Western Washington men’s soccer lost its first match of the season to No. 3 Cal State LA 1-0 Thursday, Sept. 12 at Harrington Field.
“They did fantastic tonight,” coach Greg Brisbon said. “They did what we asked for them and are still figuring things out on their own. It is disappointing to lose because I thought we had a point tonight.”
The Vikings held the Golden Eagles scoreless for 87 minutes until Cal State’s Sergio Vega was tripped in the box. Vega stepped up and nailed the penalty kick down the middle of the net.
Western had a few chances to respond in the final minutes. The Vikings had a free kick outside of the box, a corner kick headed off the crossbar and a final-minute shot over the crossbar.
“We had really good chances to put a stamp on the game,” Brisbon said. “At this level and against a team like LA, your chances are very slim and it can bounce one way or another. Tonight it bounced in LA’s direction.”
Western had a few opportunities to start the game as well. In the third minute, the Vikings crossed the ball but Eric Bunnell missed the header. Albin Jonsson had a wide-open net from a cross and placed his shot wide right in the 17th minute. Shortly after, Johnson crossed a ball to Bunnell who shot it over the crossbar.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles began to flip the field and pressured the Vikings. However, Western’s defense held strong throughout the match.
“In a game like this, you have to weather the storms,” Brisbon said. “We knew it would be a tough first ten minutes but once we got through it, we settled down and started created some chances of our own.”
Although the Vikings lost their first match, Brisbon is proud of his squad during a challenging homestand. The Vikings have already faced two ranked two teams and return to Harrington Field Sept. 14 against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
“We got to see if we can play this consistent and well against teams not as good as LA,” Brisbon said.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
