BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 12 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team fought back from a halftime deficit for the first time in conference play this season, scoring a pair of second-half goals to secure a 2-1 victory over Simon Fraser University Saturday night at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings controlled the match from the start, but an early goal by the Clan forced the Vikings on the comeback trail in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.

 

WWU answered the call with two second-half goals, the first on a header by junior midfielder Grace Eversaul in the 49^th minute, and the game-winner by senior defender Peyton Chick in the 71^stminute. Both goals for the Vikings came off corner kicks, as the Vikings held a 14-0 advantage in corners in the game.

 

WWU remained perfect in GNAC play at 7-0-0, out-scoring opponents 32-1 in league play, and improve to 11-2-0 overall. The goal allowed to SFU was only the fourth this season and the victory was the first by the Vikings in non-shutout fashion. 

 

Overall the Vikings out-shot the Clan 24-3, with a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal.

 

SFU got off to the early lead in the 8^th minute when Kiara Buono connected on a pure strike from the left side of the box 16-yards out into the upper right corner of the goal. The Vikings had a pair of chances to clear the ball out of their half, but Buono was persistent after the ball, creating enough room for the go-ahead goal.

 

The Vikings pulled even early in the second half when Eversaul scored off a set-piece corner kick delivered by freshman defender Makenzie Burks. Eversaul trickled her header towards the mouth of the goal, scooting between the legs of the SFU keeper Nicole Anderson for the equalizer at the 48:36 mark.

 

Eversaul had a chance to put the Vikings ahead just over two minutes later when WWU was awarded a penalty kick, and while her shot faked the keeper out going to her right, it hit squarely off the right post to keep the game 1-1.

 

The Vikings forged ahead in the 71^st minute when Chick curled her own corner kick into the near post for her for her third goal of the season. WWU held a 14-0 advantage in earning corner kicks, with seven in each half. 

 

WWU trailed at the half in a GNAC contest for the first time since the opening game in league play in 2018 at Concordia…WWU has out-shot opponents 203-25 in seven league games, with a decisive 84-10 edge in shots on goal…WWU has allowed only four goals all season for a .306 goals against average…senior defender Annaliese Laurila continued her streak of playing (and starting) in all 81 games of her career and now is tied for 13^th in program history in games played.

 

The Vikings (11-2-0, 7-0-0 GNAC) remain at home hosting Seattle Pacific next Thursday with kickoff at 7 pm at Harrington Field. WWU also plays at Central Washington next Saturday at 2 pm in Ellensburg.

 

WWU is now unbeaten over its last 18 regular-season GNAC games going back to last season, with a 17-0-1 mark during this stretch.

 

WWU swept the season series vs. Simon Fraser, also winning 3-0 on Sept. 28 in Burnaby in the GNAC opener for both teams. The Vikings have now won 18 consecutive contests vs. SFU, and are undefeated at 20-0-2 in the last 22 matches dating back to the 2008 season. Western continues to lead the all-time series 30-17-3.

 

The goal allowed by the Vikings in the 8^th minute of tonight's game snapped a string of six consecutive shutouts and was the first goal allowed in GNAC play this season by WWU. It ended a string of 621:44 consecutive scoreless minutes played by the Vikings going back to the first half of the game at No. 9 Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 25.

 

#12 Western Washington 2, Simon Fraser 1

Date: Oct. 19, 2019

Field: Harrington Field  Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 261

 

Goals by Period               1  2    Tot

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

Simon Fraser................  1  0  -  1

Western Washington..........  0  2  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.    7:55   SFU   Buono

2.   48:36   WWU   Eversaul (Burks)

3.   70:04   WWU   Chick

 

Shots: WWU 24, SFU 4

Shots on Goal: WWU 6, SFU 1

Saves: WWU 0 (Dierickx – 0), SFU 4 (Anderson - 3)

Corners: WWU 14, SFU 0

Fouls: WWU 8, SFU 7

Kits: WWU – Light Blue; SFU - Red

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games played on Saturday:

 

 

Since debuting at Harrington Field in 2014, the Vikings are 54-2-1 (.956), including a perfect 9-0-0 record last season and off to a 6-0-0 start this season. The Vikings have a current 16-match home winning streak.

 

WWU has won 71 of its last 81 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 71-7-3 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 87-5-5 (.925) 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.