ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The No. 18 Western Washington University women's soccer team battled one of its rivals Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action, with the Vikings and Central Washington University playing to a 1-1 draw in double overtime at Tomlinson Stadium.
The physical match featured 31 fouls, with 17 on the Wildcats, and several scoring opportunities for both teams before the game ended in 1-1 tie after 110 minutes of action.
WWU had its five-game winning streak snapped, but remains unbeaten over its last six matches (5-0-1) and is 9-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 in conference play. Debuting at Tomlinson Stadium in the first night game in program history, CWU is now 1-6-4 overall and 1-3-2 in GNAC play.
"We came up against some big challenges today and I am proud of the determination and grit our players showed throughout the match," said head coach
Travis Connell. "There is no quit in this group and I am proud of how hard they played tonight."
The Vikings had a scoring opportunity midway through the first half in the 26
th minute, when junior forward
Liv Larson (Arlington, WA) took a through ball from sophomore forward
Sophie Butterfield (Bellevue, WA) and fired a shot from the top of the box. The shot caromed off CWU goalkeeper Emily Thompson and the rebound attempt inched just left of the left post.
After a scoreless first half, the Vikings had two early scoring chances to open the second 45 minutes of play. Sophomore midfielder
Zoe Milburn (Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) had a penalty kick turned away by CWU goalkeeper Emily Thompson in the 52
nd minute, but junior midfielder
Jordyn Bartelson (Puyallup, WA) made good on her penalty kick attempt at the 57:13 mark to put the Vikings up 1-0.
Central scored the equalizer in the 70
th minute when KK Wallace headed home a service from Kennedy Anson to the low far post to beat WWU redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State).
With the score tied 1-1 after the regulation 90 minutes, the Vikings had a golden goal opportunity 30 seconds into the first overtime when senior forward
Gabriela Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) was pulled down in the box and a penalty kick was awarded.
Going for the golden goal, Bartelson had her PK attempt turned away by Thompson on a diving stop to keep the game tied 1-1.
"Anything can happen at any point in any match," added Connell. "There were some big challenge tonight, and we faced them head on. The result was not for lack of effort. I think this type of match makes us better as we grow deeper into the season."
Dierickx ended with 6 saves, while Thompson was credited with 6 saves for the Wildcats. WWU out-shot CWU 22-11, but shots on goal were much closer at 9-7 in favor of the Vikings.
The Vikings (9-2-1, 4-1-1 GNAC) return home for the next four matches, beginning with Montana State Billings (Thursday) and Northwest Nazarene (Saturday) traveling to play at Harrington Field on the WWU campus.
Both matches will have a 7 pm kickoff, with Saturday's match vs. the Nighthawks featuring the annual March to the Match beginning at 6:30 pm at the WWU Campus Recreation Center. The pre-march gathering will begin at 6 pm, with free soccer scarf giveaways with a game ticket or Viking Territory Pass (while supplies last).
GAME NOTES…the tie was the first for the Vikings as the first since the opening game of the 2016 national championship season at Sonoma State…WWU is now 40-11-8 all-time vs. CWU, with a 28-5-5 record since 2000…had 7-game winning streak vs. the Wildcats snapped, but still unbeaten in last 14 matches vs. CWU (13-0-1).
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 57:13 WWU -
Jordyn Bartelson (Penalty kick)
2. 69:41 CWU - KK Wallace - Service from 15, 8 heads it into low far post
UPDATED GNAC STANDINGS…
|
WOMEN'S SOCCER
|
CONF
|
PTS
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Concordia
|
5-0-1
|
16
|
8-0-2
|
.900
|
3-0-1
|
4-0-1
|
1-0-0
|
Tied 1
|
|
Western Washington
|
4-1-1
|
13
|
9-2-1
|
.792
|
5-0-0
|
4-2-1
|
0-0-0
|
Tied 1
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
4-1-1
|
13
|
6-3-1
|
.650
|
2-0-0
|
2-2-1
|
2-1-0
|
Won 1
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
4-2-0
|
12
|
8-3-1
|
.708
|
4-1-0
|
4-2-1
|
0-0-0
|
Won 1
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
3-4-0
|
9
|
7-4-1
|
.625
|
5-2-0
|
2-2-1
|
0-0-0
|
Won 2
|
|
Western Oregon
|
2-4-1
|
7
|
4-6-2
|
.417
|
1-4-1
|
3-2-1
|
0-0-0
|
Lost 3
|
|
Central Washington
|
1-3-2
|
5
|
1-6-4
|
.273
|
0-3-3
|
1-3-1
|
0-0-0
|
Tied 1
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
1-5-0
|
3
|
5-7-0
|
.417
|
2-6-0
|
3-1-0
|
0-0-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
1-5-0
|
3
|
4-6-1
|
.409
|
2-4-0
|
1-2-1
|
1-0-0
|
Lost 2
|
