BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 19 nationally-ranked Western Washington University returns to the pitch this weekend hosting rival Seattle Pacific University on Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match under the lights at Harrington Field.

 

The undefeated Vikings are 6-0-3 overall and off to a perfect 2-0-0 start to conference play heading into the game against Seattle Pacific (3-3-4, 2-0-1 GNAC). WWU is one of 11 NCAA Division II programs that remain undefeated so far during the 2022 season.

 

WWU was off Thursday while SPU crossed the border for a 1-0 victory over Simon Fraser. The Vikings and Falcons, along with Northwest Nazarene, hold the top three spots in the conference standings.

 

The Vikings have been winning games with a stalwart defense ranking No. 11 in the nation with a 0.556 goals against average and tied for 4th with six shutouts. WWU is led on offense by GNAC Player of the Week Albin Jonsson who leads the conference and ranks in the top 30 nationally with six goals. 

 

In addition to the top 20 national ranking at No. 19, WWU is listed No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches West Regional rankings behind Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State LA and Cal Poly Pomona.

 

Following Saturday's game vs. SPU, WWU will travel to play at Simon Fraser (Thursday, 10/6) and then return to Harrington Field hosting Saint Martin's on Saturday (10/8) at 7 pm.

 

The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_MSOC, with direct links to game coverage, season statistics and program history.

 

 

WWU is undefeated at 6-0-3 through the first nine 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 (6-0-3) – 9 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

 

Not only is WWU off to its best undefeated start to a season in program history (9 games), but the Vikings are one of just 11 NCAA Division II men's soccer programs that are still undefeated (as of 9/29):

 

• Davis & Elkins (9-0-0)
• Franklin Pierce (10-0-1)
• Mercyhurst (9-0-1)
• Saginaw Valley State (8-0-2)
• Cal State Dominguez Hills (7-0-2)
• Midwestern State (6-0-2)
• Western Washington (6-0-3)
• Florida Tech (5-0-3)
• Montevallo (5-0-3)
• Rockhurst (4-0-3)
• St. Mary's-TX (4-0-4)

 

Freshman forward Albin Jonsson earned the offensive player of the week honor for September 19-25 after scoring three goals in two games to lead the Vikings to a pair of wins to open GNAC play. The native of Sweden recorded a brace in the 5-2 road victory at Saint Martin's and had the game-winning goal in the 2-0 home win over Western Oregon. In eight games this season, the Vikings are undefeated at 8-0-3 overall (2-0-0 GNAC), with Jonsson leading the GNAC with six goals and 15 points.

 

Here is a look at the current United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll (released 9/27) with the Vikings moving up to No. 19 in this week's national rankings and listed No. 4 in the West Region:

 

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

 

 

The Vikings have scored 15 goals in nine games this season, with nine coming in the second half, including four in the 80th minute or later.

 

WWU has recorded six shutouts in nine games to rank in the top 10 nationally in shutout percentage (.667, T-8th) and tied for fourth in overall shutouts. The team .556 goals against average also ranked in the top 15 nationally (T-11th) and leads the GNAC. The WWU single-season record for shutouts is nine set in 2001 and the goals against average season team record is 0.69 in 2013.

 

Fifth-year seniors Teagan Eldridge and Gus Diehl will serve as the team captains for the Vikings during the 2022 season. The senior duo have combined to play in 132 matches (Eldridge – 66, Diehl – 66) since arriving in the program as freshman during the 2018 season.

Senior co-captains Gus Diehl and Teagan Eldridge have each appeared in 66 games and will be looking to join the all-time top 10 in WWU history for career games played by a position player. The current record is 79 games played by Chris Jepson (2004-09) and the record for career starts by a position player is 74 by Gibson Bardsley (2007-10) and Drew Farnsworth (2017-21). Here is a look at the current top 15 for career games played by position players in WWU history:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 6-0-3 on the season and 2-0-0 in GNAC play heading into Saturday's match vs. Seattle Pacific:

 

 

WWU went 0-1-1 vs. SPU last season with a 1-1 tie in the last meeting in double overtime on November 16 in Seattle. The Vikings are 6-2-4 vs. the Falcons over the last 12 meetings dating back to the start of the 2016 season. SPU leads the all-time series 38-13-10 according to available WWU records.

 

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.

 

Senior goalkeeper Patrick Restum was selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for games played September 12-18. Restum, a senior from Okemos, Michigan, made seven saves while recording a pair of shutouts during the week with a 2-0 victory over Concordia University Irvine and a 0-0 tie against Point Loma Nazarene.

 

Since moving home games to Harrington Field on the south edge of campus in 2014, the Vikings have combined to go 38-20-12 for a .629 winning percentage. WWU is 21-8-5 at Harrington Field over the last five seasons (since 2018). Combining with the WWU women's team, both programs are 111-24-17 (.786) playing at Harrington Field.

 

Here is a look at the early-season GNAC table and how the conference's seven teams have fared heading into the weekend schedule of the second week of league play:

 

 

Here is a look at the complete Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll for the 2022 season with the Vikings picked to finish 2nd in the GNAC:

 

 

In his 10th season as head coach and 22nd associated with WWU soccer, head coach Greg Brisbon returns 16 letterwinners, including seven starters, from the 2021 squad that went 7-8-2 overall and were in contention for the GNAC title until the final game of the season with a 5-3-2 mark in conference play. The Vikings are just one full season removed from playing in the 2019 NCAA Championships and are in the midst of a strong seven-season stretch (since 2016) combining to go 56-31-17 (.620) with a 35-15-10 (.657) record in GNAC play. Brisbon owns an all-time head coaching record of 81-53-24 (.589). He is assisted in 2022 by Matt Zigulis and Kyle Langowski.

 

Fans can follow WWU men's soccer online at WWUVikings.com/MSOC, and via social media on Twitter (@SoccerWWU), Instagram (@wwu_msoccer) and Facebook (@WWUsoccermens).

 

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.