BILLINGS, Mont. – The No. 6 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team got off to a quick start with a goal in the 10th minute and never looked back in a 4-0 road victory over Montana State Billings Thursday afternoon at Yellowjacket Soccer Field.
 
The Vikings scored a pair of goals in each half to remain undefeated 10 games into the 2021 season (8-0-2) and kept hold of the top spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings at 5-0-0 in league play. During the current five-game winning streak, WWU has out-scored opponents 15-2. MSUB dropped to 4-4-2 overall and 1-3-1 in GNAC play.
 
"We got off to a great start with Darby's (Doyle) early goal and showed a really good mentality with a quality effort and concentration," said WWU head coach Travis Connell, who recorded his 398th career head coaching victory. "That is the way we want to start matches and Darby scored a great goal. We got great contributions once again from the reserves and overall it was a good team win."
 
Doyle got the Vikings on the board at the 9:26 mark, taking a cut-back pass from Ashley Nguyen near the top of the box. The senior midfielder made a touch and fired a shot into the upper left quadrant for her 12th career goal.
 
Sophomore forward Ellie Busik made it a two-goal game in the 36th minute when she connected on a perfectly-placed cross from Doyle for second goal of the season.
 
WWU added a pair of late second-half goals to bring the final score to 4-0, with Dayana Diaz recording her first goal of the season in the 85th minute and Jayden Nguyen tallying her first career goal in the 87th minute. In addition to four different goal scorers, the Vikings had five players record assists. WWU out-shot MSUB 21-10 in the contest (9-3 shots on goal).
 
Senior Natalie Dierickx and sophomore Claire Henninger combined on the Vikings sixth shutout of the season. Dierickx made a pair of saves in 63 minutes of action, including a one-handed diving stop in the 62nd minute to keep the Yellowjackets off the scoreboard.
 
The victory also marked WWU's 23rd consecutive win in GNAC play dating back to the 2018 season and maintained a 29-game conference unbeaten streak (28-0-1).
 
The first-place Vikings (8-0-2, 5-0-0 GNAC) remain on the road traveling down I-5 Saturday to face rival and No. 25 nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific at 7 pm at Interbay Stadium. The match vs. the Falcons will feature a live webcast with a direct link at wwuvikings.com/WS_Watch.
 
"We love playing against good teams like SPU," said Connell. "They bring out the best in us. We are looking forward to the match."
     

#6 Western Washington 4, Montana State Billings 0
Date: October 7, 2021
Field: Yellowjacket Soccer Field   Site: Billings, MT
Attendance: 80

Goals by period               1  2    Tot
-------------------------------------------
#6 Western Washington.......  2  2  -  4
Montana State Billings......  0  0  -  0

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.       9:26       WWU     Doyle (A. Nguyen)
2.      35:33       WWU     Busik (Doyle)
3.      84:33       WWU     Diaz (Lepp)
4.      86:36       WWU     J. Nguyen (Provo, Butterfield)

Shots: WWU 21, MSUB 10
Shots on Goal: WWU 9, MSUB 3
Saves: WWU 3 (Dierickx-2, Henninger-1), MSUB 5 (Keenan-5)
Corners: WWU 5, MSUB 5
Fouls: MSUB 9, WWU 6
Offsides: WWU 3, MSUB 1
Kits: WWU (Black), MSUB (White)

  With the victory, the Vikings extended its winning streak to 16 consecutive games over MSUB and are now 24-3-2 all-time in the series. WWU is also 10-2-0 all-time in games played in Billings and 20-3-2 in conference games. The rematch between the two programs will be October 23 at Harrington Field in Bellingham.
  In addition to scoring the game-winning goal and adding an assist, senior midfielder Darby Doyle played in her 86th career game as a Viking (42nd start) to crack the all-time top-10 in WWU Women's Soccer history. Doyle is now tied for 10th in all-time WWU caps with Gabriela Pelogi (2015-18). The all-time program record for games played is 93 by Peyton Chick (2016-19).
  The Vikings (8-0-2, 5-0-0 GNAC) remain on the road Saturday to play NO. 25 Seattle Pacific with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm vs. the rival Falcons at Interbay Stadium. WWU opens a season-high four-game homestand at Harrington Field October 14 hosting Saint Martin's. The full 2021 season schedule, complete with live coverage links, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_WSOC.
  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).
  The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of eight consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in four of the last seven seasons and played for the West Region championship in seven of the last eight seasons. The Vikings played for the 2019 national title and 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 seven of the last eight Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles and won four of the last five GNAC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 19th season leading the program in 2021, and has led the Vikings to 10 trips to the NCAA Championships (8 straight) and 16 consecutive winning seasons. He is nearing his 400th career victory, currently with 398 all-time head coaching wins. WWU finished the 2019 season with a 23-3-0 record, winning the West Regional title and played in the national championship game falling 1-0 to Grand Valley State. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.