LACEY, Wash. – The No. 15 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team put on another high-scoring performance, with six different players scoring a goal in a 6-0 road victory over Saint Martin's on Thursday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at Saints Field.

 

The Vikings improved to 8-2-0 overall and remained perfect at 4-0-0 in conference play to lead the GNAC standings with 12 points. In four GNAC games, WWU has out-scored its opponents 19-0, including a 14-0 margin in the last two games following last Saturday's 8-0 win vs. Montana State Billings.

 

After a scoreless first 20 minutes of the first half, the Vikings offense unleashed a furious attack scoring four goals over an eight-minute stretch. Goals were scored by senior Jordyn Bartelson (22'), senior Emily Nelson (25'), junior Zoe Milburn (26') and junior Talia Daigle (30'). 

                                                                

The Vikings struck two more times early in the second half, when junior Jenna Killman (54') and senior Peyton Chick (55') scored less than two minutes apart to extend the lead to 6-0. Senior forward Karli White did not score a goal, but recorded a pair of assists and now leads the team with five assists on the season.

 

"I am really happy with the performance of the team today as we got contributions from a lot of players, not just the goal scorers, but everyone that stepped on the field made a difference," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We challenged them about their mentality coming off a lopsided win in the last game, not to be complacent, and they rose to the challenge. They started halves well, ended halves well and really had a unified mentality today and played with a purpose for all 90 minutes."

 

WWU's defense was again organized and dominating, allowing the Saints only one-shot over the 90-minute contest. The Vikings out-shot the Saints 37-1 with a 14-1 advantage in shots on goal. In four GNAC games, the Vikings have allowed only 12 shots (6 shots on goal) and has out-shot its conference foes 123-12 with a 54-6 edge in shots on goal.

 

"We talked as a team that nothing carries over from a previous game…and you have to earn everything and overcome challenges with every game," added Connell. "We are in the middle of a long stretch and a long season…and really proud of how we attacked all those challenges today."

 

The Vikings used three goalkeepers in the game, with senior Erin Smith (Bellevue, WA/Bellevue Christian/Whatcom CC) seeing 21 minutes of action in her WWU debut. WWU has now posted a shutout in all eight of its wins while allowing only three goals all season (0.298 goals against average).

 

Saint Martin's dropped to 2-7-2 overall and 0-4-0 in GNAC play.

 

WWU continues its road trip down Interstate 5 for another GNAC contest on Saturday at Western Oregon in Monmouth. The game vs. the Wolves is set for a 1 pm kickoff at the WOU Soccer Field and can be followed online via webcast and live stats at GNAC.tv.

 

WWU is now unbeaten over its last 15 regular-season GNAC games going back to last season, with a 14-0-1 mark during this stretch.

 

The Vikings improved to 20-2-1 all-time vs. Saint Martin's and are now 10-2-0 in Lacey. Today's victory extended WWU's winning streak over SMU to 15 consecutive games dating back to 2011.

 

The Vikings have recorded four consecutive shutouts, all in conference play, while out-scoring teams 19-0 during that span. Going back to midway through the first half in the game at No. 9 Colorado School of Mines on September 25, WWU has as current string of 433:50 consecutive scoreless minutes. 

 

#15 Western Washington 6, Saint Martin's 0

Date: Oct. 10, 2019

Field: Saints Field  Site: Lacey, WA

Attendance: 144

 

Goals by Period               1  2    Tot

-----------------------------------------

Western Washington..........  4  2  -  6

Saint Martin's..............  0  0  -  0

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.   21:31  WWU  Bartelson (White, Eversaul)

2.   24:22  WWU  Nelson (White)

3.   25:42  WWU  Milburn

4.   29:43  WWU  Daigle

5.   53:05  WWU  Killman

6.   54:32  WWU  Chick

 

Shots: WWU 37, SMU 1

Shots on Goal: WWU 14, SMU 1

Saves: WWU 1 (Dierickx – 0, Henninger – 1, Smith - 0), SMU 8 (Christensen – 3, Campigotto - 4)

Corners: WWU 11, SMU 0

Fouls: SMU 13, WWU 3

Kits: WWU – Navy Blue; SMU – Gray/Red

 

WWU has won 68 of its last 78 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 68-7-3 during this stretch. The program has won six of the last seven GNAC regular-season titles, three of the last four GNAC Tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last seven seasons. During the seven-year stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match six times and advanced to the NCAA II Final Four three times (2013, 2015, 2016). Western has a current streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons the 8th-longest active streak in NCAA II.

 

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). All home matches feature a live webcast, as well as most road matches, with links on how to follow the games available at WWUVikings.com/Live.

 

The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in three of the last six seasons and played for the West Region championship in six of the last seven 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 in Kansas City, Missouri. Including the national championship run, the Vikings put together a 39-game winning streak (4th-longest in NCAA II history) and a 40-game unbeaten streak. The program has claimed six of the last seven Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles, going 80-5-5 (.917) in league play during this stretch, and has won three of the last four GNAC Championships titles (2005, 2016, 2017). Head coach Travis Connell enters his 17^th season leading the program in 2019, and has led the Vikings to nine trips to the NCAA Championships and 15 consecutive winning seasons.