OLYMPIA, Wash. – Senior forward Jenna Killman returned to her hometown and scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick to lead the No. 14 Western Washington University women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Saint Martin's Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both teams.

 

The game was played at Black Hills High School in Olympia due to unplayable field conditions at Saints Field on the Saint Martin's campus. WWU prevailed in rainy and windy weather with the 1-0 victory, with Killman scoring her team-leading ninth goal on a penalty kick in the 67th minute.

 

WWU closed out the regular-season slate at 13-3-3 overall and finished 2nd in the GNAC with a 10-3-1 conference records. The Vikings will host the upcoming GNAC Championships November 11-13 at Harrington Field, with WWU the No. 2 seed facing No. 3 Northwest Nazarene Thursday night at 7 pm. Saint Martin's closed out the season 4-14-0 overall and 3-11-0 in conference play.

 

"I am proud of this group. They stuck with the gameplan today and executed well in tough conditions," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We are looking forward to the postseason and can't wait to play and host the GNAC Championships at Harrington Field competing for a championship."

 

The Vikings dominated the stat sheet out-shooting the Saints 28-7, but were held to six shots on target. Killman, a product of Olympia High School, firing seven shots and had four on frame to lead the offensive charge.

 

The game-winning goal came on a penalty kick at the 66:41 mark, when Saint Martin's was called for a handball in the box. Killman stepped up and fired a low shot into the right side of the goal for the lone score of the game. Killman heads into the postseason tied for 2nd in the GNAC with nine goals.

 

"Jenna was a dangerous weapon today and has been playing well up top for us," said Connell on his senior forward.

 

WWU senior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx made four saves and a total team defensive effort tallied the 11th shutout of the season.

 

"We had good defensive efforts up and down the roster today – Payton Neal had another great game, Grace Eversaul produced great minutes and it is great to get her back on the field and our center backs were asked to do a lot on the attack and stepped up big," added Connell. 

 

The Vikings (13-3-3, 10-3-1 GNAC) have completed the 2021 regular season and enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Championships that will be held November 11-13 (Thursday & Saturday) at Harrington Field in Bellingham. The Vikings will face No. 3 seed Northwest Nazarene in the GNAC semifinal with a 7 pm kickoff Thursday at Harrington Field. Tickets for the GNAC Championships can be purchased in advance at GNACTickets.com.

 

 

#14 Western Washington 1, Saint Martin's 0

Date: November 6, 2021

Field: Black Hills High School   Site: Olympia, WA

Att: 20

 

Goals by period                     1  2    Tot

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

#14 Western Washington............  0  1  -  1

Saint Martin's....................  0  0  -  0

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.        66:41       WWU      Killman (Penalty Kick)

 

Shots: WWU 28, SMU 7

Shots on Goal: WWU 6, SMU 4

Saves: WWU 4 (Dierickx - 4), SMU 5 (Campigotto – 2, Mendoza - 3)

Corners: WWU 9, SMU 1

Fouls: WWU 8, SMU 8

Yellow Cards: None

Offsides: WWU 3, SMU 1

 

WWU recorded a pair of 1-0 wins over the Saints in 2021, extending the winning streak to 19 consecutive games dating back to the 2011 season. The Vikings now have seven consecutive shutouts vs. MSU and lead the all-time series 24-2-1.

 

Here is a look at the final GNAC standings following play on Saturday, with WWU remaining locking up the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Championships going 10-3-1 in GNAC play and 13-3-3 overall during the regular season. WWU will Play Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, November 11 at 7 pm at Harrington Field in the second semifinal game. No. 1 seed and regular season champion Seattle Pacific will play No. 4 Simon Fraser in the 4 pm semifinal in Bellingham.

 

 

WWU has won 100 of its last 120 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 100-12-8 (.867) during this stretch. The program has won seven of the last eight GNAC regular-season titles (including 2019), four of the last five GNAC Tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last eight seasons. During the eight-year stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match seven times and advanced to the NCAA II national semifinals four times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019). Western has a current streak of 17 consecutive winning seasons the 7th-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). 

 

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 nine 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 picked up his 400th career victory October 16 vs. Simon Fraser. 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.