BURNABY, B.C. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team erased a 3-0 deficit with a trio of second-half goals, but the late-game heroics fell short in a 5-3 loss to Seattle Pacific University Thursday afternoon in the GNAC Championships semifinal.

The opening game of the inaugural GNAC Men's Soccer Championship was played at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex, a late change from the scheduled site at Terry Fox Field on the Simon Fraser University campus due to heavy fog on Burnaby Mountain. WWU entered the game as the No. 3 seed, falling to the No. 2 seed Falcons. SPU moves on to face No. 1 seed Western Oregon in Saturday's title game at 11 am.

After a scoreless first 20 minutes of action, where SPU controlled much of the possession, the Falcons broke through with two goals in a span of just over a minute to take a 2-0 lead. JJ Diaz scored the opener in the 22nd minute and Connor Tollan doubled the early lead just over one minute later. SPU made it a 3-0 halftime lead on a goal by Lucas Witthauer in the 39th minute.

WWU started on the comeback trail just over five minutes into the second half when freshman Zack Robertson got on the end of a cross by sophomore Reiley Buri-Brown for his third goal of the season, all coming in the final five matches.

A pair of goals by senior Joar Tidblom in the 59th and 63rd minutes tied the game 3-3 midway through the second half. Tidblom's first goal came on another assist by Buri-Brown with senior teammate Albin Jonsson setting up the equalizer go give Tidblom 10 goals on the season to tie for 10th-most in single season program history.

SPU scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal in the 72nd minute, and added an insurance goal early in the 80th minute, with Diaz completing the hat trick on a pair of assists by Lukas Shriner.

WWU held a 16-9 advantage in shots and 7-5 in shots on goal. 

Seattle Pacific 5, Western Washington 3

Date: November 13, 2025

Field: Burnaby Lake Sports Complex   Site: Burnaby, B.C.

Attendance: 35

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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Western Washington............  0  3  -  3

Seattle Pacific...............  3  2  -  5

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.       21:20        SPU        Diaz (Ketcham)

2.       22:44        SPU        Tollan (Lucio)

3.       38:33        SPU        Witthauer (Chel Lara)

4.       50:35        WWU        Robertson (Buri-Brown)

5.       58:14        WWU        Tidblom (Buri-Brown)

6.       62:13        WWU        Tidblom (Jonsson)

7.       71:15        SPU        Diaz (Shriner)

8.       79:04        SPU        Diaz (Shriner)

Shots: WWU 16, SPU 9

Shots on Goal: WWU 7, SPU 5

Saves: WWU 0 (Dyer - 0), SPU 4 (Lanier - 4)

Corners: SPU 5, WWU 4

Fouls: WWU 13, SPU 11

Offsides: SPU 2, WWU 1

Kits: WWU (Black), SPU (White)

Updated Records: WWU (8-8-3), SPU (12-3-4)

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