BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team had a home victory over Western Oregon in its grasp, but a late goal by the Wolves brought Thursday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference to a 2-2 draw at Harrington Field.
The Vikings ended a scoreless streak of 247 minutes with an early second-half by freshman midfielder Edgar Serrano, a majestic strike from the edge of the 18-yard box into the upper right corner.
WOU leveled the game in the 68th minute on a rebound shot by Gabriel Silva.
The tie score line would not last long as the Vikings forged ahead early in the 77th minute on a goal by junior forward Eric Bunnell. Sophomore forward Albin Jonsson streaked through the left side of the box unleashing a strong shot on goal. WOU goalkeeper Juan Suarez stopped the initial shot, with Bunnell in the right spot to poke the rebound home to put the Vikings up 2-1.
With just under two minutes remaining in the match, the Western Oregon tied the game once again on Silva's second goal of the game. Jacob Garcia fired a cross where Silva got behind his defender and tapped it in to the near post.
"Tough one for our team tonight. It seems like we are creating better chances, and the team is still fighting," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "Some games, some seasons are just not meant to be. But I am very proud of my team, they are still going to give it their all and compete no matter what happened last game. That's part of what being a Viking is about. Looking forward to the derby Saturday at SPU. No matter what the records are with either program it will be an entertaining game at Interbay."
WWU held a 14-9 edge on shots with both teams recording four shots on goal. The Vikings slipped to 4-6-4 overall and 1-4-3 in GNAC play. Western Oregon remains in second place in the conference table with a 9-3-2 overall record and 5-1-2 conference mark.
WWU (4-6-4, 1-4-3 GNAC) heads back on the road Saturday with a rivalry match vs. Seattle Pacific at 7 pm at Interbay Stadium. A live webcast and statistical updates can be viewed in the game vs. the Falcons with links at wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.
Western Washington 2, Western Oregon 2
Date: October 26, 2023
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 103
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-----------------------------------------
Western Oregon............. 0 2 - 2
Western Washington......... 0 2 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 45:50 WWU Serrano
2. 67:53 WOU Silva (Velasco)
3. 76:24 WWU Bunnell (Jonsson)
4. 88:05 WOU Silva (Garcia)
Shots: WWU 14, WOU 9
Shots on Goal: WWU 4, WOU 4
Saves: WWU 2 (Locke - 1), WOU 2 (Suarez – 2)
Corners: WOU 3, WWU 2
Fouls: WOU 13, WWU 12
Offsides: WOU 4, WWU 2
Kits: WWU (White), WOU (Black)
Records: WWU (4-6-4, 1-4-3), WOU (9-3-2, 5-1-2)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:
|
2023 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
4-6-4
|
|
Streak
|
T1
|
|
Home
|
3-2-2
|
|
Away
|
1-4-2
|
|
Neutral
|
0-0-0
|
|
GNAC Record
|
1-4-3
|
|
Non-Conference
|
3-2-1
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
0-0-0
|
|
Scoring First
|
4-0-1
|
|
Opponent Scores First
|
0-6-1
|
|
Lead at the Half
|
4-0-0
|
|
Tied at the Half
|
0-3-4
|
|
Trail at the Half
|
0-3-0
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
0-3-3
|
|
Navy Blue
|
2-3-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
2-0-0
|
Here is a look at the GNAC schedule and standings through conference play on Thursday:
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MEN'S SOCCER
|
CONF
|
PTS
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
6-0-1
|
2.71
|
9-2-2
|
.769
|
5-2-1
|
3-0-1
|
1-0-0
|
W6
|
|
Western Oregon
|
5-1-2
|
2.13
|
9-3-2
|
.714
|
4-0-1
|
3-3-1
|
1-0-0
|
T1
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
2-2-3
|
1.29
|
4-5-4
|
.462
|
0-1-2
|
4-3-2
|
0-1-0
|
W1
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
2-4-1
|
1.00
|
4-6-2
|
.417
|
0-2-1
|
3-2-0
|
1-2-1
|
W1
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
2-4-1
|
1.00
|
4-7-2
|
.385
|
1-3-1
|
3-4-1
|
0-0-0
|
L2
|
|
Western Washington
|
1-4-3
|
0.75
|
4-6-4
|
.429
|
3-2-2
|
1-4-2
|
0-0-0
|
T1
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
1-4-1
|
0.67
|
4-6-2
|
.416
|
1-3-0
|
3-1-1
|
0-2-1
|
T1
|
|
THIS WEEK'S GNAC SCHEDULE
|
|
Thursday, October 26:
Western Oregon 2, at Western Washington 2
Saint Martin's at Montana State Billings (Canceled – Weather)
at Simon Fraser 2, Seattle Pacific 1
Saturday, October 28:
Montana State Billings at Northwest Nazarene, 12 pm MT
Western Oregon at Saint Martin's, 1 pm
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7 pm
|
|
For conference play, the standings are ordered based on average points per game for each team (total number of points earned divided by conference games played) due to two "no contests" because of weather-related cancelations.
|
2023 WWU MEN'S SOCCER RESULTS & SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the Vikings 2023 regular-season schedule and results:
|
DATE
|
OPPONENT
|
LOCATION / VENUE
|
KICKOFF
|
|
Aug. 31 (Thur.)
|
@Sonoma State
|
Rohnert Park, CA (Seawolf Soccer Stadium)
|
T, 1-1
|
|
Sept. 2 (Sat.)
|
@Chico State
|
Chico, CA (University Soccer Stadium)
|
L, 2-0
|
|
Sept. 7 (Thur.)
|
@CUI
|
Irvine, CA (Golden Eagles Field)
|
W, 3-1
|
|
Sept. 9 (Sat.)
|
@Point Loma
|
San Diego, CA (PLNU Soccer Field)
|
L, 1-0
|
|
Sept. 14 (Thur.)
|
Colorado Mines
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 3-0
|
|
Sept. 16 (Thur.)
|
Regis
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 2-0
|
|
Sept. 28 (Thur.)
|
Saint Martin's GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
L, 1-0
|
|
Sept. 30 (Sat.)
|
@Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
Nampa, ID (NNU Soccer Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
|
Oct. 5 (Thur.)
|
Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 2-0
|
|
Oct. 7 (Sat.)
|
@Simon Fraser GNAC
|
Burnaby, BC (Terry Fox Field)
|
L, 3-1
|
|
Oct. 12 (Thur.)
|
@Western Oregon GNAC
|
Monmouth, OR (WOU Soccer Field)
|
L, 2-1
|
|
Oct. 19 (Thur.)
|
Montana St. Billings GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
|
Oct. 21 (Sat.)
|
Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
L, 1-0
|
|
Oct. 26 (Thur.)
|
Western Oregon GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
T, 2-2
|
|
Oct. 28 (Sat.)
|
@Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
Seattle, WA (Interbay Stadium)
|
7:00 pm
|
|
Nov. 4 (Sat.)
|
Simon Fraser GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
|
Nov. 9 (Thur.)
|
@Saint Martin's GNAC
|
Lacey, WA (SMU Soccer Field)
|
1:00 pm
|
|
Nov. 11 (Sat.)
|
@Montana St. Billings GNAC
|
Billings, MT (Yellowjacket Soccer Field)
|
7:00 pm MT
|
The complete 2023 WWU Men's Soccer schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC and single-game tickets can also be purchased online via wwuvikings.com/Tickets. Current WWU students will gain free admission to all home regular-season athletic events for the 2023-24 school year.
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 4th season in 2023 and has recorded an overall record at or above the .500 mark in nine of the last 10 seasons, including a 12-4-3 record in 2022, 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 82 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last seven years.
