VANCOUVER, BC – The No. 5-ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team opened the 2018 preseason with a 3-2 victory over the University of British Columbia Thursday afternoon at the Rashpal Dhillon Oval on the UBC campus.
 
The game was an exhibition match, with the final result and all game statistics not counting towards the 2018 season standings. This was the first of three exhibition matches before the Vikings officially open the 2018 season at the end of the month.
 
The Vikings wasted little time jumping ahead of the Thunderbirds, scoring a pair of goals just one minute, 10 seconds seconds apart in the 18^th and 19^th minutes of the game.
 
Junior midfielder Jordyn Bartelson (Puyallup, WA) struck first with a shot from outside the 18-yard box that caromed off the hands of the UBC goalkeeper into the back of the net to give WWU a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later senior forward Gabriela Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) opened her preseason account with a shot to the upper left corner of the goal from inside the box.
 
UBC cut the lead to 2-1 in the 37^th minute when Margaret Hadley beat WWU redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State) with a low shot inside the right post.
 
The Thunderbirds scored the equalizer in the 55^th minute when Danielle Steer connected on a half volley inside the left post that beat senior goalkeeper Alyssa Treptow (Flagstaff, AZ).
 
WWU scored go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal in the 79^th minute when sophomore forward Zoe Milburn (Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) found a loose ball off a free kick, and chipped it in from 7 yards out. Junior forward Liv Larson (Arlington, WA) assisted on the game-winning goal. 

The Vikings out-shot the Thunderbirds 13-7, while also holding a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal.
 
The Vikings continue the preseason with the second of three exhibition matches next Tuesday (Aug. 21) traveling to play Trinity Western University in Langley, BC at 7 pm. WWU will host Victoria on August 24 (Friday) at 6 pm at Harrington Field before opening the 2018 regular season on the road at Point Loma (Aug. 30) and No. 5-ranked UC San Diego (Sept. 1).
 
 
About WWU Soccer:
The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of six consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships, advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in three of the last five seasons and played for the West Region championship in five of the last six seasons. The Vikings won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2016 with an undefeated 24-0-1 record, beating three-time defending national champion Grand Valley State 3-2 in the title game. Including the national championship run, the Vikings put together a 39-game winning streak (4^th-longest in NCAA II history) and a 40-game unbeaten streak. The program has claimed five of the last six Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles, going 70-4-4 (.923) in league play during this stretch, and has won the last three GNAC Championships titles (2005, 2016, 2017). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 16^th season leading the program, and has led the Vikings to eight trips to the NCAA Championships and 14 consecutive winning seasons. Since the start of the 2013 season, WWU has built a 99-7-7 record (.907), the second-best among all NCAA Division II programs during this five-season stretch.