Despite having lost 31 out of 36 matches against Seattle Pacific University prior to Thursday’s match, Western’s men’s soccer dominated the Falcons in a 4-0 shutout at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.
The victory was particularly noteworthy for Vikings Head Coach Travis Connell, who became the first Western soccer coach to log 100 victories. Connell has a 11-year record of 100-98-11 with Western.
Thursday’s win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Vikings and bumped their record to 3-3-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, 6-11-0 overall.
Western sophomore midfielder Kellan Brown scored the first goal of the match just six minutes into the game from 23 yards out after an earlier shot was blocked by Vikings junior forward Brendan Quilici.
It would be more than a half an hour until the next goal came, an unexpected blast from 40 yards out by Western sophomore midfielder Oscar Jimenez.
Brown was awarded a penalty kick in the 57th minute of play after an illegal takedown in the goal box. After the penalty kick was blocked, Brown handled the rebound and put the ball back in to set the score at 3-0.
Vikings junior forward Gibson Bardsley sealed the game at 4-0 in the 67th minute with a 15-yard shot off a breakaway assist from junior forward Darragh Simm.
Western goalkeeper Cameron Copps-Tilley recorded his second shutout of the year with four saves in Thursday’s victory.
Adding to the momentous 100th program victory for Connell was the fact that he has a history with the Falcons.
He was a three-year starter and four-year letter winner who helped lead Seattle Pacific University to the NCAA Division II National Championships in 1993. He was team captain his senior year.
The Vikings head to Billings, Mont., to face off against Montana State University Billings at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, for a GNAC matchup.
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