Oct. 9, 2008

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Forward Claire Morgan (So., Bellingham) scored an unassisted goal in the 56th minute and Kelly Gagne (Sr., Kent/Kentwood) added an insurance goal in the 90th minute as Western Washington University closed out a four-game homestand by blanking Montana State University Billings, 2-0, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer game Thursday at Orca Field on the Whatcom CC campus.

It was the sixth straight win for the Vikings, who are ranked No.13 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America/NCAA Division II Coaches Poll and are No.1 in the West Region ratings. They improved to 9-2-0 overall and remain undefeated in conference play at 5-0-0.

Western has outscored its opponents 13-3 during the six-game victory string, the Vikings' longest since a streak of the same length in 1995.

MSUB had a two-game winning streak snapped as it fell to 7-5-0 overall and 2-3-0 in league play.

Morgan's goal came from five yards following a bobbled ball by the MSUB goalkeeper Jordan Fenwick. Two quick passes by Molly Shannon (So., Bellingham) and Kelly Irving (Jr., Gig Harbor) gave Gagne a wide-open shot from six yards.

Morgan leads Western in both goals (7) and assists (5), and paces GNAC scorers with 19 points. It was her fifth game-winning goal of the season.

The Vikings had a huge 31-9 shot advantage and the corner kicks were tied at two each.

Western goalkeeper Kylie Broadbent (Sr., Spokane/Lewis& Clark) made five saves in notching her fifth shutout. Fenwick had 10 stops.

The Vikings are at Nampa, Id., on Saturday (12 noon) to face Northwest Nazarene University in a GNAC contest.

Western Washington vs. Montana State BillingsDate: 10/9/08  Attendance: 126Goals by Period          1   2      TotalMontana State Billings   0   0  ---   0Western Washington       0   2  ---   2SCORING SUMMARY:WWU - Morgan (unassisted), 53:11WWU - Gagne (Shannon, Irving), 89:24Shots: Western Washington 31, Montana State Billings 9Corner kicks: Western Washington 2, Montana State Billings 2Fouls: Western Washington 8, Montana State Billings 13Saves: Western Washington 5 (Broadbent 5), Montana State Billings 10 (Fenwick 10)