By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Who will it be this year?
 
If the last five seasons of Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer are any indicator, then the season begins with the league title fully up for grabs. Five different schools have claimed the title of GNAC champion since the fall of 2019, which begs the questions: Will the rotation continue? Or will the GNAC see its first team win consecutive championships since the 2017-18 seasons?
 
Coming off its first-ever GNAC regular-season title, Western Oregon emerged as the favorite in the GNAC men’s soccer preseason coaches poll released on Wednesday. The Wolves were the lone GNAC team to appear in the United Soccer Coaches preseason top-25 poll, checking in at No. 22.
 
The Wolves took home 3 of 6 first-place votes and totaled 33 points in the evenly distributed rankings, after going 14-5-1 overall and winning the GNAC with 27 points on a 9-3 league record in 2024. Western Washington was second in the polling with 27 points and one first-place vote, and Simon Fraser was third with 23 points and the other two first-place votes.
 
The 2025 men’s soccer season gets underway on Sept. 4 with the complete fall schedule available online here. Conference matches begin on Oct. 2, with the top three teams in the GNAC regular-season standings earning spots into the first-ever GNAC Men’s Soccer Championships tournament. The event will run Nov. 13-15 at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, B.C., with the winner earning the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.
 

2025 GNAC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2024 Record	2024 GNAC Record (Finish)
1	Western Oregon (3)	33	14-5-1	9-3 (1st)
2	Western Washington (1)	27	10-5-3	8-3-1 (2nd)
3	Simon Fraser (2)	23	6-10-2	5-7 (6th)
4	Seattle Pacific	21	8-6-4	5-4-3 (T3rd)
5	Northwest Nazarene	15	6-8-4	5-4-3 (T3rd)
6	Saint Martin's	7	0-18	0-12 (7th)
Points awarded on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

 
Spreading the GNAC Men’s Soccer Trophy
At the outset of the 2025 season, five different men’s soccer teams have won the last five GNAC regular season titles.
 

Season	GNAC Champion	Points	GNAC Record	Overall Record
2024	Western Oregon	27	9-3	14-5-1
2023	Simon Fraser	2.27*	8-2-1	11-5-2
2022	Northwest Nazarene	28	9-2-1	15-4-3
2021	Seattle Pacific	20	6-2-2	12-4-2
2019	Western Washington	31	10-1-1	13-5-1
*-Points per game were used in 2023 due to an imbalance in number of league games played.  *-No conference season was contested in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 
2025 GNAC Men’s Soccer Season Outlook
Back on the Western Oregon roster from last year’s title-winning squad are five players who garnered all-conference recognition. Headlining the list is first-team all-conference midfielder Yahir Ocampo Navarro, who led the team and ranked third in the GNAC with eight goals scored last season. The junior started all 20 matches and added five assists, giving him 21 total points last fall. Also returning are 2024 GNAC Newcomer of the Year Caleb Kiner and GNAC Freshman of the Year Marcus Vazquez. Kiner was an anchor on the back line last fall, starting 19 of 20 matches and leading the team with 1,614 minutes played. Vazquez had three goals and a pair of assists while starting 16 matches in his debut collegiate season.
 
Other all-conference returners for WOU include honorable mention selections Abraham Villalobos and Harper Neubeck. Villalobos tied for second on the team with six goals scored despite playing just 658 total minutes, averaging just under one goal per 90 minutes on the pitch. Neubeck was also a fixture on the back line, starting 19 matches and logging 1,546 minutes played. Michael Divano, a freshman standout in 2024 who found the back of the net six times, is also back for the 2025 season.
 
Michael Behonick begins his third season in charge of a Wolves program that commenced operations in the fall of 2022. Since taking over in 2023, Behonick owns a record of 25-8-4 (.750) overall and has led his teams to a 17-4-3 (.771) record in conference matches. He was selected by his peers as the GNAC Coach of the Year in both 2023 and 2024. WOU’s biggest losses from its 2024 roster include GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Andre Schlaefli in goal and first-team all-conference center back Ethan Fisher.
 
Finishing six points behind WOU in the preseason polling was a Western Washington team that went 10-5-3 overall and 8-3-1 in league play last year. The Vikings won eight of their final 10 matches to make the title race an interesting one, ending up just two points shy of WOU with 25 during the conference season. Two-time first-team all-GNAC center back Sebastiano Silvetti is back for his third season with the Vikings, after establishing himself as one of the league’s top defenders. The Italian international started 16 of 18 matches in 2024, logging 1,287 minutes and contributing a goal from the defensive unit. Silvetti was also a first-team pick as a freshman in 2023.
 
Further bolstering the WWU lineup this fall will be a trio of honorable mention all-conference returners. Albin Jonsson is back for his fourth season with the Vikings having scored 16 goals and added 12 assists across 54 matches played since debuting in the fall of 2022. Edgar Serrano returns after starting 17 matches in the midfield, scoring three times and notching two assists. Joining Silvetti as a key returner on the back line will be Joar Tidblom, who started all 18 games, led all field players with 1,515 minutes played and chipped in two goals and two assists. Charlie Dyer – the only Viking to play in goal last season – also returns after posting a goals-against average of 1.06, four shutouts and making 51 saves in 2024.
 

Greg Brisbon begins his 13th season leading the Viking program tied for the second-most conference-match victories in GNAC history. Since taking over in 2013, Brisbon has led WWU to an overall record of 103-68-34 (.585) and has gone 71-43-22 (.603) in league play. Western Washington won the 2019 GNAC title under Brisbon. WWU’s key losses from the 2024 runner-up unit were first-teamers Eric Bunnell (forward) and Kaydin Wall (midfielder), who combined to score 11 of the team’s 29 goals and provide 10 of 34 assists.
 
Earning 23 points to finish third in the preseason poll was a Simon Fraser team just two years removed from its most recent GNAC title. The Red Leafs, who won the league in 2023, endured a trying 2024 campaign that saw them go 6-10-2 overall and finish sixth in the GNAC standings with 15 points on a 5-7 league record. SFU turned the tables towards the end of the year, winning its final three matches to close 2024 on a positive note.
 
Returning the most offensive firepower among the league, the scorers of 18 of SFU’s 23 goals from last season are back on the roster. Headlining that list are second-team all-GNAC returners Michael Hennessy and Koji Poon. Hennessy, who was the 2023 GNAC Freshman of the Year, led the squad with six goals and added three assists for 15 points in 18 matches played last fall. Poon meanwhile led the squad with five assists, while scoring twice in his second season at SFU. A hat trick towards the end of the season helped lift Kian Proctor’s season goal count to five, as he made an impact in his first season on the pitch with the Red Leafs.
 
Second-team all-conference defender Brandon Torresan also returns, after starting 17 of 18 matches, playing 1,358 minutes and distributing four assists. In goal, SFU will rely on the veteran presence of Jordan Thorsen who made 12 starts and led the GNAC with 4.58 saves per game and a save percentage of .764. Clint Schneider is in his 11th season piloting the Red Leafs and holds a 90-37-13 (.689) overall record including a mark of 71-24-13 (.718) in league play to match Brisbon for second-most conference wins by a GNAC coach. SFU’s key losses from 2024 include GNAC second-teamer Tristan Torresan and honorable mention selections Mads Poulsson and Justus Meier.
 
Finishing just behind SFU with 21 points in the preseason poll was Seattle Pacific. The Falcons went 8-6-4 overall in 2024 and were 5-4-3 in league play for 18 points and a tie for third place in the standings. SPU will have to replace the

league’s top talent from last year, as GNAC Player of the Year Raymundo Mendez finished his career sixth all-time in the GNAC with 1.63 points per game (26 goals, 5 assists in two seasons).
 
The Falcons return first-team all-conference midfielder Connor Tollan, who figures to be the key offensive focus for the team in 2025. Tollan tied for the GNAC lead with eight assists while adding five goals and was fourth in the conference with 1.00 points per game last fall. Second-team midfielder Diego Pena-Salgado returns after starting 14 matches, scoring twice and adding an assist. JJ Diaz, who tied for third on the team with nine points on three goals and three assists, returns after earning honorable mention recognition in 2024. Kevin Sakuda begins his fifth season leading the program, holding an overall record of 32-25-16 (.548) and a league mark of 20-15-11 (.554). Sakuda brought home a GNAC trophy for the Falcons in the fall of 2021 – his debut season in charge.
 
Checking in fifth in the preseason poll was Northwest Nazarene, which received 15 points in the voting. The Nighthawks tied the Falcons for third in last year’s standings by going 5-4-3 for 18 points, and overall on the year the team’s record stood at 6-8-4. Headlining the list of returners for NNU is junior forward Jim Wagenaar, who has racked up 18 goals and four assists in 34 matches across his first two collegiate seasons. Second-team all-conference forward Caleb Putney is also back on the squad, after scoring four goals and adding three assists for 11 points last fall. In goal, NNU will rely on the presence of honorable mention all-GNAC selection Gerardo Fonte, who ranked second in the league with 4.56 saves per game and a save percentage of .745.
 
James Williamson is in his third season as head coach of the Nighthawks, going 11-15-10 (.444) overall and 8-8-8 (.500) in conference matches since arriving in 2023. NNU will have to replace the likes of first-team all-GNAC forward Jonathan Cardona, who had a team-high five goals and three assists last fall. First-team defender Raoul Barragan, who started 15 games and scored three times, will also leave a void.
 
Listed sixth in the preseason poll with seven points was Saint Martin’s, which went 0-18 overall and 0-12 in league play in 2024. The Saints will look to get back in the win column this season, as they return their leading scorer from last season in Cole Sullivan who found the net five times. Also returning is midfielder Xander Koenig, who started all 18 matches and ranked second on the team with 1,434 minutes played. Rob Walker is the longest tenured coach in GNAC history, beginning his 19th season. He began in 2007 and delivered the Saints’ lone GNAC title coming in the fall of 2009.