SALT LAKE CITY – The Western Washington University men's soccer team took to the road for the first time in 2024 and dropped a tight 1-0 non-conference game against Westminster University Thursday evening at Dumke Field.
WWU dropped to 2-2-1 on the season with both losses coming in 1-0 contests. Westminster remained unbeaten improving to 3-0-2 on the season.
The Griffins scored the game's lone goal late in the 22nd minute when Deontae Ben connected on a header near the edge of the box off a Westminster corner. That was the lone shot for the Griffins in the first 68 minutes of the contest, but proved to be enough for the one-goal victory.
The Vikings looked to equalize in the 78th when senior midfielder Lucas Hakamada found the back of the net off a deflected shot by senior winger Andrew Rotter, but the offside flag went up to nullify the goal. Western had another scoring chance in the 82nd minute when senior midfielder Kaydin Wall swung a corner into the box where sophomore defender Sebastiano Silvetti headed it towards the upper right corner of the goal, but Westminster goal keeper Roark Looney made fourth and final save of the game.
WWU held an 11-5 advantage in shots, with both teams recording four shots on goal.
Sophomore goalkeeper Charlie Dyer made three more saves to bring his season total to 19 through the first five games.
The Vikings (2-2-1) remains in Salt Lake City taking on Regis (0-1-4) in a neutral-site game on Saturday with kickoff at 11 am MT (10 am PT). The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_MSOC.
Westminster 1, Western Washington 0
Date: September 19, 2024
Field: Dumke Field Site: Salt Lake City, UT
Attendance: 75
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
--------------------------------------------
Western Washington............ 0 0 - 0
Westminster................... 1 0 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 21:59 WU Ben (Wood)
Shots: WWU 11, WU 5
Shots on Goal: WWU 4, WU 4
Saves: WWU 3 (Dyer – 3), WU 4 (Looney – 4)
Corners: WU 4, WWU 3
Fouls: WWU 12, WU 12
Offsides: WWU 2, WU 0
Updated Records: WWU (2-2-1), WU (3-0-2)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2024 season:
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2024 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
2-2-1
|
|
Streak
|
L1
|
|
Home
|
2-1-1
|
|
Away
|
0-1-0
|
|
Neutral
|
0-0-0
|
|
GNAC Record
|
0-0-0
|
|
Non-Conference
|
2-2-1
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
1-1-0
|
|
Scoring First
|
2-0-1
|
|
Opponent Scores First
|
0-2-0
|
|
Lead at the Half
|
1-0-1
|
|
Tied at the Half
|
1-1-0
|
|
Trail at the Half
|
0-1-0
|
|
Record by Kit
|
|
White
|
0-2-1
|
|
Navy Blue
|
2-0-0
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-0-0
|
2024 WWU MEN'S SOCCER RESULTS & SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the Vikings 2024 regular-season schedule:
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DATE
|
OPPONENT
|
LOCATION / VENUE
|
KICKOFF
|
|
Sept. 5 (Thur.)
|
Chico State (#18)
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 1-0
|
|
Sept. 7 (Sat.)
|
Sonoma State
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
T, 1-1
|
|
Sept. 12 (Thur.)
|
Cal State LA (#3)
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
L, 0-1
|
|
Sept. 14 (Sat.)
|
Cal State Dominguez Hills
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 2-1
|
|
Sept. 19 (Thur.)
|
@Westminster
|
Salt Lake City, UT (Dumke Field)
|
L, 0-1
|
|
Sept. 21 (Sat.)
|
vs. Regis
|
Salt Lake City, UT (Dumke Field)
|
11:00 am MT
|
|
Oct. 3 (Thur.)
|
@Western Oregon GNAC
|
Monmouth, OR (WOU Turf Field)
|
12:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 5 (Sat.)
|
@Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
Seattle, WA (Interbay Stadium)
|
7:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 10 (Thur.)
|
Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 12 (Sat.)
|
@Saint Martin's GNAC
|
Lacey, WA (SMU Soccer Field)
|
3:45 pm
|
|
Oct. 19 (Sat.)
|
Montana St. Billings GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
4:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 24 (Thur.)
|
Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 26 (Sat.)
|
@Simon Fraser GNAC
|
Burnaby, BC (Terry Fox Field)
|
2:00 pm
|
|
Oct. 31 (Thur.)
|
@Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
Nampa, ID (NNU Soccer Field)
|
4:00 pm MT
|
|
Nov. 2 (Sat.)
|
Saint Martin's GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
4:00 pm
|
|
Nov. 7 (Thur.)
|
Simon Fraser GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
5:00 pm
|
|
Nov. 9 (Sat.)
|
@Montana St. Billings GNAC
|
Billings, MT (Yellowjacket Soccer Field)
|
6:00 pm MT
|
|
Nov. 14 (Thur.)
|
Western Oregon GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
7:00 pm
|
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.
