PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Washington University junior Emily Bunnell headed home the golden goal in the 98th minute to complete an improbable comeback by the No. 3 seed Vikings in a 3-2 victory over No. 2 seed Concordia Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Division II Championships at Tuominen Yard.
Taking a page right out of the instant-classic MLS playoff match between the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers played on Thursday, the Vikings made sure these bragging rights stayed to the North with the dramatic victory to move on to the NCAA II West Regional final and the Sweet 16 of the championship. WWU will face postseason rival UC San Diego next week at a to-be-determined site with the host coming from the South Central Region.
WWU trailed 2-0 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, but scored two goals 63-seconds apart in the 86th and 87th minutes to tie the game. The Vikings held off two late Concordia scoring chances to push the game into overtime, and then scored the golden goal at the 97:19 mark.
Bunnell (Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington) scored the game-winning goal with less than three minutes remaining in the first overtime, with senior All-American Gabriela Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) creating the scoring chance after making a run down the right side of the box and firing a cross towards the middle of the box to set up the golden goal. Bunnell redirected the ball at a sharp angle to the far post for her second game-winning goal of the postseason.
Already up 1-0 after a go-ahead goal by senior midfielder Gabrielle Ewing in the 50th minute, the Cavaliers added what at the time looked to be an insurance goal when Quinn Williams extended the lead to 2-0 at the 85:05 mark.
But 15 seconds later at the 85:20 mark, with the Vikings pressing after the ensuing kickoff, senior defender Hattie North (Bellingham, WA) scored her first career goal on a long-distance strike from 23-yards out to cut the deficit to one goal at 2-1.
Just over a minute later, Pelogi completed the dramatic comeback with the equalizer in the 87th minute at the 86:23 mark. Pelogi scored her team-leading 9th goal of the season and 45th of her career when she beat CU goalkeeper Rose Hauser one-on-one and trickled the ball into the empty net from 18-yards out.
Concordia pressed hard over the final two-and-a-half minutes of regulation firing a pair of shots on goal that were saved by WWU redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State).
After a scoreless first half, Concordia broke through with the game's first score early in the second half at the 49:54 mark. Ewing took a chance from well-outside the 18-yard box, chipping a ball over Dierickx's head from 25-yards out for her eighth goal of the season. The goal was Ewing's fourth in her career against the Vikings and third this season.
WWU threatened for the equalizer in the 71st minute when junior defender Emily Nelson (Tacoma, WA/Bellarmine Prep) used her height to rise above the Concordia defense connecting on a header off a corner kick from junior Liv Larson (Arlington, WA), but the shot went just high over the crossbar.
Making its seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Championships and ninth in program history, The Vikings improved to 18-3-1 to advance to the West Region championship for the fourth consecutive season and sixth time in the last seven seasons. WWU leveled the season series against Concordia at 2-2, dropping two previous games vs. the Cavaliers on their home turf.
Concordia had its season come to a close with a 16-2-3 overall record, with both defeats coming to the Vikings.
The No. 3 seed Vikings (18-3-1) move on to face No. 1 seed UC San Diego (18-2-1) next week in the NCAA Division II West Regional final, after the Tritons beat Point Loma 3-2 earlier Saturday after also battling back from a 2-0 first-half deficit…the West Regional final site will be decided on Sunday, and will be hosted in either Golden, Colorado (Colorado School of Mines), Colorado Springs, Colorado (Colorado-Colorado Springs) or Canyon Texas (West Texas A&M)…No. 1 seed Colorado School of Mines hosts No. 5 seed Dallas Baptist and West Texas A&M hosts Colorado-Colorado Springs in the second round of the South Central Regional tomorrow…WWU handed Colorado School of Mines (19-1-1) its only defeat of the season Sept. 19 in Bellingham, and defeated the Orediggers 5-1 in the 2016 NCAA Quarterfinals en route to the national championship.
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).
