BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Junior midfielder Tera Ziemer scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute to lift No. 18 nationally-ranked Western Washington University to a 2-1 victory over No. 5 Sonoma State on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Harrington Field.
 
WWU improved to 2-0-1 on the season with the victory over the Seawolves, and extended its unbeaten streak at Harrington Field to 25 consecutive matches (23-0-2). SSU dropped its first match of the season to move to 3-1-0, and allowed its first two goals after out-scoring opponents 10-0 in its previous three matches.
 
The Vikings held a decisive 25-15 edge in shots in the contest (13 on frame), while peppering the goal with 19 shots in the second half.
 
"I am really happy with the performance and especially the result against a quality opponent," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We are still a work in progress early in the season, but we created chances and defended well against a dangerous counter attack. Playing early against opponents like Sonoma really sharpens our game and creates demands throughout the match that will make us a better team as the season goes on."
 
Ziemer, a transfer from Texas A&M that grew up near Sonoma State's campus in Santa Rosa, scored her third goal of the young season with less than four minutes remaining in regulation to send the Vikings to their second win of the season. The daughter to SSU's longtime men's soccer head coach Marcus Ziemer, Tera put home the game winner at the 86:50 mark with a well-placed right-footed shot inside the right post that eluded the diving SSU goalkeeper.
 
The game-winning strike was setup by a long pass from forward Sophie Butterfield and a slight header deflection by midfielder Grace Eversaul.

W⚽️| VIKING MOMENTS

Tera Ziemer with the GAME-WINNING VOLLEY in the 87' minute!!

📸: Sol Sanchez#GoViks🤘#WeAreVikings pic.twitter.com/62zfJXYDNb
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) September 12, 2021

 
WWU struck first less than six minutes into the contest at the 5:39 mark when senior Jenna Killman put the Vikings up 1-0 with her first goal of the season. Sophomore forward Estera Levinte drove to the end line and fired a cross towards the middle of the box. Eversaul redirected the cross with a nifty back-heel flick to Killman, where the senior lined up a shot from 14-yards out and tucked it inside the right post for her sixth goal as a Viking.
 
Sonoma State leveled the score with an equalizer in the 40th minute when Alexis Espitia struck from close-quarters off a corner kick by Alyssa Silva. The set-piece goal snapped a string of 239 consecutive minutes to open the season without the WWU defense conceding a goal.
 
WWU senior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx made six saves between the posts despite surrendering her first goal of the season.
 
SSU goalkeeper Phoebe Barnes made 11 saves in the contest, with 10 coming in the second half.
  Grace Eversaul recorded a pair of assists to give her 46 career points (19 goals, 8 assists), tied for 27^th in WWU history…Natalie Dierickx recorded 6 saves to move her to 7^th in WWU history with 148 career saves…Dierickx improved to 45-6-3 all-time as WWU's starting goalkeeper, the most wins in program history…Estera Levinte has recorded an assist on three of the Vikings four goals this season…WWU head coach Travis Connell is eight wins shy of recording his 400^th career head coaching win, which includes 125 in his time as the WWU men's head coach and a 267-73-31 (.761) record in 19 seasons leading the women's program.
  The Vikings recorded their fourth consecutive win in the series vs. Sonoma State and ran their unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive matches (9-0-1) vs. the Seawolves dating back to the 2007 season. WWU is 7-2-0 all-time vs. SSU in matches played in Bellingham, and a perfect 4-0-0 at Harrington Field.
  The Vikings (2-0-1) continue their three-match homestand entertaining Biola next Saturday (7 pm) and Point Loma on Monday, September 20 (7 pm). The full 2021 season schedule, complete with live coverage links, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_WSOC.
 

#18 Western Washington 2, #5 Sonoma State 1
Date: September 12, 2021
Field: Harrington Field    Site: Bellingham, WA
Weather: 57, Light Rain

Goals by period            1  2    Tot
-----------------------------------------
#5 Sonoma State..........  1  0  -  1
#18 Western Washington...  1  1  -  2

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.      05:39       WWU    Killman (Levinte, Eversaul)
2.      39:41       SSU    Espitia (Silva)
3.      86:50       WWU    Ziemer (Eversaul, Butterfield)

Shots: WWU 25, SSU 15
Shots on Goal: WWU 13, SSU 7
Saves: WWU 6 (Dierickx - 6), SSU 11 (Barnes - 11)
Corners: WWU 9, SSU 7
Fouls: SSU 12, WWU 6
Offsides: SSU 2, WWU 0
Kits: WWU (Black), SSU (White)

  Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 61-2-3 (.947) playing in front of the home crowd. WWU has a current 25-game unbeaten streak (23-0-2) 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 91-20-12 at Harrington Field (.789 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).