Written by: Quincy Bentley | Sports Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Western’s men\u2019s soccer team has experienced a remarkable ascent in collegiate soccer, particularly during the 2024 season. Established just three years ago, the program has quickly become a powerful force in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference \u2014 GNAC \u2014 under the guidance of head coach Michael Behonick, a seasoned coach with NCAA Division I experience at Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Virginia.
This season has been groundbreaking for the Wolves. In October, they reached their first national ranking, debuting at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll, then climbing to No. 14. With a 12-2-1 overall record and an 8-1 mark in GNAC play as of early November, Western has positioned itself at the top of the conference standings.
Beyond individual talent, the Wolves’ success is rooted in a strong team culture and disciplined leadership. Senior forward Alexis Luna, a key player from Salem, Oregon, has contributed significantly since transferring from Corban University. Luna, inspired by his dad\u2019s passion for soccer, has found motivation in role models like German star Mesut \u00d6zil and his mother, who instilled in him the value of hard work. \u201cSoccer-wise, \u00d6zil stood out to me. His game was so different from others, and the way he played really caught my attention,\u201d Luna shared.
The Wolves\u2019 team culture, built on unity and discipline, has played a crucial role in their success. \u201cIt\u2019s all about unity,\u201d said Luna. \u201cEveryone is comfortable with each other; we don\u2019t exclude anyone.\u201d Coach Behonick reinforces this through discipline, including strict policies on punctuality and attention to detail. \u201cCoach\u2019s regulations make us think about everything we do, allowing us to weigh our options before making decisions. He truly gives us a purpose to work harder for the team,\u201d Luna added.
With aspirations for a GNAC title and potential NCAA tournament participation, the Wolves\u2019 focus remains on disciplined play and strategic execution. With two games left in the conference, Western seeks to take its momentum into the soon-to-come playoffs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contact the author at howlsports@mail.wou.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Written by: Quincy Bentley | Sports Editor Western’s men\u2019s soccer team has experienced a remarkable ascent in collegiate soccer, particularly during the 2024 season. Established just three years ago, the program has quickly become a powerful force in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference \u2014 GNAC \u2014 under the guidance of head coach Michael Behonick, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2222,245,41,4301,3759,111,552,3637,1788,4169,3750,4172,1553,246,4302,3957,4402],"class_list":["post-21731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","tag-athlete","tag-athletics","tag-college","tag-condition","tag-conference","tag-exercise","tag-fitness","tag-injury","tag-ncaa","tag-physical","tag-player","tag-record","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-strength","tag-win","tag-winning"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21731"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21735,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21731\/revisions\/21735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}