BELLINGHAM, Wash.  – A trio of timely goals and a stalwart defensive effort led the Western Washington University men's soccer team to a 3-0 shutout victory in non-conference play over Colorado School of Mines Thursday night at Harrington Field.

Playing their home opener at Harrington Field, the Vikings improved to 2-2-1 on the season behind goals from sophomore striker Albin Jonsson (20'), Edgar Serrano (53') and Andrew Rotter (77'). 

"I am really impressed with how we managed the game and played with the lead against a quality side like Mines," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "The goals were fantastic, but the entire team effort stands out in a big win to open the home schedule. We'll see if we can build off this with the intensity and focus against Regis."

The Vikings opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Jonsson slotted home his third goal of the young season and 12th in 23 career games. The Rotter brothers – Ryan and Andrew – played a 1-2 pass sequence near the top of the box with Andrew threading a pass to Jonsson who calmly finished to the far post with his right foot.

Holding a 1-0 lead at halftime, WWU added on just under eight minutes into the second half. Junior forward Eric Bunnell drew a foul outside the 18-yard box setting up a free-kick scoring chance for the Vikings. Redshirt freshman Edgar Serrano placed the ball into an untouchable spot in upper right corner for his first career goal at the 52:44 mark.

Western closed the game out with its third goal of the contest in the 77th minute when Andrew Rotter found the back of the net from a sharp angle on the right side of the frame. Junior midfielder Adan Fernandez set up the Vikings third goal with a long through ball and Rotter did the rest scoring his second goal of the season.

WWU held a 12-11 advantage in shots, but had a 6-2 lead in shots on goal.

The Vikings defense recorded the first shutout of the season with senior goalkeeper Brandon Locke making a pair of saves to notch his 12th career shutout to move into a tie for 5th place in the WWU record book.

WWU (2-2-1) returns to action Saturday hosting Regis University (2-2-1) at 7 pm at Harrington Field. 

M⚽️ | Want to talk about a perfectly-placed free kick...watch this stunner from Edgar "Cuauh" Serrano into the upper right V to help send @SoccerWWU to a 3-0 victory over Colorado School of Mines. Great call by Adam Race via Vikings TV. pic.twitter.com/i7Ot5EIof4
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) September 15, 2023
 

Western Washington 3, Colorado School of Mines 0
Date: September 14, 2023
Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 181

Goals by period              1  2    Tot
-----------------------------------------
Colorado Mines.............  0  0  -  0
Western Washington.........  1  2  -  3

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.      19:21     WWU      Jonsson (A.Rotter, R.Rotter)
2.      52:44     WWU      Serrano (Free Kick)
3.      76:21     WWU      Rotter,A (Fernandez)

Shots: WWU 12, Mines 11
Shots on Goal: WWU 6, Mines 2
Saves: WWU 2 (Locke - 2), Mines 3 (Allaire - 2)
Corners: Mines 7, WWU 3
Fouls: WWU 15, Mines 14
Offsides: WWU 4, Mines 1
Kits: WWU (Navy), Mines (White)
Records: WWU (2-2-1), Mines (0-1-3)

WWU (2-2-1) remains at home hosting Regis University (2-2-1) on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm at Harrington Field. The match vs. the Rangers closes out the six-game non-conference schedule prior to heading into the GNAC opener September 28 vs. Saint Martin's. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.

WWU improved to 4-1-0 all-time vs. Colorado School of Mines and has a current four-game winning streak in the head-to-head series. Albin Jonsson has scored the game-winning goal in each of the last two victories over the Orediggers. WWU's defense has not allowed a home goal against Mines in the last two meetings at Harrington Field.

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

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 71 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last six years.