BURNABY, BC – With less than nine minutes remaining in its Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener, the No. 8 nationally-ranked Western Washington University Women's Soccer team faced a 1-0 deficit on the road at Simon Fraser University.
 
But in the 82nd minute, the Vikings scored the equalizer on a Halle Noel goal and just over three minutes later, senior All-American Grace Eversaul headed home the eventual game-winner to send the Vikings to a 2-1 victory Thursday evening at SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field.
 
The Vikings remained undefeated at 4-0-2 on the season and the defending GNAC champions opened conference play with their 19th consecutive league victory dating back to the 2018 season (24-game GNAC unbeaten streak). Simon Fraser dropped to 0-4-1 on the season (0-1-0 in GNAC play).
 
"We have played a lot of games in a short amount of time and started school this week, so there is a lot going on," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We didn't play well in the first half, but showed great determination and composure to chip away at the deficit and come out with three tough points on the road."
 
Playing its third game in six days, the Vikings went into the half trailing 1-0 following a goal from Kate Cartier in the 43rd minute on a swinging corner kick from the right side into the net over the defense and an outstretched WWU goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx. WWU was limited to just four shots (zero on goal) in the first 45 minutes.
 
WWU gained traction in the second half building up to the late comeback victory. Eversaul took a cross from sophomore forward Estera Levinte in the 70th minute and kissed the crossbar for what would have been the equalizer with 20 minutes remaining.
 
Just over 11 minutes later, the Vikings made good on their multiple second-half scoring opportunities when Darby Doyle took a free kick 23 yards out, delivering a sharp ball that found its way through the box where Noel (a freshman from Puyallup), got a touch on the ball to redirect it to the far right post at the 81:26 mark.
 
Just over three minutes later in the 85th minute, sophomore defender Makenzie Burks lofted a long throw-in into the box, where Eversaul drilled home the game-winning goal with a header inside the left post. The goal was Eversaul's 20th career goal as Viking (in her 78th game), becoming the 21st player in program history to reach the 20-goal plateau in a career.
 
"This was a huge win – on the road – with a lot of challenge," added Connell. "But the biggest challenge tonight was SFU. They had a great game plan against us, scored a great goal, and played extremely hard. They pushed us to the limit and we are better for it."
 
WWU held a decisive 16-3 edge on shots, but the only two shots on goal found the back of the net. The Vikings also held a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks.
 

#8 Western Washington 2, Simon Fraser 1
Date: September 23, 2021
Field: SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field   Site: Burnaby, BC
Weather: 63-degrees, Sunny    Attendance: 163

Goals by period            1  2    Tot
-----------------------------------------
#8 Western Washington....  0  2  -  2
Simon Fraser.............  1  0  -  1

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.      42:44       SFU     Cartier (Corner Kick)
2.      81:26       WWU     Noel (Doyle)
3.      84:43       WWU     Eversaul (Burks)

Shots: WWU 16, SFU 3
Shots on Goal: WWU 2, SFU 1 
Saves: WWU 0 (Dierickx - 0), SFU 0 (Fisher – 0)
Corners: WWU 7, SFU 1
Fouls: SFU 4, WWU 1
Offsides: WWU 6, SFU 3
Kits: WWU (Light Blue/White Shorts), SFU (Red)

  WWU now leads the all-time series 31-17-3, which dates back to the first meeting in 1986. The Vikings extended their winning streak to 19 consecutive games over SFU and now has a 23-game unbeaten streak (last loss was in 2005). Western is now 17-0-2 in GNAC contest and allowed only three goals against SFU in the last 21 meetings.
  The Vikings (4-0-2) complete a busy week on Saturday, hosting Western Oregon in a GNAC contest at 2 pm at Harrington Field. The game vs. the Wolves will complete a stretch of four games in eight days for the Vikings. The full 2021 season schedule, complete with live coverage links, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_WSOC.
  WWU has built a 86-15-9 record away from Bellingham over the last 10 seasons (since 2012), which includes a 63-11-6 road record and a 23-4-3 mark in neutral-site games. The Vikings will play nine of 19 games on the road in 2021 (2-0-1 so far this season).
  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).