SPOKANE, WA—The Gonzaga Bulldogs Men have landed in the victory column after two draws to open their WCC campaign.

The Zags utilized goals from fleet forwards Jakob Granlund and Conner Bevans to race past the bigger visitors from Loyola Marymount University for a 2-1 victory Friday afternoon at Gonzaga Soccer Stadium. The win, coming in front of 663 fans, bumps the Bulldogs’ record to 6-2-2 overall and 1-0-2 in the West Coast Conference.

“It was a very physical game and we survived,” Gonzaga coach Einar Thorarinsson said. “But we knew it was going to be a physical game. LMU has always been a physical team — they have a lot of big bodies.”

Friday’s tussle was just the third home match of the season, and the first in two weeks, for the Bulldogs, who snapped a three-game skid against the Lions. Gonzaga’s six triumphs so far this season represent the most for the program since a six-win campaign in 2009.

“It was definitely nice to be home,” Thorarinsson said, “but more important to get a win.”

Pepperdine 1:0 Gonzaga

MALIBU, CA – The Gonzaga University women’s soccer team opened West Coast Conference play Friday with a tough 1-0 setback at Pepperdine University.

It’s the sixth time in the last seven years that a match between the Bulldogs and Waves has been decided by just one goal, and the fourth-straight 1-0 decision. Pepperdine has bested Gonzaga the last three years.

Gonzaga falls to 4-6-1 overall and 0-1 in league with its fifth one-goal defeat of the year, while Pepperdine improves to 6-3-3 and 1-0 in the WCC.

“These tight matches are encouraging,” explained Gonzaga head coach Amy Edwards. “We have been able to keep ourselves in games against talented teams but we now need an attacking presence in the final third for long periods of the match. We need to take more risks and be efficient in our chances.”

Washington State 3:0 Colorado

PULLMAN, WA– Sophomore Cara Wegner scored two goals and Washington State knocked off visiting Colorado, 3-0 in Pac-12 Conference women’s soccer, Friday.

Wegner scored the game-winner in the fourth minute and notched her second of the day in the 52nd minute to record the first two-goal match of her career.

The Cougars (9-1-3, 2-1-1 Pac-12) also got a goal from senior Micaela Castain, here team-leading 11th of the season, in the 58th minute.

Washington 1:0 Utah

SEATTLE, WA — Washington (6-5-2, 2-0-2 Pac-12) continued its great play in conference, earning a 1-0 win over Utah (6-6-1, 2-1-1 Pac-12) on Friday night at the Husky Soccer Stadium. Havana McElvaine scored a sensational goal as the Dawgs stayed unbeaten in Pac-12 play.

“That was a big game for us,” said head coach Lesle Gallimore. “Crazy things are happening in our conference and that keeps us in the thick of it.”

Washington moved over .500 for the first time this season with the win, but more importantly stayed unbeaten in conference. Washington’s 2-0-2 record in the Pac-12 puts the Dawgs squarely in the conference race.

Grand Canyon 0:5 Seattle U

PHOENIX, AZ— The Seattle University women’s soccer team kept rolling along Friday evening, extending its shutout streak to over 620 minutes with a 5-0 victory over Grand Canyon in a Western Athletic Conference match at GCU Soccer Field.

“I was very proud and impressed with the maturity in which we played today. GCU did a great job getting numbers behind the ball, and we showed good patience in our attack,” Seattle U head coach Julie Woodward said. “It was a great team win with multiple players getting a point. I give big credit again to both goalkeepers and our backline for the shutout.”

Seattle U has now scored 22 unanswered goals since giving up a goal to Grand Canyon four minutes into the first meeting between the two teams at Championship Field Sept. 20. Brianna Smallidge (Port Orchard, Wash.) earned her ninth victory of the season, while Aris Coover (Bellevue, Wash.) made a save in almost 14 minutes of action.

Seattle U 2:1 UNLV (overtime)

SEATTLE, WA— Seattle University men’s soccer (3-8-1, 2-0-0 WAC) took Western Athletic foe UNLV (3-7-0, 1-1-0 WAC) into double overtime, defeating the Rebels, 2-1, on Jonathan Massimino’s (San Ramon, Calif.) first career goal.

“I’m thrilled to get a win in overtime,” said head coach Pete Fewing. “We’ve gone into overtime five times, in almost half our games this season – two wins, two losses, and a tie. But the last two here have been wins, so I’m pleased. We’re a young team trying to find our way. Their goalkeeper made a fantastic save a minute before Jonathan scored. What we said to them was ‘Let’s make sure the last pass has quality’. Miguel got his composure and Jonathan did the rest. The guys executed tonight and I’m really happy for them. It’s great to start the league schedule 2-0 and UNLV battled. Ian Hines-Ike also scored a great goal, I was so happy to see him put one in the back of the net.”

Zags cover photo by Torrey Vail