WOU MEN'S SOCCER (1-1)
GNAC STANDINGS | GNAC STATS | WOU STATS | WOU STAT RANKINGS
 
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
at Azusa Pacific (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
MONDAY
vs. (RV) Hawaii Hilo (2-0), 12 p.m.
Live Stream & Stat Links
 
THE WOLVES HEADING INTO THE WEEK
The Western Oregon men's soccer team opened the 2024 season by going 1-1 in Pueblo, Colorado, last week - falling to No. 2 CSU Pueblo 3-0 to start the season before bouncing back for a 2-0 win over Jessup (CA) on Saturday.

In the win over Jessup, WOU picked up a goal via a penalty kick from redshirt freshman Michael Divano in the 10th minute before junior Abraham Villalobos scored in the 68th minute to give WOU an insurance goal. Andre Schlaefli picked up his first shutout as a Wolf with two saves as WOU allowed just four shots in the match.

THE OPPONENTS HEADING INTO THE WEEK
Azusa Pacific, like WOU, started the season 1-1 - bud did so at home as the Cougars won their season opener of Colorado School of Mines 1-0 before falling to UC Colorado Springs on Saturday, 4-1. 

Hawaii Hilo, which takes on Hawaii Pacific at home on Wednesday before heading to the mainland, won its season opener at home against CSU Dominguez Hills 2-0 on Thursday before winning by the same score Saturday at Chaminade in Honolulu. Four different players have each accounted for a goal with four players each having an assist on the young season. Shudai Ito is the lone player with a a goal and an assist. Despite their opponents having taken more shots (27-22) and more shots on goal (13-12), the Vulcans haven't allowed a goal this year behind 13 saves from keeper Christian Souza.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Azusa Pacific
ALL-TIME: 0-0
STREAK: N/A
 
Hawaii Hilo
ALL-TIME: 1-0
STREAK: Won 1
LAST GAME: 2-1 win in Waipahu, Hawaii - Aug. 31, 2023
Note: These two teams played last season on Oahu with WOU getting a goal from Alejandro Velasco in the 89th minute to edge the Vulcans.
 
NOTES
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).

2,000-minute mark watch ...
Two Wolves players on the cusp of becoming the third and fourth players in the young three-year-old program's history to reach 2,000 minutes played. Abraham Villalobos (1,979 minutes) and Harper Neubeck (1,951 minutes) could each pass that total this week, joining Juan Suarez (2,990 minutes, 2022-23) and Enrique Gomez (2022-23).

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.