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BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Ryan Schaefer scored the first goal and assisted on the final tally Thursday for 23rd-ranked Western Washington, which defeated Seattle Pacific 4-0 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer game at Harrington Field.
 
As they did in the first meeting, the Vikings got an early goal from Schaefer. This one wasn't as rapid as the 32-second score he netted in WWU's 3-1 win on Oct. 3 in Seattle. Thursday's goal took four minutes longer, but had the same effect of forcing the Falcons to chase a deficit.
 
Christian Rotter assisted on two goals and earned a set piece to initiate another. The latter was a 25th-minute header by Camron Miller off a free kick from Georg Cholewa.
 
Western doubled the 2-0 halftime lead during the second period. Rotter's magnificent dribble and feed set up Johan Espinoza for a point-blank goal in the 59th minute and Shaefer's pass set up Alex Whiting for the final tally in the 73rd.
 
"They beat us. At the end of the day it was 4-0, but it certainly didn't feel that way," said SPU coach Mark Collings, who praised the WWU attackers.
 
"They take their chances well. They are a team that is really comfortable not having the ball. So, when they didn't have the ball, they were totally fine with that. They thrive in transitional moments and set pieces. That's how they got us tonight."
 
Goalkeeper Brandon Locke stopped four shots en route to his fourth shutout, and the Vikings' fifth clean sheet.
 
SPU goalkeeper Lars Helleren was credited with one save.
 
Where They Stand
The Falcons (3-9-1) fell for the fourth time in the last five outings. They dropped to 2-6-0 in GNAC games.
 
Western was a four-goal victor in SPU's last visit to Bellingham, notching a 5-1 decision on Oct. 27, 2018. The Vikings (10-3-1) improved to 7-0-1 in league play to maintain their position atop the GNAC standings.
 
The final shot count showed WWU with a 14-9 lead, but just a 5-4 edge in shots directly on goal. The scoreboard told a different story.
 
First-Half Summary
Rotter got the hosts going early, dribbling down the left flank and beating a defender to reach to the endline before delivering a low cross. Schaefer raced to the near post to get a light touch on the ball before it got to the goalkeeper, diverting it to the left side of the SPU goal at 4:37.
 
The Falcons have conceded the opening goal in 10 of their 13 games this season.

 

The inaugural goal came on Western's second shot of the game, both of them delivered before Travis Swallow's sixth-minute attempt was blocked for the visitors' first try.
 
Each team had chances before the Vikings struck for a second time.
 
In the 12th minute, Cholewa had a 20-yard liner redirected by a defender and Helleren managed to account for the deflection to gather the ball with a dive to his left.
 
Seven minutes later the Falcons went on the break. Titus Grant found Alden Massey along in the right side of the box. As the goalkeeper approached, Massey chipped the ball toward the far corner of the goal, but it traveled wide for a goal kick.
 
The situation for the second goal was instigated when Rotter was taken down by Massey, whose slide tackle knocked the ball away before felling the Vikings forward. The referee whistled for a free kick 35 yards from the SPU goal.
 
Cholewa floated the set piece to the center of the box where Miller rose from behind the 6-yard box to enable the ball to skim off the top of his head and inside the right post at 24:20.
 
Just 3:24 before halftime, SPU freshman Skyor Rose went on a dribbling run into the left side of the penalty area and fired a low shot across the box that was grabbed by Locke.
 
Despite only having a 6-4 margin in the shot count, the hosts took a 2-0 advantage into intermission.
 
Quality Opportunities
Grant led the Falcons with four shots, including three of their four attempts on frame. His hard 49th-minute attempt forced the goalkeeper to bat the ball down before collecting it.
 
"We certainly had our chances. Credit to Western, when the ball gets into the box they are there and they go hard to the ball," Collings described. "They punished us on two of their crosses. With us, we put some great balls into the box and we didn't have anybody there."
 
A brilliant display of ball-handling by Rotter produced Western's third goal, at 58:08. He dribbled into the left side of the box, weaving in-and-around several SPU defenders before slipping a low pass to Espinoza streaking toward the goal. Espinoza finished with a four-yard shot the rippled the back netting after sneaking between the left post and the goalkeeper.
 
The final goal came at 72:14. Schaefer dropped a back pass to Whiting five yards outside the box. Whiting cut the ball back to beat a defender and drove a low 17-yard shot beside Helleren.
 
Next Game
The SPU men remain on the road to visit Burnaby, B.C. They clash with Simon Fraser on Saturday at 7 p.m. The then 24th-ranked Clan won this season's first meeting 4-2 on Oct. 5 in Seattle.
 
Collings plans to address some defensive deficiencies before Saturday.
 
"We really just have to stop giving up such bad goals. We gave up a goal less than five minutes into the game again. Then they get a goal on the set piece. We talked about that this week, that Western thrives on set pieces.
 
"We have to do a better job of taking away what teams want and make them uncomfortable going forward. We definitely are posing problems when we are going forward on the attack, but defensively we don't take away enough of what other teams want."
 
The Falcons host their final home game next Saturday, Nov. 9 with a 7 p.m. matchup against Saint Martin's at Interbay Stadium.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Harrington Field / Bellingham, Wash.
 
at (#23) Western Washington 4, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Scoring – 1, WWU, Ryan Schaefer (Christian Rotter), 4:37; 2, WWU, Camron Miller (Georg Cholewa), 24:20; 3, WWU, Johan Espinoza (Rotter), 58:08; 4, WWU, Alex Whiting (Schaefer), 72:14.
 
                       1   2  --  TOTAL
Seattle Pacific        0   0  --    0
Western Washington     2   2  --    4
 
Shots – SPU 9, WWU 14.
Shots on Goal -- SPU 4, WWU 5.
Saves – SPU 1 (Lars Helleren), WWU 4 (Brandon Locke).
Corner Kicks – SPU 2, WWU 5.
Fouls – SPU 10, WWU 13.
Offsides – SPU 0, WWU 1.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 3-9-1,  2-6-0 GNAC
Western Washington 10-3-1, 7-0-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
Saturday, Nov. 2, 7:00 p.m. PDT
Terry Fox Field / Burnaby, B.C.