DENVER, Colo.  – Earlier this week it was a pair of lighting delays and an early first-half goal that the Western Washington University men's soccer team had to overcome to pull out a victory to open its Colorado road trip.

 

Sunday in Denver, the Vikings overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit by scoring three unanswered goals, including a pair in the final eight minutes, to pull off a stunning 3-2 victory over Regis University to remain unbeaten at 3-0-2 on the season.

 

"This was another great win for the program on the road," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "The first half we put ourselves in an almost impossible situation to overcome, but the team wouldn't give in and fought for the win today. It was great to be part of it and I am super proud of the group."

 

WWU is off to a 3-0-2 start to tie for the longest undefeated stretch to a season in the 43-year history of the program. Past Vikings squads went 4-0-1 in 1983 and 1997 in the first five games of a season. 

 

The Rangers got off to a quick start with goals in the 6th and 24th minutes by Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit, but the early brace by the sophomore from New Zealand would be the only time Regis would find the back of the net in the 90-minute match.

 

Sophomore midfielder Kaydin Wall got the Vikings comeback started in the 56th minute when he delivered a soft roundhouse kick inside the box off a cross from freshman striker Albin Jonsson. 

 

The Vikings tailed 2-1 entering the final 10 minutes of the contest and nearly put the equalizer on the board in the at the 81:07 mark when freshman Ryan Rotter's free kick from just outside the 18-yard box slammed into the Regis wall. 

 

WWU would pull even just over a minute after the free kick opportunity when Jonsson streaked through off a perfectly delivered pass from Diego Alvarado splitting a pair of Regis defenders to slot home his shot inside the right post from eight yards out.

 

Just under two minutes following the equalizer, the Vikings completed the comeback when sophomore Andrew Rotter touched home his first Western goal at the 84:39 mark. Ryan Rotter initiated the build up laying off a pass to senior midfielder Dakota Stamnes, who one-touched the ball into Rotter after sneaking behind the last defender. The transfer from Saint Mary's College did the rest beating the Regis goalkeeper from the edge of the six-yard box with a right-footed shot inside the near (left) post. 

 

After scoring the go-ahead goal, the Vikings were forced to play the final five minutes of the game after a red card was issued to Lucas Hakamada. WWU's defense didn't bend on the Rangers' final four shots of the game preserving the second-half clean sheet and the 3-2 victory.

 

Stamnes recorded a pair of assists to help lift the Vikings to the comeback victory, while Jonsson added a game-tying goal to his game-winner Thursday in the 84th minute at Colorado School of Mines.

 

Regis dropped to 2-4-0 on the season after beating Seattle Pacific University 2-1 on Thursday.

 

WWU out-shot Regis 20-16, including a 13-10 advantage in the second half, and edged the Rangers 8-7 in shots on goal. 

 

Western senior goalkeeper Patrick Restum made five saves and has played all 450 minutes in goal in the Vikings first five games of the season.

 

The Vikings (3-0-2) return home for a pair of non-conference games at Harrington Field hosting Concordia University Irvine on Thursday (9/15, 4 pm) and Point Loma Nazarene University (9/17, 7 pm). The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC.

 

Western Washington 3, Regis 2

Date: September 11, 2022

Field: Regis Turf Field   Site: Denver, CO

Attendance: 125

 

Goals by period               1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington..........  0  3  -  3

Regis.......................  2  0  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      5:53     REG     Carlson-Du Toit (Taubo)

2.     23:57     REG     Carlson-Du Toit (Taubo, Durval)

3.     55:14     WWU     Wall (Jonsson)

4.     82:47     WWU     Jonsson (Alvarado, Stamnes)

5.     84:39     WWU     A. Rotter (Stamnes, R. Rotter)

 

Shots: WWU 20, REG 16

Shots on Goal: WWU 8, REG 7

Saves: WWU 5 (Restum - 5), REG 5 (Falagrady - 5)

Corners: WWU 2, REG 1

Fouls: REG 9, WWU 8

Offsides: REG 1, WWU 0

Kits: WWU (White), REG (Blue)

Records: WWU (3-0-2), REG (2-4-0)

 

The Vikings evened the all-time series record against Regis and are now 2-2-1 against the Rangers. WWU avenged its 4-1 loss at the hands of the Rangers on Sept. 18, 2021 at Harrington Field with Sunday's 3-2 comeback victory in Denver. The Vikings are now 1-1-0 all-time in road games against Regis, with the only other contest coming in 2008.

 

WWU is undefeated at 3-0-2 in the first five games of the 2022 season, tying for the longest 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:

 

• 1997 (4-0-1) – 5 games
• 1983 (4-0-1) – 5 games
• 2022 (3-0-2) – 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

 

The Vikings return home to Harrington Field closing out the non-conference portion of the schedule with a pair of games during the upcoming week. WWU will host Concordia University Irvine on Thursday (9/15) with kickoff scheduled for 4 pm and Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday (9/17) at 7 pm. Links on how to follow all WWU home and road games are available via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC.

 

The Vikings (3-0-2) return home for a pair of non-conference games at Harrington Field hosting Concordia University Irvine on Thursday (9/15, 4 pm) and Point Loma Nazarene University (9/17, 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:

 

 

 

 

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.

 

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 five years.