BILLINGS, Mont. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team opened a challenging four-game road trip with a dominating 3-1 victory over Montana State Billings Thursday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field.

 

The Vikings won their third consecutive game to improve to 6-3-3 overall and 4-1-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. WWU held a commanding 22-8 lead on shots and 14-3 advantage in shots on goal.

 

"We showed a lot of experience today, playing on the road in tough conditions to gain three points," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We executed well on both sides and were focused from the start."

 

After a few early scoring chances came up short, the Vikings cashed in at the 22:34 mark to go up 1-0 on MSUB. Morgan Manalili lofted a corner kick into the box and after rattling around, Mie Cairns found the back of the net for the go-ahead goal.

 

Leading 1-0, Western played add-on less than four minutes into the second half. Ashley Nguyen crossed a ball into the box that eventually found Payton Neal, who drilled a left-footed shot into the upper right corner for her first goal of the season and third of her career.

 

Billings cut the deficit to one goal with a converted penalty in the 69th minute by Taylor Gertsch.

 

Cairns put the game out of reach in the 83rd minute with her second goal of the game and third of the season.

 

"Mie is such a well-rounded player and does so many things well," added Connell. "We are starting to figure out the best ways to maximize her and she is running with it and playing very well."

 

MSUB (2-5-3, 1-4-2 GNAC) goalkeeper Tuva Sallvin made 11 saves for the Yellowjackets.

 

The Vikings (6-3-3, 4-1-2 GNAC) continues their four-game road trip crossing the border Saturday to face Simon Fraser University in Burnaby with kickoff at 6 pm. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.

 

Western Washington 3, Montana State Billings 1

Date: October 12, 2023

Field: Yellowjacket Field   Site: Billings, MT

Attendance: 117

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington............  1  2  -  3

Montana St. Billings..........  0  1  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      22:34     WWU     Cairns (Manalili, Bearden Croft)

2.      48:58     WWU     Neal

3.      68:43     MSUB    Gertsch (PK)

4.      82:24     WWU     Cairns (Rauch)

 

Shots: WWU 22, MSUB 8

Shots on Goal: WWU 14, MSUB 3

Saves: WWU 2 (Henninger – 0, Trengove - 2), MSUB 11 (Sallvin - 11)

Corners: WWU 6, MSUB 2

Fouls: WWU 15, MSUB 9

Offsides: WWU 1, MSUB 0

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

Records: WWU (6-3-3, 4-1-2), MSUB (2-5-3, 1-4-2)

 

WWU extended its unbeaten streak to 21 consecutive games against the Yellowjackets and winning streak to 20 straight with Thursday's victory. The Vikings lead the all-time series 28-3-2 and are 12-2-0 all-time in games played in Billings.

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2023 schedule and results:

 

 

The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC. Single-game tickets for the 2023 season are currently on sale via wwuvikings.com/Tickets. New for the 2023-24 season is FREE tickets for current WWU students to all regular-season home sporting events.

 

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 10 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships and a pair of national championships in 2016 and 2022. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in five of the last nine seasons and played for the West Region championship in nine of the last 10 seasons (seven consecutive). The Vikings won the 2022 title with a 2-1 win over No. 1 nationally-ranked West Chester, 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. The program has claimed eight of the last 10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles (2022 Champions) and won five of the last seven GNAC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 21st season leading the program in 2023 (28th overall at WWU) and has led the Vikings to 12 trips to the NCAA Championships (10 straight) and 19 consecutive winning seasons. Over the last nine seasons (since 2015), the Vikings have combined for a 148-21-16 record (.843 winning pct.).