BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 1-0 setback against Saint Martin's University Thursday evening in front of a packed crowed of 522 fans at Harrington Field.
Playing for the first time in 12 days, the Vikings generated plenty of opportunities with 28 shots, but were unable to find the back of the net in the narrow loss to drop to 3-3-1 overall and 0-1-0 in conference play.
With just over two minutes left in the match, the Saints found fortune in a giveaway that was deflected past the Vikings back line. Freshman forward Xander Koenig, a local product from Bellingham's Squalicum High School, was able to dribble into the box and slot the ball under WWU goalkeeper Brandon Locke to find the late winning goal in the 88th minute.
Western controlled the flow of most of the match, out-shooting Saint Martin's 28-9 and holding an 8-4 in shots on goal. The Vikings also had multiple set-piece chances with 10 corner kicks compared to just one for the Saints.
The Vikings gained momentum with 15 second-half chances and nearly scored the go-ahead goal just prior to the Saints late-game dramatics. Andrew Rotter crossed a ball into the middle of the box where Albin Jonsson was greeted by a hard tackle by SMU defender Zack Martin with the shot going just right of the post.
Saints goalkeeper Nick Mueller made eight saves for his GNAC-leading third shutout of the season. Locke made three saves against nine total shots faced.
"It was a tough night for us. We created enough chances to win the game but were very average in the final third in all aspects," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "Margins are too thin in the GNAC not to take advantage of those opportunities. We will see if we can dig ourselves out of this hole and get one back on Saturday on the road."
Gallery: (9-28-2023) MSOC | WWU vs. Saint Martin's
Saint Martin's 1, Western Washington 0
Date: September 28, 2023
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 522
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-----------------------------------------
Saint Martin's............. 0 1 - 1
Western Washington......... 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 87:52 SMU Koenig
Shots: WWU 28, SMU 9
Shots on Goal: WWU 8, SMU 4
Saves: WWU 3 (Locke - 3), SMU 8 (Mueller - 8)
Corners: WWU 10, SMU 1
Fouls: WWU 11, SMU 11
Offsides: WWU 3, SMU 0
Kits: WWU (Navy), SMU (White)
Records: WWU (3-3-1, 0-1-0), SMU (3-2-1, 1-0-0)
WWU (3-3-1, 0-1-0 GNAC) is back in action Saturday taking to the road for the first time in GNAC play traveling to play at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The Vikings and Nighthawks are scheduled for a 4 pm MT/3 pm PT kickoff. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_MSOC.
Here is a look at the GNAC schedule and standings from the opening day of conference play:
|
MEN'S SOCCER
|
CONF
|
PTS
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
1-0-0
|
3
|
3-2-1
|
.583
|
0-0-0
|
2-0-0
|
1-2-1
|
W1
|
|
Western Oregon
|
0-0-1
|
1
|
3-2-1
|
.583
|
1-0-1
|
1-2-0
|
1-0-0
|
T1
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
0-0-1
|
1
|
3-2-2
|
.571
|
1-2-1
|
1-0-1
|
1-0-0
|
T2
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
0-0-1
|
1
|
2-3-2
|
.429
|
0-0-1
|
2-2-1
|
0-1-0
|
T1
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
0-0-1
|
1
|
2-3-2
|
.429
|
0-1-1
|
2-2-1
|
0-0-0
|
T2
|
|
Western Washington
|
0-1-0
|
0
|
3-3-1
|
.500
|
2-1-0
|
1-2-1
|
0-0-0
|
L1
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-0-0
|
-
|
3-2-1
|
.583
|
1-0-0
|
2-0-0
|
0-2-1
|
T1
|
|
THIS WEEK'S GNAC SCHEDULE
|
|
Thursday, September 28:
at Western Oregon 2, Simon Fraser 2
Seattle Pacific 1, at Northwest Nazarene 1
Saint Martin's 1, at Western Washington 0
Saturday, September 30:
Western Washington at Northwest Nazarene, 4 pm MT
Saint Martin's at Simon Fraser, 6 pm
Western Oregon at Montana State Billings, 7 pm MT
|
SERIES HISTORY VS. SAINT MARTIN'S
WWU had its seven-game winning streak and nine-game unbeaten streak vs. Saint Martin's snapped in the 1-0 loss…Thursday marked the 33rd meeting between the two programs with WWU leading the all-time series 23-8-2.
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:
|
2023 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
3-3-1
|
|
Streak
|
L1
|
|
Home
|
2-1-0
|
|
Away
|
1-2-1
|
|
Neutral
|
0-0-0
|
|
GNAC Record
|
0-1-0
|
|
Non-Conference
|
3-2-1
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
0-0-0
|
|
Scoring First
|
3-0-0
|
|
Opponent Scores First
|
0-3-1
|
|
Lead at the Half
|
3-0-0
|
|
Tied at the Half
|
0-2-1
|
|
Trail at the Half
|
0-1-0
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
0-2-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
2-1-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
1-0-0
|
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)
|
4:00 pm MT
|
|
Oct. 5 (Thur.)
|
Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
|
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.
