BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The top-ranked Western Washington University women’s soccer team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a dominating 7-0 victory over Western Oregon Saturday afternoon in front of 423 fans at Harrington Field.

WWU junior forward Karli White (North Bend, WA/Mount Si/Seattle U.), sophomore forward Liv Larson (Arlington, WA) and freshman midfielder Grace Eversaul (Vancouver, WA/Skyview) each scored a pair of goals, and junior forward Gabriela Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) added her team-leading sixth goal of the season to keep the Vikings undefeated at 5-0-0 on the season and improve to 1-0-0 in GNAC play.

The victory also extended WWU’s winning streak to 29 consecutive games, 4th-longest in NCAA Division II history, and the consecutive games unbeaten streak to 30 straight (8th-longest in NCAA II history). The Vikings also won their 26th consecutive home game (12th-longest streak in DII history) while improving to 34-1-1 all-time at Harrington Field.

“We came out ready to play and were excited to play at home in front of a great crowd,” said head coach Travis Connell. “We really executed our passing and showed great shape in our attack.”

White recorded two goals and also had a pair of assists to finish with six points in the game. The Seattle U. transfer now has 4 goals and 4 assists in five games this season.

The defending NCAA Division II national champions got off to a quick start scoring six goals in the first 30 minutes of the game, and jumped out to the early lead with Eversaul putting the Vikings up 1-0 in the 9th minute (8:11) tapping in her second goal of the season off a pass from White.

The goal-scoring clinic continued with four more goals over a 10-minute span to grow the lead to 5-0, with White (11’, 17’), Larson (16’) and Eversaul (20’) all putting the ball into the back of the net.

Larson added her second goal of the game in the 28th minute on a header goal off a cross from senior midfielder Emily Webster (Bellingham, WA/Sehome). The assist was the 20th of Webster’s career, tied for 5th-most in program history.

Pelogi netted the Vikings lone goal in the second half, taking a perfect feed from freshman Zoe Milburn (Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) for her team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Senior goalkeeper Ashley Homer (Puyallup, WA) earned the win in net registering the clean sheet in the first half, and sophomore Hillary O’Connor (Los Angeles, CA/The Archer School) closed out the victory with one save in a scoreless second half.

“We got a lot of great contributions today, from basically every player that suited up,” added Connell. “It shows our depth and just how determined this team is. It was great to see Sierra (Shugarts) and Zoe (Milburn) out there for the first time this season (due to injuries).”

Shugarts (Federal Way, WA/Decatur) saw her first action of the season coming off the bench to log 31 minutes. The 2016 GNAC Player of the Year and NCAA Division II National Player of the Year was held out of the first four games of the season due to a foot injury.

The Vikings out-shot the Wolves 42-4, including a 19-1 edge in shots on goal, and fell one shot of the school record 43 set vs. Trinity Lutheran in 2015. The shutout was Western’s third consecutive, out-scoring the opponent 9-0 over the stretch.

WWU returns to action next week with a pair of GNAC games, hosting Simon Fraser on Thursday (Sept. 21) at 7 pm and then travels to face Saint Martin’s on Saturday (Sept. 23) at 1 pm.

MEN’S SOCCER PLAYS TO 2-2 TIE AGAINST FORT HAYS STATE

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Senior forward Anthony Dean scored twice in the 50th minute before visiting Fort Hays State answered with a pair of goals later in the second half as the Western Washington University men’s soccer team battled to a 2-2 tie against the Tigers after two overtime periods on Saturday night at Harrington Field.

The Vikings (1-2-2) went into overtime for the fourth time in five games during the 2017 non-conference schedule and will now prepare for Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, which begins next Thursday with a home game against Saint Martin’s.

After a scoreless first half, Dean (Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Bellevue College) converted a pair of penalty kicks just 13 seconds apart for a 2-0 lead but Fort Hays State (0-4-2) scored in the 51st minute and 76th minute during the second half to draw even.

Dean gave WWU a 1-0 lead with a penalty kick in the 50th minute (49:37) for his team-leading fourth goal of the season and fourth consecutive game with a goal, scoring to the right side of the net as the Fort Hays State goalkeeper dove in the opposite direction.

The Vikings quickly created an attacking opportunity following the first goal and were awarded a second penalty kick at the 49:50 mark, 13 seconds after the first penalty kick. Dean once again finished the opportunity with a shot to the upper-left side of the net over the diving goalkeeper, recording his third career two-goal game at WWU (achieved twice previously during the 2016 season) and scoring his conference-leading fifth goal of the season.

Midfielder Derick Gonzalez scored both goals for the Tigers, his third and fourth goals of the season. He converted a penalty kick in the 51st minute to bring the Tigers within 2-1, marking the third penalty kick in the game within a span of a minute and 22 seconds.

The equalizing goal for Fort Hays State came in the 76th minute as Gonzalez dribbled across the top of the box from left to right and fired a low shot from 20 yards away to the lower-left corner of the net.

The Vikings generated 1 shot following the equalizing goal during the second half and 9 shots between the two overtime periods (2 shots on goal) but were unable to score a golden goal. The WWU defense held the Tigers to a single shot over the course of the two overtime periods, with the lone Fort Hays State shot in the 105th minute saved by senior goalkeeper Tyler Visten (Mount Vernon, WA/Skagit Valley College).

“I thought the first half we were very good again, so we’re pretty consistent with our starts,” head coach Greg Brisbon said. “Overall, a very good game from us. At some point we’re going to have to start learning how to close out games and that’s where we’re at right now – once we figure that out I think we’re going to have a very good season.”

The Vikings fired a season-high 31 shots during the game and put a season-high 10 shots on goal compared with 8 total shots and 5 shots on goal for the Tigers. WWU held an 8-5 edge in corner kick opportunities during the game as well.

Visten made 3 saves for the Vikings while Fort Hays State goalkeeper Michael Yantz recorded 8 saves.

Saturday’s game was the final non-conference game for the Vikings before the beginning of the conference schedule and the second consecutive season WWU hosted Fort Hays State at Harrington Field (WWU won, 1-0, during previous matchup in 2016).

“We can’t wait to start conference play, that’s important and very big for us so we’re excited,” Brisbon said. “Two big games for us, two quality opponents, so that’s what we’re going to prepare for.”

WWU begins the GNAC schedule next week, hosting Saint Martin’s on Thursday at 4 pm as part of a Thursday soccer doubleheader at Harrington Field with the WWU women facing Simon Fraser at 7 pm. The Vikings will then travel to Seattle Pacific on Saturday for the first conference road game of the season, set to begin at 7 pm.

 

— @SoccerWWU —