BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team is back in action Saturday with its only game of the week hosting Montana State Billings in a GNAC contest at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings lead off Saturday's soccer doubleheader at Harrington Field taking on MSUB at 4 pm, with the women's team entertaining Simon Fraser in the 7 pm contest. The doubleheader is part of the campus Latine Heritage Month Celebration and also a featured event during Fall Family Weekend.

 

WWU enters the game vs. the Yellowjackets with a 3-4-3 overall record and is in 5th place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with four points (1-2-1).

 

Western is coming off its biggest offensive game of the season defeating Saint Martin's 7-2 last Saturday in Lacy, the most goals scored in a game by a GNAC team this season.

 

The Vikings defense has been solid all season with a 1.10 goals against average to rank 2nd in the GNAC.

 

 

The Vikings scored a season-high seven goals in the 7-2 win over Saint Martin's last Saturday to record their first GNAC victory this season. The seven goals scored are the most by the Vikings since a 7-0 win vs. Northwest Nazarene on October 30, 2010. The seven goals are tied for 3rd-most in a game in program history, with the 10 assists tied for 2nd-most in a game in program history trailing only the 11 in the win over NNU in 2010. Senior winger Andrew Rotterscored a late brace as six players combined to score goals and eight tallied an assist.

 

The Western Washington University soccer programs will host a doubleheader Saturday at Harrington Field to celebrate Latine Heritage Month. Games are scheduled for 4 pm with the Viking men hosting Montana State Billings and 7 pm with the WWU women playing Simon Fraser. The games will serve as a part of the campus celebration of Latine Heritage Month at WWU, with special programming, several clubs tabling at the event, prize giveaways and a visit by The Burrito King Taco Truck. The Starting XI for each team will also be read in Spanish and music celebrating Latine Heritage Month will be played prior to and between games.

 

Here is a statistical comparison through the first week of the season for the Vikings and opponents this week:

 

 

Junior winger Albin Jonsson has made 46 career appearances in three seasons with the Vikings, combining to score 16 goals and contributing 10 assists for 42 total points. Jonsson is tied for 15th in program history in points, tied for 13th in goals scored and tied for 4th with seven game-winning goals.

 

Here is a look at the overall records for the seven GNAC programs heading into Saturday's games to conclude the third week of conference play this week. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

WWU went 1-1-0 last week, dropping a narrow 2-1 contest at home vs. Northwest Nazarene and going on the road for a 7-2 win at Saint Martin's. WWU was off Thursday and is back on the field Saturday at 4 pm vs. MSUB.

 

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

 

·         MSU Billings: Vikings went 1-0-1 vs. MSUB last season, winning 2-0 on the road and playing to a scoreless draw at home…WWU leads the all-time series 24-11-4 and carries a nine-game undefeated streak (6-0-3) into Saturday's game…Western is 13-6-1 all-time vs. the Yellowjackets in home games (5-3-1 at Harrington Field).

 

All games during Great Northwest Athletic Conference play – home or away – will feature a live webcast via YouTube. Home games will stream through Vikings TV, with fans able to access the games online by searching for WWU Athletics on YouTube. Here are links to follow games this week with the Vikings on the road.

 

• Webcast – Live Coverage
• Live Stats – wwuvikings.com/MS_Stats

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2024 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2024 regular-season schedule:

 

 

Tickets can be purchased at the Harrington Field Office beginning one hour prior to kickoff. Current WWU students gain free admission to all home events in 2024-25 by showing their active W card at the entrance. Free fan parking is available in C lots adjacent to Harrington Field and the 12G diagonal parking on College Way. Advanced ticket sales and season ticket packages are also available online at wwuvikings.com/Tickets.

 

The Vikings are listed in a tie for 3rd place in the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Coming off a 6-6-6 overall record in 2023 and a tie for 3rd-place finish in the conference, the Vikings received 32 points in a vote of the conference's seven head coaches. Defending champion Simon Fraser is listed first with 43 points and gathering five first-place votes. Western Oregon is 2nd with 41 points and the remaining two first-place votes. WWU is tied with rival Seattle Pacific for the No. 3 spot ahead of No. 5 Northwest Nazarene (25 points). Here is a look at the final voting tally from the 2024 GNAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll:

 

 

The Vikings are led by four co-captains in 2024 with seniors Lucas Hakamada and Jacob Sundberg, junior Joar Tidblom and sophomore Edgar Serrano forming the team leadership group.

 

For the fourth time in the last seven years, the WWU men's soccer team has earned the prestigious United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award. The Vikings maintained a team GPA of 3.48 during the 2023-24 academic year to lead all teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western also landed a Starting XI on the GNAC All-Academic team in 2023, extending an impressive stretch placing at least 10 student-athletes on the GNAC All-Academic team in each of the last seven years, combining for 82 academic all-conference honors during this stretch beginning in 2017.

 

Since moving home games to Harrington Field on the south edge of campus in 2014, the Vikings have combined to go 48-25-15 for a .631 winning percentage (2-2-1 in 2024, 4-2-2 in 2023, 7-1-3 in 2022). WWU is 31-12-8 at Harrington Field over the last six seasons (since 2018). Combining with the WWU women's team, both programs have combined to go 137-32-24 (.772) playing at Harrington Field.

 

In his 12th season as head coach and 23rd associated with WWU soccer, head coach Greg Brisbon returns a veteran squad that went 6-6-6 overall and were in contention for the GNAC title until the final week of the season with an 3-4-5 mark in conference play. The Vikings played in the 2019 NCAA Championships and in the midst of a strong eight-season stretch (since 2016) combining to go 71-45-26 (.592) with a 45-25-16 (.616) record in GNAC play. Brisbon owns an all-time head coaching record of 96-67-33 (.575). He is assisted in 2024 by Chuck Pitts, Matt Zigulis and Kyle Langowski. Brisbon is four wins short of reaching 100 career head coaching wins.

 

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 completed its 44th varsity season in 2023 and has recorded a season record at or above the .500 mark in 11 of the last 12 seasons. 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 four GNAC Players of the Year since joining the conference in 2001. Off the field, WWU has built a strong academic reputation with 82 GNAC All-Academic selections over the last seven years.