BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Senior forward Jenna Killman recorded a brace and sophomore defender Makenzie Burks tallied a goal and an assist to lead the No.12 nationally ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Montana State Billings on Saturday afternoon at Harrington Field.
 
The Vikings closed out the home portion of the regular-season schedule with a victory, celebrating eight players on Senior Day. WWU bounced back from a 3-0 setback on Thursday vs. No. 4 Seattle Pacific, improving to 11-2-2 overall and 8-2-0 in GNAC play. MSUB dropped to 5-7-3 overall and 2-6-2 in conference play.
 
"It was nice to celebrate our eight seniors today in a clean, well-played game," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "A lot of different players, especially the seniors, contributed today. It was a nice way to bounce back from Thursday and regain some confidence. It's a long season…where we are always looking at that next opportunity, that next chance and the team exemplified that today."
 
Western out-shot MSU Billings 21-6 with a decisive 12-2 edge in shots on goal. The Viking defense did not allow a goal for the ninth time in 15 games this season.
 
The Vikings got off to a quick start scoring the opening goal in the fourth minute. Sophomore defender Makenzie Burks connected on a 25-yard left-footed strike near the left sideline that curled inside the far post after taking a short corner from senior midfielder Darby Doyle.
 
WWU went up 2-0 in the 19th minute when senior forward Jenna Killman took a through ball from junior midfielder Tera Ziemer, and raced down the field where she beat a defender one-on-one and finished to the far post from 6-yards out.
 
Killman completed her second brace as a Viking in the 75th minute, heading home a perfectly-delivered corner kick from Burks for her team-leading sixth goal of the season.
 
"Jenna is playing at a very high level right now and scoring goals in a number of ways," added Connell. "She has confidence and that is what you want out of one of your top goal scorers."
 
Senior All-American goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx and sophomore Claire Henninger each made a save while combining on the shutout.
 

#12 Western Washington 3, Montana St. Billings 0
Date: October 23, 2021
Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA
Weather: 53°, Light Rain and Wind
Att: 182
 
Goals by period               1  2    Tot
-------------------------------------------
MSU Billings................  0  0  -  0
#12 Western Washington......  2  1  -  3
 
SCORING SUMMARY:
1.        3:30       WWU      Burks (Doyle)
2.       18:52       WWU      Killman (Ziemer)
3.       74:15       WWU      Killman (Burks) – off corner
 
Shots: WWU 21, MSUB 6
Shots on Goal: WWU 12, MSUB 2
Saves: WWU 2 (Dierickx – 1, Henninger - 1), MSUB 9 (Keenan - 9)
Corners: WWU 9, MSUB 0
Fouls: MSUB 10, WWU 4
Yellow Cards: MSUB 1, WWU 0
Offsides: WWU 4, MSUB 1
Kits: WWU (Navy Blue), SPU (White)

 
  WWU earned the series sweep over the Yellowjackets, also recording a 4-0 shutout on October 7 in Billings. The Vikings are now 25-3-2 all-time vs. MSUB with a 12-1-2 mark in Bellingham (6-0-0 at Harrington Field).
  Saturday was Senior Day at Harrington Field, with WWU's eight seniors honored in a special pregame ceremony. The 2021 senior class includes goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx, forwards Sophie Butterfield, Zoe Milburn and Jenna Killman, midfielders Grace Eversaul, Darby Doyle and Olivia Lee, and defender Karina Provo.
  The Vikings (11-2-2, 8-2-0 GNAC) have completed the 10-game regular-season home schedule, going 8-1-1 at Harrington Field. WWU takes to the road for the final four regular-season contests, beginning with matches next week at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday in Nampa, Idaho (6 pm MT/5 pm PT) and Saturday at Central Washington in Ellensburg (12 pm). The yet-to-be-determined four-team field for the GNAC Championships will be played at Harrington Field November 11-13. The complete 2021 season schedule, complete with live coverage links, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_WSOC.
 
"In order to win in the postseason, you have to win on the road…so this is the perfect opportunity and timing to be tested against some really good teams that present different challenges with their style of play," added Connell.
  Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings following play on Saturday, with the Vikings in remaining in second place in the table with 24 points at 8-2-0 in league play:
 

GNAC STANDINGS		CONF	PTS	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
1.	Seattle Pacific	8-1-1	25	11-1-1	.885	4-0-0	7-1-1	0-0-0	Won 2
2.	Western Washington	8-2-0	24	11-2-2	.800	8-1-1	2-1-1	1-0-0	Won 1
3.	Northwest Nazarene	6-3-1	19	8-3-2	.692	4-0-1	4-3-1	0-1-0	Won 4
4.	Simon Fraser	5-5-0	15	4-8-1	.346	3-4-0	1-4-1	0-0-0	Lost 1
5.	Western Oregon	4-4-2	14	5-7-2	.429	4-2-1	1-3-1	0-1-0	Won 1
6.	Montana State Billings	2-6-2	8	5-7-3	.433	4-2-1	0-5-2	1-0-0	Lost 2
7.	Central Washington	2-8-0	6	3-11-0	.214	1-4-0	1-5-0	1-2-0	Lost 1
	Saint Martin's	2-8-0	6	3-11-0	.214	3-4-0	0-7-0	0-0-0	Lost 7
Saturday's GNAC Results
at #12 Western Washington 3, Montana State Billings 0 #4 Seattle Pacific 3, at Simon Fraser 0 at Western Oregon 4, Central Washington 2 Northwest Nazarene 1, at Saint Martin's 0

  Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 68-3-4 (.933) playing in front of the home crowd. WWU had a 32-game unbeaten streak (29-0-3) at Harrington Field snapped Thursday vs. Seattle Pacific (previous home loss - Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Concordia). Including the men's program, WWU's soccer teams have a combined record of 101-23-13 at Harrington Field (.785 winning percentage) since the on-campus facility debuted.
  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).