Box Score BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Oregon continued their magical late season surge with a 3-1 win over Western Washington on Saturday afternoon at Harrington Field.
In winning their sixth straight match, the Wolves also won their third straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship. They shared the title last year with Seattle Pacific and won it outright in 2024.
The Wolves will head into the GNAC Championship tournament in Seattle next week with a 11-3-5 overall record. They win the GNAC regular season title with a 7-1-2 mark (23 points). Seattle Pacific finished second at 7-2-1 (22 points).
In winning the conference crown, Western Oregon becomes the first team to capture three straight GNAC titles since Simon Fraser did so from 2016-18.
"I am so proud of these guys," said Wolves head coach Andrew May. "It's been a long season with ups and downs, but together as a team we were able to win our third straight GNAC title. This team showed grit and determination to finish the season strong with an unmatched desire to claim the GNAC."
Western Washington's season ends at 3-6-1 in the GNAC and they are 9-8-2 overall.
The Wolves scored three straight times before the Vikings got on the board.
The first score came in the 27th minute when Charlie Matsumoto intercepted a pass and drilled a shot from 10-yards out. That 1-0 score held up into halftime, but WOU added a quick score right after intermission on Ignacio Brandan's bullet into the lower left half of the goal, off a pass from Marcos Figueroa at 46:12. In the 66th minute, Davin Randall added another tally and the celebration was on.
Western Washington got on the board via a penalty kick in the 73rd minute, but WOU's defense held on from there to preserve the victory. Goalkeeper Austin Valdez had five saves on the day, including one with 30 seconds left.
WWU outshot the Wolves 15-11, while WOU had a slight advantage in shots on goal, 7-6. The Vikings had four corner kicks, the Wolves two.
"We will celebrate this accomplishment and quickly switch our focus to the GNAC tournament," May added. "We will get back to work and keep doing the things that got us here."
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Western Oregon University Athletics
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