CHICO, Calif.  – The Western Washington University men's soccer team conceded a pair of early first-half goals and were unable to mount a comeback in a 2-0 loss at Chico State University Saturday evening in non-conference play at University soccer Stadium.

 

Chico scored in the 9th and 14th minutes, and then played strong defense the rest of the way to record the shutout victory over the Vikings. WWU completed its season-opening road trip to Northern California with a 0-1-1 record, also recording a 1-1 tie Thursday at Sonoma State. The Wildcats won both their games against GNAC opponents also defeating Seattle Pacific 2-0 on Thursday.

 

"Tonight was a tough loss…we didn't do enough in the first 15 minutes to match the intensity of Chico State and were punished for it," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "But we never gave up and had some moments. There is a lot to be optimistic about."

 

The Wildcats jumped out to the early lead with a pair of goals within the first 14 minutes of the first half. After scoring in the seventh minute of their season-opening 2-0 win over Seattle Pacific, Chico went up 1-0 against the Vikings with a ninth-minute strike.

 

Chico State drove through the Vikings midfield Miles Rice crossed a ball that trickled through the box to Noah Ross who slotted it home into the lower right corner at the 8:05 mark in the game. Exactly five minutes later, the Wildcats went up 2-0 when Rice scored his third goal of the season pounding home a shot from close quarters following up a saved shot by Cayden Hotaling.

 

Both teams were credited with 12 shots, but Chico State held a 5-2 edge in shots on goal. 

 

WWU senior goalkeeper Brandon Locke was credited with three saves while playing all 90 minutes between the posts.

 

Chico State 2, Western Washington 0

Date: September 2, 2023

Field: University Soccer Stadium   Site: Chico, CA

Attendance: 210

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

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

Chico State................  2  0  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.       8:05     CHICO     Ross (Rice)

2.      13:05     CHICO     Rice (Hotaling)

 

Shots: WWU 12, CHICO 12

Shots on Goal: CHICO 5, WWU 2

Saves: WWU 3 (Locke - 3), CHICO 2 (Padilla - 2)

Corners: CHICO 6, WWU 5

Fouls: CHICO 11, WWU 10

Offsides: CHICO 1, WWU 0

Kits: WWU (White), CHICO (Black)

Records: WWU (0-1-1), CHICO (2-0-0)

 

WWU (0-1-1) returns home to Bellingham for a quick stop and then is back on the road heading to Southern California next week to face Concordia in Irvine on Thursday (Sept. 7, 6:30 pm) and Point Loma in San Diego on Saturday (Sept. 9, 1 pm). The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.

 

The Vikings dropped to 10-13-0 all-time vs. Chico State and are 3-4-0 dating back to 2016 when facing the Wildcats. Western is now 5-7-0 all-time in road games at University Soccer Stadium.

 

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.

 

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 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.