Oct. 20, 2016 Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -Anthony Dean scored twice and added an assist as Western Washington earned its fifth shutout of the season with a 3-0 win over visiting Saint Martin's on Thursday evening at Harrington Field.
The Vikings (5-4-4, 2-3-3 GNAC) earned a split of the season series against Saint Martin's (2-9-1, 1-5-1 GNAC) after falling to the Saints on the road earlier this season.
Dean (Jr., F, Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Bellevue College) scored his first goal of the evening with an assist from sophomore defender Garrett Strawn (Sammamish, WA/Skyline) to put Western Washington ahead in the 14th minute. Strawn sent a low cross into the 18-yard box and Dean was able to settle the pass from a deflection before turning and firing a shot to the lower-left corner of the net from 8 yards away.
Freshman midfielder Jeremiah Lee (Marysville, WA/Grace Academy) increased the lead to 2-0 in the 30th minute with an assist from Dean, who settled a clearance attempt from a corner kick and dropped a short pass to Lee for a one-touch shot from 23 yards away to the lower-left corner of the net.
Dean scored his second goal in the 65th minute when he took a through-ball pass from senior midfielder Eleazar Galvan (Chelan, WA/Skagit Valley College) and finished to the lower-right corner of the net from 17 yards away.
"We created a lot of chances like we have in the past games, and tonight we finished them" said head coach Greg Brisbon. "It really helps our defense - less pressure on them as the game goes on. So, overall, very pleased."
Defensively, the Western Washington defense limited Saint Martin's to 6 total shots and only 1 on goal. The Vikings fire 17 shots and put 4 on frame. Western Washington also held a 3-1 edge in corner kick opportunities.
The Vikings entered the game with the second-lowest goals-against average in the GNAC (1.06) and earned their first shutout since recording a clean sheet against Fort Hays State on Sept. 15.
Junior goalkeeper Tyler Visten (Mount Vernon, WA/Skagit Valley College) made 1 save in recording his fourth shutout, while Saint Martin's goalkeeper Griffin Small also collected 1 save.
Dean posted his second career multi-goal game, equaling his season-high total for points in a game (5) with 2 goals and 1 assist. He previously scored twice and assisted a goal in a 4-0 win over Colorado Christian on Sept. 10 and has produced team-high totals of 6 goals and 4 assists for the season.
"When he's confident, he's a very good player," Brisbon said of Dean. "He's tough to deal with and the guy can score goals - he really helps us out a lot, so it was good to see him get his two goals."
The Vikings do not have another match during the week but return to action on Thursday, Oct. 27, hosting Northwest Nazarene at Harrington Field (7 pm).
