Western Washington University Athletics

SEASIDE, Calif. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team played Cal State Monterey Bay to a scoreless draw Friday night in non-conference action at Cardinale Stadium.

The Vikings grew into the game and had a strong second-half performance with 10 shots (5 on goal) but were held off the scoreboard for the second consecutive game to move to 1-1-1 on the season.

Playing its season opener, Monterey Bay pressured the Vikings early with three corners in the first two minutes and held a 6-5 advantage in shots in the first half.

WWU started to gain momentum late in the first half and nearly found the back of the net just prior to halftime. Freshman Ariana Lopez and junior Aubrey Holdridge teamed up on a pass combo that fell to senior Emily Fojo for a right-footed shot that was punched over the bar by Otters goalkeeper Willow Baltazar (6 saves).

The Vikings consistently created offensive chances throughout the second half, with a shot from freshman Chloe Van Wey hitting the crossbar in the 68th minute. WWU out-shot CSUMB 10-2 in the second half, with five shots saved by Baltazar.

"We had really good effort and competed hard on the road against a motivated opponent," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We are still working through our execution on the offensive end, creating chances and being goal-scoring dangerous. We'll keep working on that moving into our next game Monday at East Bay."

The Vikings defense – anchored by senior Olivia Connell, freshman Blake Francis and senior midfielder Mie Cairns – were key to the Vikings second clean sheet performance of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Ellie McGowan made four saves for her second shutout of the season and 10th of her career.

Despite not scoring in consecutive games for the first time since September 17 (at Azusa Pacific) and September 22 (vs. Colorado School of Mines) in 2024, the Vikings own a 34-13 advantage in shots (14-6 in shots on goal) in the last two games (1-0 loss vs. No. 10 UC Colorado Springs, 0-0 tie at Cal State Monterey Bay).

The Vikings (1-1-1) remain on the road in Northern California with another non-conference game on Monday taking on Cal State East Bay at 2 pm. The game will be played at the Oakland Roots Training Facility in Alameda. WWU returns to Bellingham opening a five-game homestand against nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines on Sunday, September 13 with an 11 am game at Harrington Field, prior to opening the 14-game GNAC schedule September 17 vs. Northwest Nazarene. The complete 2026 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/WSOC.

Western Washington 0, Cal State Monterey Bay 0

Date: September 4, 2026

Field: Cardinale Stadium     Site: Seaside, CA

Attendance: 150

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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Western Washington............  0  0  -  0

Cal State Monterey Bay........  0  0  -  0

Shots: WWU 15, CSUMB 8

Shots on Goal: WWU 6, CSUMB 4

Saves: WWU 4 (McGowen – 4), CSUMB 6 (Baltazar - 6)

Corners: WWU 6, CSUMB 5

Fouls: CSUMB 19, WWU 11

Offsides: CSUMB 2, WWU 1

Kits: WWU (Black), CSUMB (White)

Updated Records: WWU (1-1-1), CSUMB (0-0-1)

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2026 season:

Here is a look at the Vikings 2026 schedule and game-by-game results: