BELLINGHAM, Wash.  – The Western Washington University men's soccer team defeated No. 20 Simon Fraser 2-1 on Senior Night Saturday at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings celebrated their five seniors prior to the game and then put together a brilliant 90-minute performance to snap Simon Fraser's seven-game winning streak and hand the Red Leafs their first conference loss of the season.

 

Following a scoreless first half, WWU came out of the halftime break on a mission scoring a pair of goals within the first 14 minutes of action.

 

Junior forward Diego Alvarado scored the opener in the 47th minute on a finish on the edge of the 12-yard box, set up by a long pass from senior goalkeeper Brandon Locke and a crafty assist from junior forward Eric Bunnell. 

 

Just under 12 minutes later, the Vikings struck again in the 59th minute when Elliott Rains provided a Senior Night memory with his second career goal. Junior defender Jacob Sundberg sent a cross that drifted all the way across the box, with Bunnell getting a stud on the ball, where Rains finished from the left side to put Western up 2-0.

 

SFU spoiled the shutout with a late goal in the 89th minute on a strong volley strike from Nicolai Placzek at the 88:17 mark.

 

WWU improved to 5-6-5 overall and 2-4-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. SFU slipped to 10-3-2 overall and 7-1-1 in league play while remaining in first place in the GNAC table.

 

"A great team performance tonight where we got to celebrate a great group of seniors. Simon Fraser was difficult to figure out, but we came out in the second half with great execution and got two big goals," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "I am proud of the resolve and the hard work of this team. We sent the seniors off on a high note in their final game at Harrington Field and happy we could make a lasting memory for them. They are a great group that have given a lot to our program."

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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WWU (5-6-5, 2-4-4 GNAC) closes out the 2023 season next week taking to the road to face Saint Martin's on Thursday in Lacey (1 pm) and Montana State Billings on Saturday (7 pm MT). The complete 2023 schedule with live coverage links and online ticket purchasing available at wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.

 

Western Washington 2, #20 Simon Fraser 1

Date: November 4, 2023

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 161

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

#20 Simon Fraser...........  0  1  -  1

Western Washington.........  0  2  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      46:47     WWU     Alvarado (Bunnell)

2.      58:25     WWU     Rains (Bunnell)

3.      88:17     SFU     Placzek (O'Hea)

 

Shots: SFU 14, WWU 9

Shots on Goal: SFU 6, WWU 5

Saves: WWU 5 (Locke - 3), SFU 3 (Sandhu – 2)

Corners: SFU 5, WWU 2

Fouls: WWU 11, SFU 10

Offsides: SFU 1, WWU 0

Kits: WWU (Navy Blue), SFU (White)

Records: WWU (5-6-5, 2-4-4), SFU (10-3-2, 7-1-1)

 

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

 

 

The Vikings split the season series with their border rivals, winning 2-1 at home and losing 3-1 in Burnaby on October 7…over the last 14 meetings since the start of the 2016 season WWU is 6-6-2 vs. SFU…SFU leads the all-time series 42-21-8.

 

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: