Sept. 23, 2006

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University had four different goal scorers in defeating Northwest Nazarene University, 4-0, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer game at Orca Field on the Whatcom CC campus.

It was the fourth straight win for Western, which improved to 7-2-0 overall and 2-0-0 in GNAC play. Northwest Nazarene dropped to 5-6-0 overall and is 1-3-0 in league play.

"We played very consistent soccer today," said Western coach Travis Connell. "We got off to a strong start and the team really battled to avoid a letdown."

Freshman Kelly Irving (Gig Harbor) keyed the Vikings with a goal in the 26th minute. Irving collected a pass from Katie Weber (Sr., Yakima/Eisenhower) at the top of the 18-yard box and floated a shot to the far corner over the outstretched arms of Northwest Nazarene goalkeeper Amanda Merrell.

Western pushed its lead to 2-0 less than seven minutes later, when sophomore Meghan Woodman (R-Fr., Redmond) fired a shot that deflected off the leg of a Crusader defender and into the goal in the 32nd minute. Ashley Schoenkopf (So., Vancouver/Mountain View) was credited with an assist on the play.

The Vikings outshot the Crusaders 14-0 in the first half and 28-4 for the game. Goalkeeper Brittany Martin-Gegax (Everett/Cascade) needed to make only two saves in registering her fourth shutout of the season. Merrell made 10 saves in goal for Northwest Nazarene.

Western's Kelly Gagne (Kent/Kentwood) scored her fourth goal of the season in the 57th minute, teaming with Irving on a give-and-go. Gagne took the return pass and broke in alone on Merrell, pushing the ball past the keeper and inside the right post.

Freshman Lucy Miller (Palisades, CA) capped the scoring in the 79th minute with her first collegiate goal. Junior Amanda Font (Federal Way/Decatur) beat a Northwest Nazarene defender and found Miller all alone at the corner of the six-yard box. The freshman forward fired the ball into the corner of the net on her second touch, giving the Vikings a 4-0 lead.

Western entertains nationally No.17-ranked Seattle University in a GNAC contest Thursday (7 p.m.).

Western Washington vs. Northwest NazareneDate: 9/23/06   Attendance: 198Goals by Period     1   2     TotalNorthwest Nazarene  0   0 ---   0Western Washington  2   2 ---   4SCORING SUMMARY:WWU - Irving (Weber), 25:20WWU - Woodman (Schoenkopf), 32:08WWU - Gagne (Irving), 56:07WWU - Miller (Font), 78:38Shots: Western Washington 28, Northwest Nazarene 4Corner Kicks: Western Washington 8, Northwest Nazarene 3Fouls: Western Washington 10, Northwest Nazarene 9Saves: Western Washington 2 (Martin-Gegax 2), Northwest Nazarene 11 (Merrell 10, Team 1)