LACEY, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's soccer team clinched a spot in the postseason with Thursday's 2-0 road victory over Saint Martin's University at the Regional Athletic Complex.
WWU improved to 8-6-3 overall and jumped into the first-place spot in the GNAC standings with 19 points (6-2-1) heading into Saturday's regular-season finale at Western Oregon. Western officially punched its ticket to the inaugural GNAC Men's Soccer Championships that will be held November 13-15 at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, B.C. WWU, Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific will make up the three-team field, but the regular-season champion and tournament seeding will not be decided until following Saturday's games.
"A great result for the program today. We created numerous chances to score and were able to convert two really nice goals," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "I am proud of the team today for qualifying for the GNAC Tournament and looking forward to Saturday for the chance to play for the league title."
The Vikings went up 1-0 in the 25th minute when sophomore Reiley Buri-Brown drew a foul and converted his own free kick from distance into the right corner for his first goal of the season. The GNAC's assist leader celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday.
Western added an insurance goal to put the game away 12 minutes into the second half. Freshman Landon Schulze took a throw ball from senior Albin Jonsson, slotting his shot into the lower left corner for his first collegiate goal.
The Vikings shrugged off their two-game losing streak after recording an eight-game unbeaten streak to turn the season around (started 0-4-2). Thursday's dominating performance against the Saints included WWU holding an 18-5 advantage in total shots and 13-2 in shots on goal.
The game was moved to the Regional Athletic Complex due to unplayable field conditions at Saints Field on the Saint Martin's University campus.
The Vikings (8-6-3, 6-2-1 GNAC) close out the regular season Saturday with a 10 am match against Western Oregon (9-4-4, 5-2-2 GNAC) at the WOU Soccer Field in Monmouth. The game vs. the Wolves has massive implications as the Vikings, Wolves and SPU can all clinch the regular-season GNAC title. The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/25_MSOC.
Western Washington 2, Saint Martin's 0
Date: November 6, 2025
Field: Regional Athletic Complex Site: Lacey, WA
Attendance: 35
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
--------------------------------------------
Western Washington............ 1 1 - 2
Saint Martin's................ 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 24:49 WWU Buri-Brown
2. 56:54 WWU Schulze (Jonsson)
Shots: WWU 18, SMU 5
Shots on Goal: WWU 13, SMU 2
Saves: WWU 2 (Dyer - 2), SMU 11 (Leistiko - 11)
Corners: WWU 2, SMU 1
Fouls: WWU 14, SMU 6
Offsides: WWU 4, SMU 1
Kits: WWU (Black), SMU (White)
Updated Records: WWU (8-6-3, 6-2-1), SMU (1-16-0, 0-9-0)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2025 season:
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2025 RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall Record
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8-6-3
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Streak
|
W1
|
|
Home
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6-2-1
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Away
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2-4-2
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Neutral
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0-0-0
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GNAC Record
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6-2-1
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Non-Conference
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2-4-2
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Ranked Opponents
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1-1-0
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Scoring First
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8-1-0
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Opponent Scores First
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0-5-3
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Lead at the Half
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5-0-0
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Tied at the Half
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3-4-1
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Trail at the Half
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0-2-2
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Record by Kit
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White
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0-2-1
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Navy Blue
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0-3-0
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Light Blue
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4-1-0
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Black
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4-0-2
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GNAC STANDINGS & SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the GNAC Men's Soccer standings following Thursday's games to open the final week 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.
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School
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Points
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GNAC
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Pct.
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Overall
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Pct.
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Home
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Away
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Neutral
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Streak
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Last 10
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1.
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Western Washington *
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19
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6-2-1
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.722
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8-6-3
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.559
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6-2-1
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2-4-2
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0-0-0
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W1
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7-2-1
|
|
2.
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Seattle Pacific *
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17
|
5-2-2
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.667
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10-3-4
|
.706
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6-2-1
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4-1-3
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0-0-0
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W1
|
6-2-2
|
|
3.
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Western Oregon *
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17
|
5-2-2
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.667
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9-4-4
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.647
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4-1-3
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3-2-0
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2-1-1
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W4
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5-3-2
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4.
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Simon Fraser
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13
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4-4-1
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.500
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5-9-3
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.382
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4-3-0
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0-5-2
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1-1-1
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L1
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4-5-1
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5.
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Northwest Nazarene
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11
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3-4-2
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.444
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7-6-4
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.529
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5-1-1
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1-4-2
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1-1-1
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W1
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4-4-2
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6.
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Saint Martin's
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0
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0-9-0
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.000
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1-16-0
|
.059
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0-6-0
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0-6-0
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1-4-0
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L10
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0-10-0
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* Clinched spot in GNAC Championships Nov. 13-15 in Burnaby, BC
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This Week's GNAC Schedule
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Thursday, November 6:
at Western Oregon 3, Simon Fraser 1
Western Washington 2, at Saint Martin's 0
Saturday, November 8:
Western Wasington at Western Oregon, 10:00 am
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 1:00 pm MT
Simon Fraser at Saint Martin's, 1:45 pm
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