Monday, September 25, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – With a pair of 3-2 victories during their opening two matches of conference play, Western Washington men’s soccer has been awarded this week’s GNAC/Red Lion Team of the Week honor.

The Vikings opened GNAC play on Thursday with a 3-2 victory over Saint Martin’s at Harrington Field. Gaining a 3-0 advantage via a Georg Cholewa goal in the 78th minute, Western Washington was able to ward off a late Saints’ rally to earn its second victory of the season.

Western Washington finished the weekend strong, taking down Seattle Pacific in a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind overtime victory on Saturday. Seattle Pacific entered the contest riding a five-match unbeaten streak, most recently drawing 1-1 at home against defending GNAC champion Simon Fraser two days prior.

With the Vikings down 2-0 at halftime, Anthony Dean tallied WWU’s first score of the match through a 74th minute free kick, giving him his conference-leading sixth goal of the campaign. Drew Farnsworth managed an unnassisted game-tying goal with 3:58 left in the match, which ultimately was followed by a wide-open Stephen Jinneman header just three minutes into overtime to cap off the comeback and improve Western Washington to 3-2-2 this season.

“I am really proud of the team for the results they were able to get last week,” said head coach Greg Brisbon. “Every GNAC game is a challenge. The conference is made up of very good coaches and players across the board.”

Along with his game-tying tally at SPU and goal against Saint Martin’s, Farnsworth was the recipient of this week’s GNAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week award.

The Vikings’ latest overtime thriller was their first overtime victory in five matches this season. In their four previous overtime contests, all of which occurred in non-conference action, the Vikings went 0-2-2 with three of those matches being played at home.

“To get six points in the opening weekend is a great start for us; we are looking to build on it this upcoming week.”

Western Washington sits atop the GNAC leaderboards with Montana State Billings at six points each.

Traveling down to Portland, Ore., this week, the Vikings take on Concordia at Tuominen Yard on Saturday, Sept. 30. The contest marks Western Washington’s final road game before opening a four-game home stand starting against Seattle Pacific on Oct. 5.