BELLINGHAM, Wash.  – The No. 23 nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's soccer team continued its second-half magic scoring a pair of goals over the final 45 minutes to secure a 2-0 shutout victory over Concordia University Irvine Thursday evening at Harrington Field.
 
The Vikings improved to 4-0-2 overall for the best undefeated start in the 43-year history of the program. WWU has won three consecutive games, with the team's last six goals coming in the second half.
 
"A very good win tonight for our program. We made great adjustments and execution by the players in the second half," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "Concordia was a very difficult team to play. They were super organized and difficult to break down. But credit to the players tonight. They are starting to learn in the moment. We will have another tough test on Saturday to finish out the very important non-conference part of the schedule."
 
After a scoreless first half where CUI held a 7-4 advantage in shots over the Vikings, WWU wasted little time making halftime adjustments with an early first-half goal.

Just under three minutes into the second stanza, freshman forward Albin Jonsson scored his team-leading third goal of the season connecting on a beautifully-placed through ball from junior defender Mitchell Hutter. Jonsson corralled the ball and blasted a shot from the edge of the six-yard box into the upper quadrant that skimmed the bottom of the crossbar on the way into the goal.
 
The Vikings added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute when midfielder Kyota Hiate put the finishing touch on a great buildup from Jonsson and sophomore forward Andrew Rotter. Rotter regained possession intercepting a pass deep in the Vikings offensive end finding Jonsson with a sharp pass into the box. Jonsson dropped the ball back to Rotter, who laid a touch pass into the middle of the box where Hiate finished with the outside of his foot from eight-yards out.

M⚽️ | A look at the two goals scored by @SoccerWWU in their 2-0 win over Concordia. The first goal was scored by Albin Jonsson (assisted by Mitchell Hutter) with the second scored by Kyota Hiate (assisted by Albin Jonsson and Andrew Rotter)

🎥 | Sol Sanchez#GoViks pic.twitter.com/TvfMeCZvib

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) September 16, 2022

Senior goalkeeper Patrick Restum made four saves while recording his fourth clean sheet of the season.
 
CUI (1-4-0) out-shot the Vikings 14-13, with seven shots in each half. Western held a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.
 
The Vikings (4-0-2) are back in action Saturday closing out the non-conference portion of the schedule hosting Point Loma Nazarene University in a 7 pm match under the lights at Harrington Field.  The 12-match GNAC schedule opens next week with a road contest on Thursday at Saint Martin's (9/22, 2 pm) and a home match vs. Western Oregon University on Saturday (9/24, 7 pm). The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC.
 

#23 Western Washington 2, Concordia 0
Date: September 15, 2022
Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 176

Goals by period               1  2    Tot
-----------------------------------------
Concordia Irvine............  0  0  -  0
#23 Western Washington......  0  2  -  2

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.      48:29     WWU     Jonsson (Hutter)
2.      81:19     WWU     Hiate (Jonsson, A. Rotter)

Shots: CUI 14, WWU 13
Shots on Goal: WWU 6, CUI 4
Saves: WWU 4 (Restum - 4), CUI 4 (Flores - 4)
Corners: CUI 7, WWU 5
Fouls: WWU 15, CUI 14
Offsides: WWU 2, CUI 0
Kits: WWU (Navy), CUI (White)
Records: WWU (4-0-2), CUI (1-4-0)

  First meeting between WWU and Concordia University Irvine.
  WWU is undefeated at 4-0-2 through the first six 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 (4-0-2) – 6 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

UP NEXT
WWU hosts Point Loma Nazarene Saturday night at 7 pm at Harrington Field. The Vikings are 3-0-0 all-time vs. the Sea Lions with the last match-up a 2-1 victory by WWU in 2019 in Bellingham. The 12-match GNAC schedule opens next week with a road contest on Thursday at Saint Martin's (9/22, 2 pm) and a home match vs. Western Oregon University on Saturday (9/24, 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.