BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior defender Iakov Shmelev scored late in the 100^th minute for a golden goal sending the Vikings to a 1-0 overtime victory over Saint Martin's University on a near perfect evening at Harrington Field.
 
The Vikings (1-1-0) picked up their first victory of the abbreviated 2020-21 spring season. Playing in its eighth game of the spring season, Saint Martin's dropped to 2-5-1.
 
With just over 30 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, redshirt freshman defender Mitchell Hutter lofted a ball from near midfield into the box, where a Saint Martin's defender attempted to clear the ball with a header. Shmelev corralled the loose ball near the top of the box and drilled a left-footed shot from 20-yards out that caromed off the hands of the Saint Martin's goalkeeper for the game-winning goal.
 
WWU controlled the tempo for most of the game and held a 17-10 advantage in shots, holding a 6-3 edge in shots on target. Western also held a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks.
 
The Vikings had scoring opportunity in the 77^th minute when freshman midfielder Kaydin Wall took a free kick from 25 yards out that nearly curled into the upper left quadrant of the goal, but SMU goalkeeper Bryce Porter made a diving save to keep the game scoreless. Junior midfielder Dakota Stamnes had a clean look on a breakaway in the 54^th minute but had his shot slip just wide right.
 
Saint Martin's best scoring chance came on a free kick just outside the box in the 61^st minute by Isaac Hernandez, that WWU starting goalkeeper Brandon Locke punched away diving to his left.
 
Locke made a pair of saves in 62 scoreless minutes in net, while junior transfer Patrick Restum closed out the victory making one save in 38 minutes.
  The Vikings are scheduled to be off from game competition until meeting Saint Martin's again on May 1 at SMU Soccer Field in Lacey. WWU's next home game is scheduled for May 15 vs. Seattle Pacific in the 2020-21 spring season finale.
 

Western Washington 1, Saint Martin's 0 (OT)
Date: April 14, 2021
Field: Harrington Field    Site: Bellingham, WA
Weather: 57-degrees, Clear Beautiful Night

Goals by period            1  2  OT   Tot
-----------------------------------------
Saint Martin's...........  0  0  1  -  0
Western Washington.......  0  0  0  -  1

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.    99:33   WWU   Shmelev (Driven shot from 20 yards, mishandled by keeper)

Shots: WWU 17, SMU 10
Shots on Goal: WWU 6, SMU 3
Saves: WWU 3 (Locke – 2, Restum - 1), SMU 5 (Askland – 1, Porter – 3, Team - 1)
Corners: WWU 6, SMU 4
Fouls: SMU 17, WWU 13

  The 2020-21 championship season currently features a five-game schedule that will be played in late March, April and early May. Here is a look at the 2021 spring schedule for the Vikings, which is subject to changes and possible game additions. To view the most up-to-date schedule, with direct webcast and live stats links, visit WWUVikings.com/MSOC.
 

Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Location	Result
March 27 (Sat)	7:00 pm	Puget Sound	Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)	L, 1-0
April 14 (Wed)	5:00 pm	Saint Martin's	Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)	W, 1-0 (OT)
May 1 (Sat)	3:00 pm	at Saint Martin's	Lacey, WA (SMU Soccer Field)
May 8 (Sat)	5:30 pm	at Seattle Pacific	Seattle, WA (Interbay Stadium)
May 15 (Sat)	1:00 pm	Seattle Pacific	Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)