BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team closes out the home portion of the 2023 schedule on Saturday hosting No. 20 Simon Fraser University for Senior Night with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings carry a 4-6-5 overall mark into the home finale vs. SFU with a 1-4-4- mark in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. WWU enters the penultimate week of the 2023 season with three contests remaining, finishing the season next week with road contests at Saint Martin's in Lacey and Montana State Billings.

 

WWU is coming off a pair of draws last week, tying Western Oregon 2-2 at home and rival Seattle Pacific 1-1 on the road. The Vikings five ties have equaled the program single-season record matching the 2017 squad.

 

Prior to Saturday's home finale under the lights at Harrington Field, the program will celebrate the five-player senior class with Elliott Rains, Mitchell Hutter, Brandon Locke, Theo Steinmetz and Kyota Hiate playing their final home game. 

 

The complete 2023 season schedule – complete with links to follow all the matches, statistics and player bios – can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.

 

 

Through seven home games this season, the Vikings are averaging 334 fans per game at Harrington Field, a mark that ranks 5th among NCAA Division II men's soccer programs across the country and 2nd among West Region teams.

 

Here is a look at the GNAC schedule and standings heading into the penultimate Saturday of competition during the 2023 regular season:

 

 

Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and opponent this week:

 

• Simon Fraser: Facing SFU for the second time this season after falling to the Red Leafs 3-1 on October 7 on Burnaby Mountain…over the last 13 meetings since the start of the 2016 season SFU holds a slim 6-5-2 lead in the series…SFU leads the all-time series 42-20-8.

 

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

 

 

All home matches will stream live on YouTube via Vikings TV. Additionally, every away GNAC match will feature a webcast on YouTube produced by the visiting team. To watch WWU home matches on your Smart TV, navigate to the YouTube application and search for WWU Athletics, or for away games search for the opposing school's YouTube channel (example: Seattle Pacific Athletics). All WWU links to follow the Vikings online can be found online, but be sure to bookmark the following links for easy access:

 

• Vikings TV (WWU home matches)
• GNAC Live Streams
• Direct Link to watch WWU matches (wwuvikings.com/MS_Watch)
• Direct Link to follow WWU matches via live stats (wwuvikings.com/MS_Stats)

 

Senior goalkeeper Brandon Locke has appeared in 44 career games in goal for the Vikings since debuting during the 2019 season. Locke has recorded 16 shutouts to rank tied for 2nd in program history (record is 18) and currently has the lowest Goals Against Average (0.81) of any Viking goalkeeper and highest save percentage (.788).

 

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

 

 

The 2023 roster features a pair of brothers in junior forward Andrew Rotter and sophomore midfielder Ryan Rotter. The Rotter brothers join their older brother, Christian, who starred for the Vikings from 2016-19 appearing in 72 games while totaling 42 points with 13 goals and 16 assists.

 

The Vikings are led by three co-captains in 2023 with seniors Brandon Locke, Theo Steinmetz and Mitchell Hutter all taking reigns of team leadership.

 

Since moving home games to Harrington Field on the south edge of campus in 2014, the Vikings have combined to go 45-23-14 for a .634 winning percentage (3-2-2 in 2023, 7-1-3 in 2022). WWU is 28-11-7 at Harrington Field over the last five seasons (since 2018). Combining with the WWU women's team, both programs have combined to go 130-29-20 (.782) playing at Harrington Field (9-3-3 this season).

 

In his 11th season as head coach and 23rd associated with WWU soccer, head coach Greg Brisbon returns 15 letterwinners, including seven starters, from the 2022 squad that went 12-4-3 overall and were in contention for the GNAC title until the final game of the season with an 8-4-0 mark in conference play. The Vikings are just two full seasons removed from playing in the 2019 NCAA Championships and are in the midst of a strong eight-season stretch (since 2016) combining to go 66-41-22 (.597) with a 42-23-14 (.620) record in GNAC play. Brisbon owns an all-time head coaching record of 91-63-29 (.577). He is assisted in 2023 by Chuck Pitts, 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 nine of the last 10 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 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.