meetings. Two teams meet again in Bellingham on October 20.

 

WWU is back home at Harrington Field on Saturday hosting Saint Martin's (7 pm). The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC.

 

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

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 7-1-3 on the season and 3-1-0 in GNAC following Thursday's 2-1 road loss at Simon Fraser:

 

 

Here is a look at the GNAC table and how the conference's seven teams have fared through competition on Thursday. WWU it tied atop the standings with Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene at 3-1-0 in league play:

 

 

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 (currently have three ties).

 

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 60 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last six years.