BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team continues its conference schedule with a pair of games this week hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and traveling to play Saint Martin's on Saturday.

 

The Vikings are 2-3-3 overall and off to a 0-1-1 start to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. After a week off following the tough non-conference schedule, the Vikings opened conference play falling 1-0 on the road to then No. 25 Western Oregon and tying Seattle Pacific 2-2 in a rivalry game at Interbay Stadium.

 

After playing the last four games on the road, WWU returns home to Harrington Field for Thursday's 7 pm game vs. NNU. The Vikings are 2-1-1 at home this season.

 

Western's defense leads the GNAC with a .875 goals against average, led by sophomore goalkeeper Charlie Dyer averaging 3.75 saves per game while playing every minute between the pipes for the Vikings.

 

Junior winger Albin Jonsson leads the team and is tied for 6th in the GNAC with a pair of goals, including the late equalizer in Saturday's 2-2 tie at SPU. Jonsson is climbing WWU's record book in several offensive categories, including tied for 13th all-time with 16 goals and tied for 16th with 40 points.

 

Freshman Reiley Buri-Brown is tied for 2nd in the conference with three assists, followed closely by senior teammate Eric Bunnell with a pair of assists in the first eight games of the season.

 

 

WWU is back home next week hosting Montana State Billings on Thursday at 4 pm in the first game of a soccer doubleheader at Harrington Field to celebrate Latine Heritage Month.

 

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 44 career appearances in three seasons with the Vikings, combining to score 16 goals and contributing eight assists for 40 total points. Jonsson is tied for 16th in program history in points, tied for 13th in goals scored and tied for 4th with seven game-winning goals.

 

After opening the season with a four-game homestand, the Vikings are on the tail end of string of games playing five of six away from Bellingham. Following Saturday's game at Saint Martin's, WWU will feature a home heavy slate with five of the next eight contests at Harrington Field.

 

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

 

 

Went 0-1-1 last week to open GNAC play, falling to then No. 25 Western Oregon 1-0 on the road and playing rival Seattle Pacific to a back-and-forth 2-2 tie at Interbay Stadium.

 

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

 

·         Northwest Nazarene: Went 0-1-1 vs. NNU last season, playing to a scoreless draw in Nampa and falling 1-0 at Harrington Field…Nighthawks have four-game unbeaten streak vs. the Vikings with WWU's last win in the series coming October 30, 2021 in Bellingham…WWU leads the all-time series 20-10-4 with a 10-4-2 mark in home games.

·         Saint Martin's: Went 0-1-1 vs. SMU last season, falling 1-0 at home and tied 2-2 in Lacey…Western leads the all-time series 23-8-3 dating back to first meeting in 2007 and 9-6-2 in road games vs. the Saints…current five-game undefeated streak in Lacey (4-0-1) after dropping four consecutive games on the road to the Saints.

 

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. 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 48-24-15 for a .638 winning percentage (2-1-1 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 136-31-24 (.775) 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 70-44-26 (.593) with a 44-24-16 (.619) record in GNAC play. Brisbon owns an all-time head coaching record of 95-66-33 (.575). He is assisted in 2024 by Chuck Pitts, Matt Zigulis and Kyle Langowski.

 

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.