BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 23 nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's soccer team played Point Loma Nazarene University to a scoreless draw Saturday evening at Harrington Field.
The Vikings out-shot the Sea Lions 12-9 and had a slight 5-3 edge in shots on goal, but a few scoring opportunities in the second half came up short in the 0-0 tie.
WWU closed out its seven-match non-conference schedule undefeated at 4-0-3, while Point Loma (1-3-2) recorded its second tie of its Northwest road trip (tied SPU 3-3 Thursday).
The Vikings had a couple of good looks just over 15 minutes into the second half when freshman forward Albin Jonsson hit the post with a shot in the 64th minute and less than a minute later a would-be go-ahead goal was called off due to an offsides call in the box.
WWU's defense logged its fifth shutout of the season with senior goalkeeper Patrick Restum making three saves in Saturday's clean sheet.
"Overall we gave a good performance tonight. We were challenged defensively and as the game went on the players adjusted well to limit the chances for Point Loma," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "We were able to create chances as the game went into the later stages, but unable to find a goal tonight. We had a great run through our non-conference schedule and now we look forward to conference play beginning next week."
The Vikings (4-0-3) will now turn its attention to the 12-match GNAC schedule that opens next week with a road contest on Thursday at Saint Martin's (9/22, 2 pm) and a home match vs. Western Oregon on Saturday (9/24, 7 pm). The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC.
Gallery: (9-17-2022) MSOC | WWU 0, PLNU 0
#23 Western Washington 0, Point Loma 0
Date: September 17, 2022
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 176
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-----------------------------------------
Point Loma.................. 0 0 - 0
#23 Western Washington...... 0 0 - 0
Shots: WWU 12, PLNU 9
Shots on Goal: WWU 5, PLNU 3
Saves: WWU 3 (Restum - 3), PLNU 5 (Ketterer – 5)
Corners: WWU 5, PLNU 1
Fouls: PLNU 11, WWU 10
Offsides: WWU 2, PLNU 1
Kits: WWU (Light Blue), PLNU (Green)
Records: WWU (4-0-3), PLNU (1-3-2)
SERIES HISTORY VS. POINT LOMA
WWU remains undefeated in four all-time meetings with Point Loma at 3-0-1, but had its three-match winning streak snapped with Saturday's 0-0 tie. WWU and PLNU last met on Sept. 28, 2019 in a 2-1 Viking Victory at Harrington Field.
BEST UNDEFEATED START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
WWU is undefeated at 4-0-3 through the first seven 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 (4-0-3) – 7 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
WWU begins its 12-match GNAC schedule next week with a road contest on Thursday at Saint Martin's (9/22, 2 pm) and a home match vs. Western Oregon 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:
2022 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
Overall Record
|
4-0-3
|
Streak
|
T1
|
Home
|
2-0-3
|
Away
|
2-0-0
|
Neutral
|
0-0-0
|
GNAC Record
|
0-0-0
|
Non-Conference
|
4-0-3
|
Ranked Opponents
|
0-0-1
|
Scoring First
|
2-0-0
|
Opponent Scores First
|
2-0-0
|
Lead at the Half
|
1-0-0
|
Tied at the Half
|
1-0-3
|
Trail at the Half
|
2-0-0
|
Record by Jersey
|
White
|
2-0-1
|
Navy Blue
|
2-0-1
|
Light Blue
|
0-0-1
|
2022 WWU MEN'S SOCCER RESULTS & SCHEDULE
DATE
|
OPPONENT
|
LOCATION / VENUE
|
KICKOFF
|
Aug. 25 (Thur.)
|
Sonoma State
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
Aug. 27 (Sat.)
|
Chico State
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 1-0
|
Sept. 1 (Thur.)
|
West Texas A&M
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
Sept. 8 (Thur.)
|
at Colorado School of Mines
|
Golden, CO (Stermole Soccer Stadium)
|
W, 2-1
|
Sept. 11 (Sun.)
|
at Regis
|
Denver, CO (Regis Match Pitch)
|
W, 3-2
|
Sept. 15 (Thur.)
|
Concordia
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 2-0
|
Sept. 17 (Sat.)
|
Point Loma
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
Sept. 22 (Thur.)
|
at Saint Martin's*
|
Lacey, WA (Saints Field)
|
2:00 pm
|
Sept. 24 (Sat.)
|
Western Oregon*
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
Oct. 1 (Sat.)
|
Seattle Pacific*
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
Oct. 6 (Thur.)
|
at Simon Fraser*
|
Burnaby, BC (Terry Fox Field at SFU Stadium)
|
7:30 pm
|
Oct. 8 (Sat.)
|
Saint Martin's
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
Oct. 13 (Thur.)
|
at Western Oregon*
|
Monmouth, OR (WOU Soccer Field)
|
1:30 pm
|
Oct. 15 (Sat.)
|
Northwest Nazarene*
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
Oct. 20 (Thur.)
|
Simon Fraser*
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
4:00 pm
|
Oct. 27 (Thur.)
|
at Montana State Billings*
|
Billings, MT (Yellowjacket Soccer Field)
|
2:30 pm MT
|
Oct. 29 (Sat.)
|
at Seattle Pacific*
|
Seattle, WA (Interbay Stadium)
|
7:00 pm
|
Nov. 3 (Thur.)
|
at Northwest Nazarene*
|
Nampa, ID (NNU Soccer Field)
|
12:00 pm MT
|
Nov. 5 (Sat.)
|
Montana State Billings*
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
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 five years.