BELLINGHAM, WA — The Saints Men's Soccer team (0-15-0, 0-9-0 GNAC) traveled north to take on the Western Washington Vikings this past Saturday in a conference contest.

SMU's defense would be smothering to begin the game, with Connor Leistiko saving two on-target shots in the first 17 minutes of play. Zack Martin would be the back line's anchor on defense, and the team captain would find help from true freshmen Jonathan Wright and Judah Straight who would all play the full duration of the match. WWU's defense would be a tough match for the Saints on the other side of the field, with Xander Koenig attempting SMU's only shot of the first half in the 19th minute. The Saints and Vikings would remain scoreless going into the half.

The pace of play would remain relatively the same during the second half. Koenig would attempt to score once again but did not convert in the 59th minute. Both teams would keep up their stellar defensive play with neither squad able to find a crease until the 76th minute when the Vikings would finally capitalize on an excellent pass to go up 1-0. The Saints would have their best chance at scoring in the 80th minute as Ethan Jud would aim for the top corner of the net, but an impressive save would prevent SMU from scoring. Straight would attempt two more shots during the second half, but the Saints would be held scoreless and end up dropping the match 1-0.

The Saints will return home this week to close out their season against Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday for Senior Day. Get tickets here.