WOU MEN'S SOCCER (3-1)
GNAC STANDINGS | GNAC STATS | WOU STATS | WOU STAT RANKINGS
 
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
at Colorado Christian (0-1-3), 9 a.m. (PT)
SUNDAY
vs. Newman (2-2), 9 a.m. (PT) (in Lakewood, Colorado)
Live Stream & Stat Links
 
THE WOLVES HEADING INTO THE WEEK
The Western Oregon men's soccer team won a pair of contests this past week - winning at Azusa Pacific 3-2 behind a pair of goals from GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Yahir Ocampo Navarro before picking up a quality 2-0 win in the Wolves' home opener Monday against Hawai'i Hilo - a team that Tuesday moved into the national rankings at No. 21 - getting a goal apiece from Michael Divano and Diego Andrade while Andre Schlaefi picked up his second clean sheet of 2024.

THE OPPONENTS HEADING INTO THE WEEK
Colorado Christian enters the week 0-1-3 after tying with Southwest Baptist 1-1 on Tuesday and falling at Newman (WOU's opponent Sunday) 2-1 on Saturday. The Cougars have at least scored and allowed a goal in all four matches this season.

Newman at 2-2 fell to Drury 2-1 Thursday before its win over CCU on Saturday - getting a goal by Caio Tascheto in the 74th minute for the win.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Christian
ALL-TIME: 1-0
STREAK: Won 1
LAST MATCH: Sept. 16, 2023 - 2-0 WOU win in Monmouth, Oregon
 
Newman
ALL-TIME: 0-0
 
NOTES
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.

Neubeck, Villalobos hit career 2,000-minute mark
Harper Neubeck and Abraham Villalobos each crossed the 2,000-minute mark in their career this past week - becoming the third and fourth players in the young three-year-old program's history to reach 2,000 minutes played. They join Juan Suarez (2,990 minutes, 2022-23) and Enrique Gomez (2,925 minutes, 2022-23).

WOU All-Time Minutes Played
1. Juan Suarez (2022-23) - 2,990
2. Enrique Gomez (2022-23) - 2,925
3. Harper Neubeck (2022-) - 2,127
4. Abraham Villalobos (2022-) - 2,018

Taking care of business at home under Behonick
With Monday's home-opening victory over Hawai'i Hilo - the Wolves are now 6-0-2 at home under second-year head coach Michael Behonick in Monmouth. WOU has outscored its opponents 16-7 in those eight matches. As of Wednesday, it's been 685 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.