BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Junior midfielder
Tera Ziemer scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season for the game-winner in the 72nd minute to lead the No. 23 Western Washington University women's soccer team to a 2-0 shutout victory over Simon Fraser University Saturday at Harrington Field.
The Vikings gained sole possession of the top spot in the GNAC table improving to 10-1-2 overall and 7-1-0 in conference play 21 points, two better than second-place Seattle Pacific. Simon Fraser dropped to 3-7-1 overall and 4-4-0 in GNAC play.
Saturday's win over SFU also marked the 400th career victory for WWU head coach
Travis Connell, who now has 275 wins in 19 seasons leading the women's program and 125 more wins when he led the Western men's program for 14 seasons. Connell joins an exclusive list of WWU head coaches to earn 400 wins while leading the Vikings, which includes Lynda Goodrich,
Diane Flick-Williams,
Carmen Dolfo and Brad Jackson.
The game was scoreless through the first 70 minutes before Ziemer put the game-winner in the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season. The Texas A&M transfer worked a give-and-go with freshman forward
Sophie Bearden Croft, got behind a defender and delivered a strong left-footed shot from 9-yards out.
The Vikings struck again nearly seven minutes later, putting the game away on a free kick goal by senior midfielder
Darby Doyle on a 27-yard strike that scooted under the SFU goalkeeper.
"The team really found another gear in the second half today," said
Connell. "The energy, attention to detail and execution improved after the break."
WWU held a decisive 26-6 lead in shots and 10-2 advantage in shots on goal. WWU senior goalkeeper
Natalie Dierickx made a pair of saves to record her sixth shutout of the season and 27th of her career.
QUICK STATS
#23 Western Washington 2, Simon Fraser 0
Date: October 16, 2021
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Weather: 50°, Windy Att: 178
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------------------
Simon Fraser................ 0 0 - 0
#23 Western Washington...... 0 2 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 71:07 WWU Ziemer (Bearden Croft)
2. 77:53 WWU Doyle (off Free Kick)
Shots: WWU 26, SFU 6
Shots on Goal: WWU 10, SFU 2
Saves: WWU 2 (Dierickx – 2), SFU 8 (Anderson – 8)
Corners: WWU 9, SFU 3
Fouls: SFU 9, WWU 6
Yellow Cards: None
Offsides: WWU 2, SFU 2
Kits: WWU (Light Blue), SFU (White)
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SIMON FRASER
Completed the sweep of Simon Fraser this season, also gaining a 2-1 win in Burnaby on September 23. WWU now leads the all-time series 32-17-3 and extended its winning streak against SFU to 20 consecutive games dating back to the 2011 season. Western also has a 24-game unbeaten streak vs. SFU (22-0-2) and is 15-8-1 all-time in home games in the series (6-0-0 at Harrington Field).
HARRINGTON FIELD SUCCESS
Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 67-2-4 (.945) playing in front of the home crowd.
WWU has a current 32-game unbeaten streak (29-0-3) at Harrington Field dating back to the end of the 2017 season (last home loss - Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Concordia). Including the men's program, WWU's soccer teams have a combined record of 100-22-13 at Harrington Field (.789 winning percentage) since the on-campus facility debuted.
UP NEXT
The Vikings (10-1-2, 7-1-0 GNAC) continue their four-game homestand with a pair of matches next week hosting rival Seattle Pacific on Thursday (10/21, 7 pm) and Montana State Billings on Saturday (10/23, 1 pm) for Senior Day. The full 2021 season schedule, complete with live coverage links, can be viewed online at
wwuvikings.com/21_WSOC.
GNAC STANDINGS
Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through play on Saturday, with the Vikings gaining the top spot in the table with 21 points at 7-1-0 in conference play:
| WOMEN'S SOCCER |
CONF |
PTS |
OVERALL |
PCT |
HOME |
AWAY |
NEUTRAL |
STREAK |
| Western Washington |
7-1-0 |
21 |
10-1-2 |
.846 |
7-0-1 |
2-1-1 |
1-0-0 |
Won 2 |
| Seattle Pacific |
6-1-1 |
19 |
9-1-1 |
.864 |
4-0-0 |
5-1-1 |
0-0-0 |
Tied 1 |
| Northwest Nazarene |
4-3-1 |
13 |
6-3-2 |
.637 |
4-0-1 |
2-3-1 |
0-1-0 |
Won 2 |
| Simon Fraser |
4-3-0 |
12 |
3-6-1 |
.350 |
2-3-0 |
1-3-1 |
0-0-0 |
Won 1 |
| Western Oregon |
3-3-2 |
11 |
4-6-2 |
.455 |
3-2-1 |
1-3-1 |
0-1-0 |
Won 1 |
| Montana State Billings |
2-4-2 |
8 |
5-5-3 |
.500 |
4-2-1 |
0-3-2 |
1-0-0 |
Tied 1 |
| Saint Martin's |
2-6-0 |
6 |
3-9-0 |
.250 |
3-2-0 |
0-7-0 |
0-0-0 |
Lost 5 |
| Central Washington |
1-7-0 |
3 |
2-10-0 |
.167 |
1-4-0 |
0-4-0 |
1-2-0 |
Lost 2 |
| Saturday's GNAC Women's Soccer Results |
#23 Western Washington 2, Simon Fraser 0
#8 Seattle Pacific 1, Montana State Billings 1 (2 OT)
Northwest Nazarene 1, Central Washington 0
Western Oregon 2, Saint Martin's 1 |
