Box Score Sept. 17, 2016 Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University freshman forward Peyton Chick recorded a goal and an assist to lead the No. 17 Vikings to a 2-0 victory over Western Oregon Saturday afternoon at Harrington Field in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The Vikings remain undefeated while improving to 5-0-1 on the season and tallied the fifth shutout of the season. Western Oregon falls to 3-3-0 overall and 0-1 in GNAC play.
"We got contributions from a lot of players today, which has been a trend, and today Peyton Chick stepped up and really had a great match," said 14th-year head coach Travis Connell.
Chick (Renton, WA/Kentridge) was credited with the assist on the eventual game-winning goal by Elise Aylward (Renton, WA/Lindbergh) in the 32nd minute and scored in the 85th minute to put the game out of reach.
Aylward scored her first goal of the season and 14th of her career when she found the rebound from Chick's shot from the 18-yard box and drove it past WOU goalie Caitlin Kastelic for the go-ahead score.
Chick put the game out of reach late in the second half taking a through ball from freshman Liv Larson (Arlington, WA) and slid the ball past the goalie from 6-yards out to the far post.
Western out-shot the Wolves 28-8 in the game and held a 10-1 advantage in shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Ashley Homer (Puyallup, WA/College of Saint Rose) recorded her fifth individual shutout of the season.
"Sierra (Shugarts) was dominant today in leading our defense, not only on the ball, but also breaking up plays and directing the defense. An all-around good effort today by the back line once again," said Connell.
The Vikings concluded a perfect week that included a 3-2 victory over No. 6 UC San Diego on Wednesday. WWU will host nationally-ranked Bridgeport on Thursday (Sept. 22) at 7 pm at Harrington Field in a match that will be televised live on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Both WWU and Bridgeport played in the NCAA II Final Four last season in Pensacola, Florida. The Vikings next GNAC match will be Saturday, September 24 at Simon Fraser (4:30 pm).
"We are excited for Thursday. Bridgeport is a good team and we seem to rise to the occasion in games like this," said Connell. "We need to keep the team focused on the details, but we are excited for Thursday and look forward to having a packed house at Harrington Field."
Game Notes: The Vikings extended their home winning streak to 17 consecutive games (12-0 in 2015, 5-0 this season)...WWU is undefeated in its last 31 GNAC regular-season matches (27-0-4)...WWU was last undefeated after the first six games of the season in 2014 when the team was undefeated in the first 20 games of the season.
