Box Score

BILLINGS, Mont. - The quest for a perfect 12-0-0 record in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play for top-ranked Western Washington University was achieved on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Montana State Billings.

The Vikings scored a pair of goals four minutes apart midway through the second half to break a scoreless tie, not only securing a perfect 12-0-0 GNAC regular season, but also extending the winning streak to 17 consecutive games. WWU, ranked No. 1 in the last three NSCAA Division II polls, improves to 17-0-1 overall and will be the No. 1 seed in next week's GNAC Championships held in Burnaby, B.C. MSUB ends its season with a 4-10-3, 4-6-2 GNAC record.

With the victory the Vikings join the 2007 Seattle Pacific squad as the only teams to complete a GNAC season with an undefeated (no ties) league record. The 2007 SPU team went 14-0-0 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four.

"It is quite an accomplishment to go undefeated in league play, especially with how much more competitive our league has become in recent years," said head coach Travis Connell. "We have five legitimate teams that could go very far in the NCAA Tournament. The consistency of this team has been unbelievable."

WWU dominated the first half with a 11-2 advantage in shots, but playing on senior day, the Yellowjackets elevated their defense to not allow the Vikings to score. MSUB had the best scoring chance of the half in the 26th minute when Hayley Warren hit the post on a shot from the top of the box that got over the head of WWU goalkeeper Ashley Homer.

"Billings came out with a lot of energy, and playing on senior day, presented a lot of new looks for us," said Connell.

The Vikings broke the scoreless tie in the 67th minute when freshman Jordyn Bartelson (Puyallup, WA) finished a shot with a touch off a corner kick from junior Emily Webster (Bellingham, WA/Sehome). Senior Elise Aylward (Renton, WA/Lindbergh) also got a touch on the ball for her fourth assist of the season.

Just over 4 minutes later, Webster converted a left-footed shot on a free kick from 25-yards that curved over the wall to put the Vikings up 2-0.

"I was proud of how the team stuck with it and stayed focused...and we eventually got the goals," said Connell. "You have to be able to score goals in different ways with the different looks we are going to get from teams. Today we did a nice job of creating opportunities off restarts with the corner kick and the free kick."

Homer (Puyallup, WA) was credited with her 11th clean sheet of the season. The Western defense limited MSUB to just 6 shots all game, with only one on goal coming the last seconds of the match. The Vikings claimed their 14th shutout of the season.

WWU moves on to the GNAC Championships where they will be the No. 1 seed in the four-team field. The Vikings will play the No. 4 seed Thursday in Burnaby, BC at Terry Fox Field, with the opponent and time to be announced tomorrow.

Match Notes: Extended winning streak to 17 games after opening the season with a 0-0 tie at Sonoma State...WWU is now undefeated over its last 42 regular-season matches (38-0-4)...scored in 31 consecutive GNAC matches (regular and postseason matches)...unbeaten in 33 consecutive regular-season matches (31-0-2)...today's victory sealed a perfect 12-0-0 season in the GNAC, joining the 2007 SPU team as the only undefeated and untied teams in GNAC history (league play only)...recorded 14 shutouts this season, 2 off school record of 16 set in 2012.