Sports

POSTED: Sunday, Sep. 07, 2008

WWU MEN'S SOCCER: Vikings shut out on road

Western Washington University was blanked for the first time this season as it fell 2-0 to nationally-ranked Sonoma State University in a non-conference men’s soccer contest Sunday afternoon at Rohnert Park, Calif.

The Vikings fell to 1-2-0, both of their losses being to top 25-ranked teams. Sonoma State, ranked No. 4 in the latest NCAA Division II national poll, improved to 5-0-0.

“That’s probably the best team we’ve played, and extremely challenging to play down here,” said Western coach Travis Connell. “I was proud of the way our team battled. They were ferocious, they worked their tails off and didn’t back down.”

The Seawolves’ Eric Lafon broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the 66th minute, Andrew Bailey and Ross Middlemiss each being cred-ited with assists.

Middlemiss scored his seventh goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 82nd minute.

Western’s best opportunity came in the first minute when a header by Tyler Bjork bounced off the crossbar.

“Even though we were outshot dramatically, we had a great counterattack going and we definitely had some chances to score and that was the best one,” Connell said.

Sonoma State had a 15-5 advantage in shots, while the Vikings had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.

Western goalkeeper Cameron Copps-Tilley had six saves.

The Vikings next travel to Chico State for a non-league contest Wednesday (4:30 p.m.).