The Western Washington University men’s soccer team prevailed in a 2-1 victory over Montana State University Billings on a windy, wet, and cold Saturday afternoon at Robert S. Harrington Field.
Western boosted its record to 4-4-3 overall and 2-2-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with back-to-back victories last week. The Vikings are now tied for fourth place in GNAC with MSUB.
The game got off to a hot start, despite the 40-degree weather, with Western fourth-year defender Jacob Sundberg fouling MSUB second-year forward Jackson Hanley, forcing a penalty kick just one minute into the match.
Attempting the shot was third-year defender Guillermo Gonzalez, whose penalty kick found the upper left corner of the net to put the Yellowjackets up 1-0 in the first minute of play.
However, this lead would not last very long, as the Yellowjackets third-year defender Isaac Perez fouled Vikings third-year forward Albin Jonsson in the penalty box.
This chain of events led to another penalty shot for the Vikings. Second-year midfielder Edgar Serrano found the lower left corner of the goal, tying the score 1-1, only two minutes into the game
“Yeah, we were just very unlucky in the first few minutes,” Serrano said. “The boys showed that we could deal with adversity, go get one back and just put me in front of the goal and I'll slot it in.”
The Yellowjackets, seeking to take a lead in the match again, put up a barrage of five shots in the next 15 minutes.
In the 18th minute, the Vikings had a goal-scoring opportunity on a corner kick. Fourth-year forward Eric Bunnell jumped up to header a cross but his shot was saved by MSUB first-year goalkeeper Fred Reiter.
Two minutes later, Bunnell received a corner kick from Sundberg and as Bunnell dribbled around the defender to pinpoint a small opening, he took a shot and scored. The goal came 20 minutes into the game and gave the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
“Not very many teams can hang with us,” Serrano said.
The Viking's defense was able to hold the Yellowjackets off the scoreboard for the rest of the match as they attempted 15 shots. Second-year goalkeeper Charlie Dyer had four saves for the Vikings.
On the other side of the pitch, Western fired 13 shots with eight of them being on target and two of them scoring for the Vikings.
“We knew it was not much of a soccer game,” head coach Greg Brisbon said, regarding the weather of the game. “The weather was a major factor but we dealt with the conditions and persevered.”
The weather of the game was racing with a peak of 20 mph winds and 50 mph gusts, making the rain blow a steady 45 degrees for most of the match.
“The weather conditions for our soccer games at Harrington Field on Saturday were pretty crazy,” Jeff Evans, Western’s assistant athletic director for athletic communications said.
Western's next game will be up against their biggest rival, after coming off a big win against Seattle Pacific University on Thursday night Oct. 24.
Alex Couckuyt (they/them) is a Sports and Recreation reporter for The Front. They are a senior studying multidisciplinary studies with a minor in psychology and public relations. In their free time, they enjoy painting star wars miniatures and playing Magic the Gathering. You can reach them at alexcouckuyt.thefront@gmail.com.
