BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team made a statement Thursday night blanking rival Seattle Pacific University 2-0 in front of 616 fans at Harrington Field.
The Vikings improved to 4-3-2 overall and picked up their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory to stand at 1-1-1 in conference play.
Western got off to a quick start pressuring the SPU defense and cashed in late in the 10th minute on an own goal to forge ahead 1-0.
The Vikings and Falcons battled it out the rest of the way with WWU adding an insurance goal in the 69th minute. Midfielder Edgar Serrano drew a hard foul in the box and Ryan Rotter stepped up and drilled his penalty shot into the back of the goal to put the game out of reach.
Western played the final seven minutes a man down when Jacob Sundberg was issued his second card of the game, but he Vikings defense kept the Falcons off the scoreboard to record the fourth shutout of the season. Over the last five games the Vikings have allowed just one goal while going 3-1-1.
Senior goalkeeper Brandon Locke made a pair of saves to notch his GNAC leading fourth shutout of the season and moved into a tie for third in the WWU all-time record book with his 15th career shutout.
"It was a great team win tonight," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "I am proud of the group with the way they approached the game and executed the game plan."
SPU dropped to 2-4-2 on the season and 0-1-1 in GNAC play.
The 2-0 victory over SPU capped a 2-0 day at Harrington Field with the WWU women defeating Central Washington 1-0 in the early game. The soccer doubleheader served as a campus celebration for Latine Heritage Month.
Western Washington 2, Seattle Pacific 0
Date: October 5, 2023
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 616
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-----------------------------------------
Seattle Pacific............ 0 0 - 0
Western Washington......... 1 1 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 9:45 WWU Own Goal
2. 68:41 WWU R. Rotter (PK)
Shots: WWU 15, SPU 8
Shots on Goal: WWU 3, SPU 2
Saves: WWU 2 (Locke - 2), SPU 2 (Wilson – 2)
Corners: WWU 4, SPU 3
Fouls: WWU 13, SPU 12
Offsides: WWU 2, SPU 1
Kits: WWU (Light Blue), SPU (Maroon)
Records: WWU (4-3-2, 1-1-1), SPU (2-4-2, 0-1-1)
WWU (4-3-2, 1-1-1 GNAC) is back on the road Saturday facing border rival Simon Fraser University with kickoff at 6 pm on Burnaby Mountain on Terry Fox Field. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.
WWU is now 8-3-2 over the last 13 meetings vs. Seattle Pacific since 2017…the Falcons lead the overall series 39-15-10 dating back to the first meeting in 1978 (according to WWU records).
Gallery: (10-5-2023) MS | WWU 2, SPU 0
Here is a look at the GNAC schedule and standings following play on Thursday:
|
MEN'S SOCCER
|
CONF
|
PTS
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Western Oregon
|
2-0-1
|
7
|
5-2-1
|
.688
|
1-0-1
|
3-2-0
|
1-0-0
|
W2
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
1-0-1
|
4
|
4-2-2
|
.625
|
2-2-1
|
1-0-1
|
1-0-0
|
W1
|
|
Western Washington
|
1-1-1
|
4
|
4-3-2
|
.556
|
3-1-0
|
1-2-2
|
0-0-0
|
W1
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
1-1-0
|
3
|
4-3-1
|
.563
|
1-1-0
|
3-0-0
|
0-2-1
|
W1
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
1-2-0
|
3
|
3-4-1
|
.438
|
0-1-0
|
2-1-0
|
1-2-1
|
L2
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
0-1-2
|
2
|
2-4-3
|
.389
|
0-1-2
|
2-2-1
|
0-1-0
|
L1
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
0-1-1
|
1
|
2-4-2
|
.375
|
0-1-1
|
2-3-1
|
0-0-0
|
L1
|
|
THIS WEEK'S GNAC SCHEDULE
|
|
Thursday, October 5:
Montana State Billings 2, at Saint Martin's 1
Western Oregon 4, at Northwest Nazarene 3
at Western Washington 2, Seattle Pacific 0
Saturday, October 7:
Saint Martin's at Western Oregon, 11 am
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 4:30 pm
Western Washington at Simon Fraser, 6 pm
|
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:
|
2023 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
4-3-2
|
|
Streak
|
W1
|
|
Home
|
3-1-0
|
|
Away
|
1-2-2
|
|
Neutral
|
0-0-0
|
|
GNAC Record
|
1-1-1
|
|
Non-Conference
|
3-2-1
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
0-0-0
|
|
Scoring First
|
4-0-0
|
|
Opponent Scores First
|
0-3-1
|
|
Lead at the Half
|
4-0-0
|
|
Tied at the Half
|
0-2-2
|
|
Trail at the Half
|
0-1-0
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
0-2-1
|
|
Navy Blue
|
2-1-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
2-0-0
|
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)
|
6:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 12 (Thur.)
|
@Western Oregon GNAC
|
Monmouth, OR (WOU Soccer Field)
|
12:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 19 (Thur.)
|
Montana St. Billings GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 21 (Sat.)
|
Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
4:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 26 (Thur.)
|
Western Oregon GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
4:00 pm
|
|
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 71 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last six years.
