NAMPA, Idaho – In a game that featured heavy postseason implications, the Western Washington University men's soccer team had a win in its grasp, but allowed two late goals in a heartbreaking 2-1 road loss to Northwest Nazarene University.

 

WWU held a 1-0 lead going into the 89th minute, following a first-half goal by senior forward Johan Espinoza. NNU pressed the Vikings defense throughout the second half, but were held off the scoreboard with key saves and defensive stops.

 

With 75 seconds left in the match, NNU scored the equalizer on a blast from distance by Alan Soto Ortiz and just 47 seconds later the Nighthawks went ahead on a goal by Jake Levine with just 28 seconds left in the match.

 

The shocking defeat dropped the Vikings to 11-4-3 overall and 7-4-0 in GNAC play. WWU entered the match trailing NNU in the conference standings by just one point.

 

The Vikings had the first scoring opportunity at the 16:42 mark when Johan Espinoza found space in the box and took a cutback pass from Andrew Rotter with a shot that missed just right.

 

Nearly exactly five minutes later, WWU capitalized on the same play with Rotter cutting through the right side of the box and laying a pass off to Espinoza, who slotted it home inside the right post for his fourth goal of the season.

 

NNU held a 15-7 lead in total shots in the game, including a 11-4 advantage in the second half. The Vikings had three shots on goal, while the Nighthawks totaled eight. WWU junior goalkeeper Brandon Locke made four saves in his second start of the season, with two team saves also being credited to the Vikings.

 

The Vikings (11-4-3, 7-4-0 GNAC) close out the regular-season schedule Saturday hosting Montana State Billings at Harrington Field with Senior Night scheduled for a 7 pm kickoff. The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC.

 

Northwest Nazarene 2, Western Washington 1

Date: November 3, 2022

Field: NNU Soccer Field   Site: Nampa, ID

Attendance: 346

 

Goals by period               1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington..........  1  0  -  1

Northwest Nazarene..........  0  2  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.       21:44     WWU     Espinoza (A. Rotter)

2.       88:45     NNU     Soto Ortiz (Sawyer)

3.       89:32     NNU     Levine (Smith)

 

Shots: NNU 15, WWU 7

Shots on Goal: NNU 8, WWU 3

Saves: WWU 6 (Locke – 4, Team - 2), NNU 2 (Sawyer - 2)

Corners: WWU 6, NNU 4

Fouls: NNU 14, WWU 12

Offsides: WWU 3, NNU 0

Kits: WWU (Navy), NNU (White)

Records: WWU (11-4-3, 7-4-0), NNU (12-3-2, 8-2-1)

 

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 11-4-3 on the season and 7-4-0 in GNAC following Thursday's 2-1 loss at Northwest Nazarene:

 

 

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 63 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.