BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team remained undefeated in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 2-0 shutout victory over Montana State Billings Thursday night in front of 576 fans at Harrington Field.

 

Freshman Emily Rice scored on a long-distance free kick just three minutes into the game to set the tone in the 2-0 victory with senior Tera Ziemer adding an insurance goal in the 52nd minute. WWU out-shot MSUB 33-3 and held a 12-0 advantage in shots on goal.

 

WWU improved to 5-1-3 overall and remained tied for first place in the GNAC table with 13 points and a 4-0-1 record. MSUB dropped to 1-6-3 overall an 1-3-1 in conference play.

 

Rice tallied the game-winning goal at the 2:43 mark, launching a free kick from 29-yards out into the upper left corner for her second goal of the season.

 

Ziemer tallied her second goal in the last three games off one of the Vikings 15 corner kicks from junior Ellie Busik. 

 

"It was a great team effort tonight, seeing so many players get in the game, it was a rewarding victory," said senior co-captain goalkeeper Claire Henninger. "It's been a process this season and we are growing with every game. I feel like we are in a really good spot right now and I am excited for the things ahead of us."

 

MSUB goalkeeper Clare Keenen made 10 saves for the Yellowjackets.

 

The Vikings (5-1-3, 4-0-1) remain at home hosting rival Seattle Pacific University (5-2-1, 4-1-0) on Saturday with kickoff at 4 pm at Harrington Field. The WWU men will also host SPU at 7 pm in a Viking Soccer Doubleheader. Saturday will also celebrate Latine Heritage Month at the game with special pre-game announcements, a taco truck and more.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Western Washington 2, Montana St. Billings 0

Date: September 29, 2022

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 576

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

Montana St. Billings.......  0  0  -  0

Western Washington.........  1  1  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.       2:43     WWU     Rice

2.      51:45     WWU     Ziemer (Busik)

 

Shots: WWU 33, MSUB 3

Shots on Goal: WWU 12, MSUB 0

Saves: WWU 0 (Henninger – 0, Trengove - 0), MSUB 10 (Keenen – 10)

Corners: WWU 15, MSUB 0

Fouls: MSUB 5, WWU 3

Offsides: WWU 1, MSUB 0

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), MSUB (White)

Records: WWU (5-1-3, 4-0-1), MSUB (1-6-3, 1-3-1)

 

WWU improved to 26-3-2 all-time against MSUB with its 18th consecutive victory in the series…Vikings have a current 19-game unbeaten streak (18-0-1) dating back to the 2011 season…WWU is 13-1-2 all-time vs. MSUB in home games and improved to 7-0-0 vs. the Yellowjackets at Harrington Field…Vikings have outscored MSUB 17-0 over the last four meetings.

W | GOAAAAAALLLL VIKINGS!!!!!

WHAT. A. SHOT. EMILY RICE WITH THE FANTASTIC FREE KICK TO PUT THE VIKS UP 1-0! pic.twitter.com/7pyYpD2Kj7
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) September 30, 2022

The Vikings (5-1-3, 4-0-1 GNAC) remains at home hosting rival Seattle Pacific on Saturday at Harrington Field (4 pm kickoff). All home games feature a live webcast and statistical updates with direct links online via wwuvikings.com/22_WSOC.

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the updated records of the eight GNAC programs following Thursday's games:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 5-1-3 on the season and 4-0-1 in GNAC play following the 2-0 win over MSUB:

 

 

There are likely to be a lot of tie games this season with new NCAA soccer rules for 2022 which eliminates overtime during the regular season. Any match that is tied at the 90-minute mark will now end that way, which means no overtime or golden goal scenarios. In the postseason, there will be overtime but no more golden goal; teams will play two full 10-minute extra periods regardless of any goals and if it is still tied, the advancing team will be decided on penalty kicks. Just for kicks, the WWU single-season record for ties is five set in 1981, and most recently four in 2009, 2010 and 2014 (WWU has three 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). 

 

The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of nine consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in four of the last eight seasons and played for the West Region championship in eight of the last nine seasons (six consecutive). 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 20th season leading the program in 2022 (27th overall at WWU) and has led the Vikings to 11 trips to the NCAA Championships (9 straight) and 28 consecutive winning seasons. He picked up his 400th career victory October 16, 2021 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. Over the last eight seasons (since 2015), the Vikings have combined for a 128-17-11 (.854) record. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.