By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – A full slate of non-conference games awaits Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer teams this week, with all seven of the league’s programs in action.
Preseason favorite Simon Fraser (1-0-1) and Western Washington (1-0-1) were the two GNAC teams to emerge undefeated after the first weekend of play, as the 2024 regular season kicked off last Thursday.
Two matches to circle on this week’s calendar feature GNAC teams taking on one of the top-ranked programs in Division II soccer. The Vikings host No. 3 Cal State LA (1-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m. (PT) in Bellingham, before Seattle Pacific (1-1) will try its hand against the Golden Eagles on Saturday at 2 p.m. (PT) in Seattle.
| This Week’s GNAC Men’s Soccer Opponents |
| School |
Opponents |
Location |
Dates |
| Montana State Billings |
Sul Ross State; Texas A&M Int’l |
Texas |
9/12; 9/14 |
| Northwest Nazarene |
Westminster; Colorado Mesa |
Utah |
9/12; 9/14 |
| Saint Martin’s |
Sonoma State; Chico State |
California |
9/12; 9/14 |
| Seattle Pacific |
CSU Dominguez Hills; #3 CSU LA |
Washington |
9/12; 9/14 |
| Simon Fraser |
Chico State; Sonoma State |
California |
9/12; 9/14 |
| Western Oregon |
Azusa Pacific; Hawaii Hilo |
California/Oregon |
9/12; 9/16 |
| Western Washington |
#3 CSU LA; CSU Dominguez Hills |
Washington |
9/12; 9/14 |
VIKINGS TAKE DOWN RANKED FOE: Western Washington already has one victory against a nationally-ranked opponent under its belt, as it prepares to host powerhouse
WWU's Andrew Rotter.
Cal State Los Angeles on Thursday night in Bellingham.
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Andrew Rotter tucked home his first goal of the season in the 79th minute last Thursday, giving the Vikings a 1-0 triumph over No. 18 Chico State. The Vikings followed the landmark season-opening win with a 1-1 draw against Sonoma State, relying on nine total saves by
Charlie Dyer on the week to emerge with an unbeaten record. The Vikings will face two more tough CCAA opponents this week, with Cal State Dominguez Hills in town on Saturday night after the prime-time showdown with Cal State LA.
Read More: Vikings kick off 2024 with upset of No. 18 Chico State (WWU Recap)
RED LEAFS SOUND ON OPENING WEEKEND: Reigning GNAC champion and preseason favorite Simon Fraser had a sound showing on opening weekend, drawing Westmont College 1-1 last Thursday before sweeping away Stanislaus State 3-0 on Saturday. A notable performance by GNAC Defensive Player of the Week
Jordan Thorsen in goal aided SFU in the two results, as he allowed just one goal while making 10 saves and collecting a shutout in his debut weekend.
Brandon Torresan provided a pair of assists in the thumping of the Warriors, while the familiar names of
Koji Poon (8 goals as a freshman in 2023) and
Michael Hennessy (GNAC Freshman of the Year, 13 goals in 2023) got their names on the scoresheet with a goal and an assist, respectively. More regional tests await
Clint Schneider’s side this week, as they’ll play at Chico State on Thursday night (7 p.m. PT) and at Sonoma State on Saturday morning (11:30 a.m. PT).
Koji Poon (left) and Kian Proctor (center) were among four Red Leafs to find the net last week.
FALCONS SPLIT, SET FOR BIG TEST: Seattle Pacific started its 2024 season on a positive note with a 2-0 triumph over Sonoma State, before letting a lead slip in a 2-1 loss to No. 18 Chico State in its two matches last
week. The Falcons will get another crack at a nationally ranked foe on Saturday against Cal State LA, two days after hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday night (7 p.m. PT) at Interbay Stadium.
Judah Johnston was one of two GNAC players to score multiple goals on opening week, finding the net in each of SPU’s first two games of the season.
Raymundo Mendez, the 2023 GNAC Newcomer of the Year, was the other goal scorer for the Falcons while Willamette University (NCAA D3) transfer
Pierluca Carnovale registered his first shutout with the Falcons and made seven saves last week.
Read More: Carnovale’s clean sheet lifts Falcons over Seawolves (SPU Recap)
Judah Johnston scored in each of the Falcons' first two matches of the season.
WOLVES LOOK TO BUILD OFF WIN: Western Oregon started its season with as tough a match as possible, falling 3-0 to No. 2 Colorado State Pueblo last Thursday. The Wolves (1-1) bounced back nicely by shutting
out Jessup University 2-0 on Saturday to give them momentum heading into an away/home split this week. WOU travels to Azusa Pacific on Thursday (7:30 p.m. PT) before making its 2024 home debut on Monday (noon PT) against Hawaii Hilo in Monmouth.
Michael Divano and
Abraham Villalobos were the goal scorers in WOU’s triumph, while
Andre Schlaefli registered his first shutout in a Wolves uniform on Saturday.
Read More: Western Oregon weekend preview (WOU Release)
‘JACKETS HEAD TO LONE STAR STATE: Montana State Billings (0-1-1) had plenty of offense on opening weekend, drawing Carroll (NAIA) 2-2 before a 3-2 loss to rival Rocky Mountain College
(NAIA). The Yellowjackets will square off against Sul Ross State (Alpine, Texas) for the first time in program history on Thursday (6 p.m. CT) before playing at Texas A&M International on Saturday (noon CT). Sophomore
George Jones scored the first two goals of his Yellowjacket career, finding the net in each of his team’s two matches last week. MSUB’s four goals scored matched Simon Fraser for the most by a GNAC team in last week’s games, with veteran
Guillermo Gonzalez and newcomer
So Nagano each also finding the back of the net.
Read More: Season preview – MSUB men’s soccer (MSUB Release)
George Jones (28) scored a pair of goals for the Yellowjackets last week. (Shi Robison Photography)
NIGHTHAWKS STAY ON MOUNTAIN TIME: Northwest Nazarene (0-1-1) heads south this week to take on Colorado Mesa (Thursday, 4:30 p.m. MT) and Westminster (Saturday, 2:30 p.m. MT) in a pair of games in Salt
Lake City, Utah. The Nighthawks played Jessup to a 1-1 draw in their season opener last week, before a 2-0 defeat at the hands of No. 2 Colorado State Pueblo.
Alex Barragan netted NNU’s first goal of the year on an assist from
Johnny Ramirez, and freshman
Gerardo Fonte totaled eight saves in his first weekend in goal for the Nighthawks.
SAINTS SET FOR SEAWOLVES, WILDCATS: Saint Martin’s (0-2) opened up its 2024 campaign at home last week, falling 4-1 to Stanislaus State and 3-0 to Westmont in Lacey, Wash. SMU travels
to California to face Sonoma State on Thursday (3:30 p.m. PT) and Chico State on Saturday (11:30 a.m.).
Cole Sullivan had the first goal of the season for Saint Martin’s, finding the net against Stanislaus State in his Saints debut.
Cole Sullivan scored the Saints' first goal of 2024.
Brandon Torresan – Simon Fraser University
Sophomore | Defender/Midfielder | North Vancouver, BC | Trinity Western University
Simon Fraser had numerous question marks entering the season surrounding how to replace some of the league’s most talented players from 2023. SFU bid farewell to 2023 GNAC Player of the Year Devin O’Hea, GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Niko Papakyriakopoulos and senior goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu. Enter
Brandon Torresan, who made an immediate impact in his first week on the pitch after transferring from fellow Canadian school Trinity Western University. After making his debut with a 66-minute performance against Westmont on Thursday, Torresan wasted no time on Saturday by slotting in
Mads Poulsson for a fourth-minute goal that proved to be the game-winner against Stanislaus State. He wasn’t done there, setting up
Kian Proctor in the 29th minute to help SFU to a comfortable 2-0 halftime lead. Torresan never left the pitch in his team’s first win of the year, and figures to be a staple this fall.
Charlie Dyer – Western Washington University
Sophomore | Goalkeeper | Seattle, WA | San Jose State
Another GNAC school with a major question to answer in terms of a replacement was Western Washington, which graduated two-time all-conference goalkeeper Brandon Locke who played every minute of the 2023 campaign.
Charlie Dyer brought answers on his opening weekend in a Viking uniform, making four saves against Chico State to pick up his first shutout and totaling five more to help WWU’s single goal hold up in the draw against Sonoma State. A transfer from NCAA D1 San Jose State, Dyer kicks off his Viking career with three years of collegiate eligibility.
The United Soccer Coaches weekly rankings are released every Tuesday throughout the 2024 season.
| Poll |
Team 1 |
| Preseason |
None |
| Week 1 (9/10) |
None |
| Date |
Offensive Player of the Week |
Defensive Player of the Week |
| 9/9 |
Andrew Rotter, Western Washington |
Jordan Thorsen, Simon Fraser |
Sept. 9 GNAC Men’s Soccer Players of the Week
MEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andrew Rotter – Western Washington University
First-career Player of the Week.
Getting his senior season started with a bang, Rotter delivered the game-winning goal in Western Washington’s
1-0 upset of No. 18 Chico State on Thursday. With just over 10 minutes left on the clock, Rotter broke a scoreless tie by tucking home the game’s only goal. The Auburn, Wash., native sneaked past the Wildcat defense to punch home a back-post finish on a combination of passes from
Albin Jonsson and
Adan Fernandez. The goal was the seventh of Rotter’s career, his fourth game-winner and first game-winner since the 2022 campaign. He has 38 caps under his belt in a Viking uniform since 2022.
WWU Head Coach Greg Brisbon: “Andrew had a good overall weekend. He did very well on the defensive side of the ball, which helps create his attack. We were able to find him in areas where he can use his strengths as a player. Andrew was able to convert a great opportunity vs. Chico State that helped us secure the win. It is a very important result for our program this early in the season against a top-notch team in our very difficult super region.”
Also Nominated: Guillermo Gonzalez, MSU Billings; Cole Sullivan, Saint Martin’s; Judah Johnston, Seattle Pacific; Brandon Torresan, Simon Fraser; Abraham Villalobos, Western Oregon.
MEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jordan Thorsen – Simon Fraser University
First-career Player of the Week.
Thorsen helped the Red Leafs kick off their 2024 season with a win and a draw, putting together a pair of notable performances between the posts. The redshirt sophomore from Kelowna, B.C., led all GNAC goalkeepers with 10 saves, a save percentage of .909 and a goals-against average of 0.50 on the week. Making his collegiate debut against Westmont on Thursday, Thorsen came away with six saves while facing 15 shots and limited his opponent to one goal
in the 1-1 draw. He followed that with another heavy workload
on Saturday against Stanislaus State, facing 20 shots while making the four saves required to secure his first collegiate clean sheet in the 3-0 win.
SFU Head Coach Clint Schneider: “Obviously, we’re very lucky to have a goalkeeper like Jordan Thorsen. He has developed within the football system we have at SFU and finally has gotten his time to shine. He is one of the best shot-stoppers I have ever had. He is very athletic for how big he is and has grown into a leader for the team. He is a team captain and is our SAAC president, so he is a big-time asset to have and is an incredible person.”
Also Nominated: George Jones, MSU Billings; Pierluca Carnovale, Seattle Pacific; Charlie Dyer, Western Washington.