Coming off a 4-0 loss against 12th-ranked Seattle Pacific University, junior forward Adam Talley, led the men’s soccer team to a 3-0 win over the University of Mary at home on Thursday, Oct. 22.
The matchup was intense and aggressive, but the Vikings were able to pull through with sharp passing, communication and three goals all scored by Talley.
“We finished our chances which helps put less pressure on our defense,” head coach wGreg Brisbon said. “Then I thought our back four played really well.”
For most of the first half, the Vikings controlled the tempo of the game. Then, with 37 minutes to play in the first half, Talley drove the ball in the back of the net putting Western up 1-0.
“[We did well at] playing with composure, trying to keep as much possession as we could and then attacking when we had good numbers,” senior midfielder Kurtis Pederson said.
The Vikings led the game 1-0 going into halftime.
Fifteen seconds into the second half, Talley scored his second goal, breaking away from the last defender and striking the ball in the top left corner of the goal.
With Mary being an aggressive team, there were a lot of fouls called, including junior Brady Ulen’s yellow card after tackling a Mary player to the ground.
“We were just the better team tonight, so everything was working well for us,” said Talley, who leads the team with six goals.
With five minutes left to play, Talley scored his third and final goal off senior forward Leonard Kusina’s cross.
After this win the team's record sits at 3-5-2 putting them in sixth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
“[We need to work on] game management, if we’re up we need to hold the ball a little more and get forward,” Pederson said.
Vikings hope to add another win on Saturday’s matchup against Montana State University Billings at 7 p.m. at home.
Montana State is currently in third place with a 5-2-2 record in the GNAC.
“It’s going to be a tough game, it always is with those guys,” Brisbon said. “They’re a good team, so we just got to come out ready to play.”
Saturday’s game will be the final home match for the seven seniors: Trevor Bartels, Leonard Kusina, Kurtis Pederson, Sawyer Preston, Thomas Spragg, Uche Ugwoaba and Jeremy Wentzel.
