NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University men's soccer team remained unbeaten in GNAC play following a 2-2 tie Thursday afternoon against Northwest Nazarene University at NNU Soccer Field.

 

The Vikings trailed 2-1 at halftime, but battled back to score the equalizer on another goal by senior Joar Tidblom. WWU had its four-game winning streak snapped, but remains unbeaten over its last five games to stand at 4-4-3 overall and remains in a tie for 1st place in the conference with 7 points (2-0-1).

 

"Give a lot of credit to NNU today … they made it very difficult for us on both sides of the field," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "I am proud of the group for the way they handled themselves and adjusted in the second half. We created enough chances to get a win, but were unable to execute. We will keep at it and be ready for our next opponent on Saturday at SPU."

 

NNU got off to a quick start scoring the opener early in the 11th minute when Derek Johnson scored the first of his two first half goals dribbling to the top of the 18-yard box and firing a right-footed shot into the lower left corner for his third goal of the season.

 

WWU equalized in the 21st minute when Edgar Serrano landed a bicycle kick on a bounding ball just outside the six-yard box for his first goal of the season.

 

Johnson tallied the brace in the 33rd minute, creating his own space and firing a left-footed shot across the box inside the far post at the 32:35 mark.

 

The Vikings equalized again four minutes into the second half when set-piece specialist Joar Tidblom buried his free kick into the upper left corner from 28 yards out for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. The free kick opportunity was set up by an NNU handball. Tidblom is tied for 2nd in the GNAC with six goals.

 

WWU played a man up over the final 20 minutes of the match when NNU's Illyès El Yansli was shown a red card, but the Vikings couldn't find the go-ahead goal. 

 

Both teams recorded 10 shots and the Vikings held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.

 

The Vikings (4-4-3, 2-0-1 GNAC) remain on the road Saturday taking on rival and No. 12 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific with kickoff set for u7 pm at Interbay Stadium. The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/25_MSOC.

 

Western Washington 2, Northwest Nazarene 2

Date: October 9, 2025

Field: NNU Soccer Field   Site: Nampa, ID

Attendance: 396

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington............  1  1  -  2

Northwest Nazarene............  2  0  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.    10:11        NNU        Johnson

2.    20:42        WWU        Serrano

3.    32:35        NNU        Johnson (Sharif)

4.    49:00        WWU        Tidblom

 

Shots: WWU 10, NNU 10

Shots on Goal: WWU 6, NNU 3

Saves: WWU 1 (Dyer - 1), NNU 4 (Fonte - 4)

Corners: WWU 7, NNU 3

Fouls: NNU 18, WWU 9

Offsides: WWU 5, NNU 0

Kits: WWU (Black), NNU (White)

Updated Records: WWU (4-4-3, 2-0-1), NNU (3-3-3, 0-1-1)

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2025 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the GNAC Men's Soccer standings following Thursday's games to open the second weekend of the 2025 conference slate. The top three teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the inaugural GNAC Championships held November 13-15 in Burnaby, BC hosted by Simon Fraser University. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.