SEATTLE, Wash.  – The Western Washington University men's soccer team battled rival Seattle Pacific University to a 1-1 draw Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference at Interbay Stadium.

 

The Vikings struck first on a 32nd-minute goal by senior Mitchel Hutter, with the defender pressing up to unleash a 19-yard blast from the top of the box off a pass from midfielder Adan Fernandez. 

 

WWU held the Falcons off the scoreboard for the first 77 minutes, but the Falcons found the equalizer at the 78:55 mark to knot the game at 1-1. Orlando Erazo worked the ball down the left side of the field and found enough space to cross the ball into the center of the box where Connor Tollan was there for to tap it into a wide-open net from eight yards out.

 

The Vikings held a 12-10 advantage in shots, but SPU finished with a 5-2 edge in shots on goal.

 

WWU senior goalkeeper Brandon Locke made a pair of saves and the Vikings defense had a pair of team saves.

 

Western moved to 4-6-5 overall tying the single-season program record for ties in a season and setting the program record with four GNAC ties in a season at 1-4-4 in conference play. SPU moved to 4-7-3 overall and 2-4-2 in GNAC play.

 

WWU (4-6-5, 1-4-4 GNAC) will have only one game next week, hosting Simon Fraser University on Saturday (November 4) with Senior Night at 7 pm at Harrington Field. The complete 2023 schedule with live coverage links and online ticket purchasing available at wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.

 

Western Washington 1, Seattle Pacific 1

Date: October 28, 2023

Field: Interbay Stadium   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 308

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington.........  1  0  -  1

Seattle Pacific............  0  1  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      31:45     WWU     Hutter (Fernandez)

2.      78:55     SPU     Tollan (Erazo)

 

Shots: WWU 12, SPU 10

Shots on Goal: SPU 5, WWU 2

Saves: WWU 4 (Locke - 2), SPU 1 (Welty – 1)

Corners: SPU 6, WWU 2

Fouls: WWU 17, SPU 15

Offsides: WWU 5, SPU 2

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), SPU (Maroon)

Records: WWU (4-6-5, 1-4-4), SPU (4-7-3, 2-4-2)

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the GNAC schedule and standings through conference play on Saturday:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2023 regular-season schedule and results:

 

 

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.