#10 WOU MEN'S SOCCER (9-1-1, 5-0, 15 points)
GNAC STANDINGS | GNAC STATS | WOU STATS | WOU STAT RANKINGS
 
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
vs. Northwest Nazarene (4-5-2, 3-1-1, 10 points), noon
Monmouth, OR | WOU Turf Field
SATURDAY
vs. Montana State Billings (3-4-4, 2-2-1, 7 points), 10 a.m.
Salem, OR | Sparks Field (Willamette University)
Live Stream & Stat Links
 
THE WOLVES HEADING INTO THE WEEK
The 10th-ranked Wolves set a program record for goal in a 6-2 win over Saint Martin's on Saturday with five different players scoring in the match. 

The Wolves rank in the top-10 in the country in shot accuracy (third - 0.577), scoring offense (2.73 - seventh), goal differential (plus-19 - ninth) and points per game (7.36 - 10th). Yahir Ocampo Navarro is second in the GNAC in goals with six, Michael Divano is tied for third with five and Evan Huber is tied for second in assists with four. Keeper Andre Schlaefli continues to leads the conference in GAA at 1.00

THE OPPONENTS HEADING INTO THE WEEK
Northwest Nazarene enters the game tied for second in the GNAC after picking up four points last week - a scoreless tie against MSUB before picking up a big thee points at home against defending GNAC champ Simon Fraser, 1-0. MSUB outside of the draw fell on the road at Western Washington on Saturday, 2-1.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Northwest Nazarene
ALL-TIME: 2-2
STREAK: Won 2
LAST WIN: Oct. 19, 2023 - 1-0 in Monmouth, OR
LAST LOSS: Oct. 20, 2022 - 3-1 in Nampa, ID
LAST DRAW: N/A

MSU Billings
ALL-TIME: 3-1-1
STREAK: Won 3
LAST WIN: Oct. 5, 2024 - 3-1 in Billings, MT
LAST LOSS: Oct. 29, 2022 - 5-1 in Billings, MT
LAST DRAW: Oct. 8, 2022 - 2-2 in Monmouth, OR
 
NOTES
Top 10 in the nation ... POLL
The Western Oregon men's soccer team for the fourth week in a row moved up in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Top 25, jumping five spots to No. 10 in the nation. These are the first four weeks WOU has been ranked in the program's three-year history.

Wolves national rankings in 2024:
Oct. 1 - #25
Oct. 8 - #24
Oct. 15 - #15
Oct. 22 - #10

Let's go streaking!
The Wolves are on a trio of streaks:

• Unbeaten streak: 10 (9-0-1, program record)
• Win streak: 6 (program record)
• Home unbeaten streak: 10 (8-0-2) / Last home loss: Nov. 3, 2022 (720 days ago as of Wednesday)

Wolves selected GNAC Team of the Week
The then-No. 24 Western Oregon men's soccer team outscored defending GNAC champ Simon Fraser and Seattle Pacific by a combined score of 7-1 during the week of Oct. 10-12 and was named the GNAC Team of the Week on Oct. 14. The Wolves with the victories moved their unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1) and their winning streak to five games - both records for the third-year program. During the unbeaten streak, WOU has outscored its opponents 22-6. WOU's 3-0 shutout win over the Red Leafs on Thursday moved their home unbeaten streak to 10 matches (8-0-2).

Schlaefli named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week ... again (Oct. 14)
Western Oregon goalkeeper Andre Schlaefli for the second week in a row was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14. The senior from Houston allowed just one goal, picked up nine saves - including one on a penalty kick - as the 24th-ranked Wolves defeated Simon Fraser 3-0 on Thursday and Seattle Pacific 4-1 on Saturday. In the win over SFU, Schlaefli had his fourth shutout of the season and had three saves (one on a PK) to help WOU win 3-0. Against SPU, the senior faced a season-high 22 shots and made six saves in helping the Wolves win 4-1.

Schlaefli named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 7)
Western Oregon goalkeeper Andre Schlaefli was named the GNAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 7. Schlaefli allowed one goal and had seven saves while facing 20 shots in helping the 25th-ranked Wolves start GNAC play 2-0 and move their unbeaten streak to seven (6-0-1). Schlaefli - a 2022 All-American for St. Mary's (TX) - picked up his third shutout of the year in a 1-0 win over Western Washington at home Thursday, collecting three saves. The senior allowed just one goal and had four saves in the Wolves' 3-1 win at MSU Billings.

Divano named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 23)
Western Oregon's Michael Divano was named the GNAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 23 after a breakout week for the freshman. Divano scored three goals (on just five shots) in helping WOU go 2-0-1 on the week and move the Wolves' unbeaten streak to five. Divano scored the first goal of the game in a 2-0 win at home over Hawaii Hilo on Monday, Sept. 16, - a Vulcans team that is now nationally ranked. In WOU's 3-1 win over Newman on Sunday, Divano had his first collegiate multi-goal game - scoring two goals in the first 16 minutes of the match to propel WOU to victory.

Ocampo Navarro named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 16)
Western Oregon sophomore Yahir Ocampo Navarro was named the GNAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16 after scoring two goals in helping the Wolves defeat Azusa Pacific on the road 3-2 on Sept 12. Both goals for Ocampo Navarro, an All-GNAC First Teamer and all-region player as a freshman last season, came via penalty kicks and in the second half - including the game-winner in the 73rd minute. It is Ocampo Navarro's first multi-goal game of his young collegiate career.

Taking care of business at home under Behonick
With a win over Simon Fraser on Oct. 10 in Monmouth, the Wolves are now 8-0-2 at home under second-year head coach Michael Behonick. WOU has outscored its opponents 17-7 in those nine matches. As of Wednesday (Oct. 9), it's been 713 days since the Wolves last lost a home match (Nov. 3, 2022).

Villalobos becomes first WOU player to score goal in all three seasons
WOU junior Abraham Villalobos made a little history with his goal against Jessup (CA) on Sept. 7 as he became the first player to score a goal in three different seasons for the three-year-old Wolves program. The Salem now has five career goals (fourth on the all-time list) and 14 career points (also fourth on the WOU all-time list).

Wolves picked second in GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll
The Western Oregon men's soccer team picked up a pair of first-place votes and was voted to finish second in the GNAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll. The Wolves - entering year three as a program - snagged two of the five first-place votes and finished with 41 points - two points behind Simon Fraser (which collected the other five first-place votes). Seattle Pacific and Western Washington tied for third with 32 points followed by Northwest Nazarene (25), Montana State Billings (13) and Saint Martin's (10).

The Wolves went from a 2-13-2 team (1-10-1 in conference) in their first season in 2022 to 11-3-3 overall and 8-1-3 in GNAC play last season in head coach Michael Behonick's first season at the helm. WOU finished just short of a GNAC title as with games in the conference canceled due to inclement weather, the standings came down to points per match. WOU finished at 2.25 points per match with its 8-1-3 conference record, .02 points behind Simon Fraser's 2.27 with a 8-2-1 record.