BELLINGHAM, Wash. – It was only fitting that on Senior Night in front of a packed crowd at Harrington Field, it was senior defender
Taylor Hallquist who scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal less than 10 minutes into Saturday night's 2-0 shutout victory by No. 18 Western Washington University over Western Oregon University.
Hallquist (Vancouver, WA/Columbia River) scored at the 8:10 mark early in the first half to give the nationally-ranked Vikings the only goal they would need in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference win to extend WWU's unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive games.
WWU is now 13-2-1 overall and remains in a first-place tie with Concordia at 8-1-1 in GNAC play. The Vikings are 9-0-1 over the last 10 games, which includes seven shutouts. Western Oregon dropped to 5-8-2 overall and 3-6-1 in GNAC play.
"Tonight was a really good defensive performance. We were really sharp in the way we closed on the ball and the way we controlled possession," said head coach
Travis Connell. "Defense is our calling card and we pride ourselves on these performances. Over the last four or five games I think we've really played solid defense."
The Vikings defense recorded the ninth shutout of the season by not allowing a shot on goal by the Wolves, lowering the season goals against average to 0.43 (allowed 7 goals all season). WWU out-shot the Wolves 17-2.
The Vikings jumped out to the early lead with the early goal by Hallquist in the 9
th minute. The senior dribbled around a defender at midfield and blasted a shot from 20-yards out for her third goal of the season and fifth of her career while playing in her 79
th match as a Viking.
"Taylor exemplifies this senior class, as she has the ability to dial it in and make the big play," added Connell. "It was a special night to honor this group and it was great to get a win for them."
Freshman
Dayana Diaz (Granite Falls, WA) added a late insurance goal in the 83
rd minute when she headed home a perfectly placed corner kick from junior forward
Liv Larson (Arlington, WA). The goal was the seventh of the season for Diaz, tying senior forward
Gabriela Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) for the team lead.
The Vikings (13-2-1, 8-1-1 GNAC) close out the regular season portion of the schedule next week with a two-game road trip to face Northwest Nazarene in Nampa on Thursday (4 pm MT) and Montana State Billings on Saturday (1 pm MT).
"There is no time to rest and we know this is going to be a tough road trip," said Connell. "We'll have to be at our best to get good results in the next two games on the road."
SENIOR NIGHT…prior to the game, WWU's seven seniors were honored with a pregame ceremony…goalkeeper
Hillary O'Connor, forward
Jen Oak, defender
Taylor Hallquist, forward
Gabriela Pelogi, midfielder
Mariah Roggow, defender
Hattie North and goalkeeper
Alyssa Treptow suited up for their final regular-season game at Harrington Field…the senior class has a 76-6-3 (.912) record over the last four seasons (42-2-2 in GNAC play) and helped lead the Vikings to the 2016 NCAA Division II National Championship.
GAME NOTES…WWU is unbeaten in its last 10 games (9-0-1), allowing only 3 goals during the 10-game stretch…the Vikings remain in a first-place tie in the GNAC standings with Concordia at 8-1-1 in GNAC play…WWU, Concordia, Simon Fraser and Seattle Pacific will make up the field for the GNAC Championships that will be played Nov. 1-3 in Portland, Oregon…WWU improved to 48-2-1 all-time at Harrington Field.
FOLLOW THE VIKS…fans can follow WWU women's soccer online at
WWUVikings.com/WSoc, and via social media on
Twitter (@WWU_WSoccer),
Instagram (@wwu_wsoccer) and
Facebook (@WWUsoccerwomens).
UPDATED GNAC STANDINGS…
| WOMEN'S SOCCER |
CONF |
PTS |
OVERALL |
PCT |
HOME |
AWAY |
NEUTRAL |
STREAK |
| Concordia* |
8-1-1 |
25 |
11-1-2 |
.857 |
4-0-1 |
6-1-1 |
1-0-0 |
Won 1 |
| Western Washington* |
8-1-1 |
25 |
13-2-1 |
.844 |
9-0-0 |
4-2-1 |
0-0-0 |
Won 4 |
| Simon Fraser* |
7-2-1 |
22 |
9-4-1 |
.679 |
5-1-0 |
2-2-1 |
2-1-0 |
Lost 1 |
| Seattle Pacific* |
7-3-0 |
21 |
11-4-1 |
.719 |
6-2-0 |
5-2-1 |
0-0-0 |
Won 3 |
| Central Washington |
4-4-2 |
14 |
4-7-4 |
.400 |
2-4-3 |
2-3-1 |
0-0-0 |
Won 2 |
| Western Oregon |
3-6-1 |
10 |
5-8-2 |
.400 |
2-4-1 |
3-4-1 |
0-0-0 |
Lost 2 |
| Northwest Nazarene |
3-7-0 |
9 |
7-7-1 |
.500 |
5-2-0 |
2-5-1 |
0-0-0 |
Lost 3 |
| Saint Martin's |
1-9-0 |
3 |
5-11-0 |
.313 |
2-7-0 |
3-4-0 |
0-0-0 |
Lost 5 |
| Montana State Billings |
1-9-0 |
3 |
4-10-1 |
.300 |
2-4-0 |
1-6-1 |
1-0-0 |
Lost 6 |
| * indicates clinched berth in GNAC Championships |
