BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 17 Western Washington University women's soccer team turned in a dominating team effort in a 2-0 shutout victory over Central Washington University Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Harrington Field.

 

WWU improved to 6-2-0 overall and remained unbeaten at 2-0-0 in GNAC play with the favorable result over its in-state rival. The Wildcats dropped to 3-4-0 overall and 1-1-0 in conference play. The Vikings are now undefeated over their last 13 conference games (12-0-1) dating back to the beginning of last season.

 

The Vikings out-shot the Wildcats 32-1 in the contest and held a 12-0 advantage in shots on goal. It marked the second time this season the WWU defense held an opponent without a shot on goal, while recording the sixth shutout of the season. 

 

"It was definitely the start we were looking for, creating early chances and Karli converted a nice goal early in the game," said head coach Travis Connell. "I thought we were relentless on offense and really executed our game plan well. Scoring goals is the toughest thing in soccer, and we'll continue to work on converting those chances."

 

The Vikings got off to a quick start creating several offensive chances early, and cashed in when senior forward Karli White scored in the sixth minute to give WWU the early 1-0 lead. White took a pass from freshman defender Makenzie Burks down the left flank, created her own space and connected on a shot from the top of the box to the upper right quadrant for her third goal of the season.

 

Much like the first half, Western applied early pressure that resulted in a quick goal to start the second half. Senior forward Liv Larson hunted down a loose ball in the box and struck the far left post for the add-on goal, her team-leading fourth of the season.

 

The Vikings (6-2-0, 2-0-0 GNAC) return to action this weekend week hosting Montana State Billings on Saturday at 1 pm at Harrington Field. The game will start off a collegiate soccer doubleheader at Harrington Field, with the WWU men entertaining Saint Martin's at 7 pm.

 

"We love playing at Harrington, in front of a great crowd, under the lights. Our players and even other teams get excited for it," added Connell. "It is nice for our team to settle into a routine with the start of school and play consecutive home games. We look forward to another test on Saturday vs. MSUB."

 

Junior All-American goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx (73 minutes) and redshirt freshman Claire Henninger (17 minutes) combined on the Vikings sixth shutout of the season. Henninger made her official collegiate debut when she subbed into the match in the second half.

 

CWU goalkeeper Emily Thomson made 8 for the Wildcats.

 

With the victory WWU now leads the all-time series vs. CWU 41-11-8, including a current 15-game unbeaten streak vs. the Wildcats (13-0-2). WWU also extended its unbeaten streak vs. the Wildcats in home games to 12 consecutive (9-0-3), including tonight's 2-0 victory and a 6-0 blanking in 2017.

 

The Vikings host Montana State Billings (3-3-2, 2-1-0) on Saturday at 1 pm, marking the first time this season to play consecutive home game at Harrington Field. Saturday's match will stream live at GNAC.tv with live stats also available. Tickets are available in advance at WWUVikings.com/WS_Tickets and beginning one hour prior to kickoff at the Harrington Field Box Office.

 

#17 Western Washington 2, Central Washington 0

Date: Oct. 3, 2019

Field: Harrington Field  Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 346

 

Goals by Period               1  2    Tot

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

Central Washington..........  0  0  -  0

Western Washington..........  1  1  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.   5:24   WWU  White (Burks)

2.   48:28  WWU  Larson (Eversaul)

 

Shots: WWU 32, CWU 1

Shots on Goal: WWU 12, CWU 0

Saves: WWU 0 (Dierickx – 0, Henninger – 0), CWU 10 (Thomson – 8)

Corners: WWU 13, CWU 0

Fouls: WWU 8, CWU 7

Kits: WWU – Light Blue; CWU – Black

 

Since debuting at Harrington Field in 2014, the Vikings are 51-2-1 (.954), including a perfect 9-0-0 record last season and off to a 3-0-0 start this season. The Vikings have a current 12-match home winning streak.

 

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

 

 

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.