BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The 11th-ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team applied constant offensive pressure with 35 total shots and scored four times in the second half to pull away from visiting Holy Names for a 4-0 victory in the home opener at Harrington Field on Thursday night.
 
The Vikings improved to 2-1-0, earning their 40th win at Harrington Field since the facility debuted in 2014 (40-2-1 all-time record at Harrington). Holy Names dropped to 1-1-0 with the loss.
 
The Vikings put 16 of their 35 shots on target during the game in controlling possession throughout the contest. Meanwhile, the WWU defense held the Hawks to 2 total shots with none on goal in the commanding victory.
 
"It's great to be at home again," head coach Travis Connell said. "Playing on this field, in this weather, helps the way we defend. We had a lot of energy and took the game at our opponent, and that's the way we want to play so it was great to see that and the goals."
 
Senior defender Taylor Hallquist (Vancouver, WA/Columbia River) put the Vikings ahead in the 55th minute, finding space to dribble up the field and fire a shot from 25 yards away to the upper-right corner of the net. It was the second goal in three games for the senior.
 
The WWU lead doubled almost exactly three minutes later as sophomore midfielder Grace Eversaul (Vancouver, WA/Skyview) found space for a one-time strike to a loose ball deflected out to the top of the box. She fired her shot to the lower-right corner of the net in the 58th minute for a 2-0 WWU lead.
 
Sophomore midfielder Darby Doyle (Spokane, WA/Gonzaga Prep) made it a 3-0 lead for the Vikings in the 67th minute, gaining control of an attempted clearance off a corner kick and scoring from just outside the box to the lower-right corner of the net.
 
WWU upped its lead to 4-0 in the 77th minute when a shot from distance by freshman midfielder Caylie Etherington (Oak Harbor, WA) was saved but not corralled by the goalkeeper, leaving opportunity for junior defender Peyton Chick (Renton, WA/Kentridge) to score the deflection from close range.
 
Sophomore Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State) and senior Alyssa Treptow (Flagstaff, AZ) combined for the shutout at goalkeeper with Dierickx playing the first 62:48 before Treptow took over for the remainder of the contest.
 
Holy Names goalkeeper Nyah Summers made 11 saves for the Hawks, while the defense was credited with a team save as well.
 
WWU's 16 shots on goal were the most in a game since WWU put 19 shot on frame in a 7-0 win over Western Oregon on Sept. 16, 2017. The 35 total shots were the most since producing 37 shots in a 4-0 win against Saint Martin's on Oct. 10, 2017.
 
The Vikings had six shots on goal before halftime and 10 on frame during the four-goal second half.
 
"We were creating chances, and that's the way soccer is – sometimes they go in and sometimes they don't," Connell said. "The key is that you're creating the chances, and that was something we did a lot better today than we did in our first two games. That's what you want to do, keep adding pieces to your team, keeping getting better, and we took some steps forward today."
 
WWU hosts No. 7 MSU Denver for a top 25 matchup at Harrington Field on Saturday with a 7 pm kickoff. MSU Denver is a two-time national champion (2004 and 2006) while the Vikings are a year removed from claiming the national championship in 2016.   
 
Single-game and season tickets for Western's nine home games can be purchased at WWUVikings.com/Tickets.
 
All home matches will be streamed on GNAC.tv and VikingsTV with links available at WWUVikings.com/Live.
 
Game Notes: Vikings improved to 40-2-1 all-time at Harrington Field since the facility debuted in 2014…improved to 2-0 all-time against Holy Names following a 7-1 victory over the Hawks in California last season…set season highs for shots and shots on goal…most shots since generating 37 shots vs. Saint Martin's on Oct. 10, 2017 (school record is 43 vs. Trinity Lutheran in 2015)…most shots on goal since 19 shots on frame vs. Western Oregon on Sept. 16, 2017…Taylor Hallquist has four career goals with two goals in 2018…fewest shots allowed in a game since holding CSU-Pueblo to 2 shots on Sept. 13, 2017…Vikings twice held an opponent without a shot on goal during 2017 (Sept. 13 at CSU-Pueblo, Sept. 30 at MSU Billings)…WWU has won 44 of their last 47 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season (65-5-2 over last four seasons).