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Sept. 17, 2012

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Riding a five-game win streak and tied for the league lead, the Western Washington University women's soccer team travels to Seattle Pacific University on Wednesday, Sept. 19 (7 p.m.) for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at Interbay Stadium.

On Sunday, Sept. 23 (6 p.m.), the Vikings host Simon Fraser University in a conference contest at Orca Field on the campus of Whatcom CC.

WWU, 5-1-0 overall and tied with Montana State Billings (6-0-0) atop the GNAC standings at 2-0-0, won two league road games last week, 2-0 at Western Oregon and 3-1 at Saint Martin's.

The Vikings' only loss this season was 1-0 at then nationally No.4-ranked Chico State in their season opener.

Last week's victories made WWU coach Travis Connell the school's all-time career leader with 107 in 10 seasons, one ahead of Dominic Garguile (1981-90).

Senior goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs (Richland) now has 27 career shutouts and is four shy of the WWU record of 31 set by Teresa Fish (2003-05, 2007). Arthurs posted a school-record 11 whitewashes in each of the last two seasons.

Arthurs had a string of four shutouts and 488:27 scoreless minutes snapped in the 74th minute against Saint Martin's. She has a 0.33 goals against average this season with 13 saves in 540 minutes.

Junior forward Kristin Maris (Issaquah) scored three goals in last week's wins with one versus Western Oregon and two within a span of 51 seconds against Saint Martin's. That gave her four this season and nine points, both team-leading figures.

Junior midfielder Brina Sych (Vancouver/Union) had a goal and assist in the Saint Martin's game. She leads the Vikings in assists with three.

Freshman forward Jessica Bertucci (Bellingham/Sehome) has three goals, scoring in each of the Vikings' first three wins, and a team-best two game-winners.

WWU, which has scored two or more goals in each of its last five games, has a 97-32 shot advantage, 61-25 in the second half.

Seattle Pacific, has won or shared eight of the last 10 GNAC titles, including the last three, and has made nine consecutive NCAA Division II West Region playoff appearances.

The Falcons, 4-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in league play, are led by third-team National Soccer Coaches Association of America forward Megan Lindsay and goalkeeper Natalie Harold.

Lindsay has 31 career goals, tied for third among school leaders. Last year, she led the GNAC with 12 goals and 32 points, and had eight assists. Harold posted a 0.62 GAA in 2011.

The Vikings, who trail 5-14-3 in their series with Seattle Pacific, have lost the last three meetings following a five-game non-losing streak (3-0-2).

WWU trails 15-16-3 in its series with Simon Fraser, but is 4-0-2 over the last four years, not allowing the Clan a goal in the last five meetings (3-0-2).

Simon Fraser is 1-4-0 overall this season and 0-2-0 in conference action.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012 Women's Soccer Report Week 3 (Sept. 18, 2012)

		       Conference			                All
	               W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts	W	L	               T	GF	GA
MSU Billings	       2	0	0	4	1	6	6	0	               0	12	2
Western Washington     2	0	0	5	1	6	5	1	               0	13	2
Seattle Pacific	       1	1	0	4	3	3	4	2	               0	12	7
Western Oregon	       1	1	0	4	3	3	3	3	               0	10	7
Saint Martin's	       1	1	0	2	3	3	3	3	               0	6	11
Central Washington     1	1	0	3	2	3	2	3	               1	7	12
Northwest Nazarene     0	2	0	1	6	0	3	3	               0	9	10
Simon Fraser	       0	2	0	1	5	0	1	4
	               0	2	9

LAST WEEK: Tuesday - Corban 1 at Saint Martin's 2. Thursday - Central Washington 3 at Northwest Nazarene 0; Seattle Pacific 1 at MSU Billings 2; Simon Fraser 0 at Saint Martin's 1; Western Washington 2 at Western Oregon 0. Saturday - Central Washington 0 at MSU Billings 2; Seattle Pacific 3 at Northwest Nazarene 1; Western Washington 3 at Saint Martin's 1; Simon Fraser 1 at Western Oregon 4.

THIS WEEK: Wednesday - Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7 p.m. Thursday - Simon Fraser at Central Washington, 4 p.m.; Saint Martin's at MSU Billings, 1:30 p.m.; Western Oregon at Northwest Nazarene, 3 p.m. Saturday - Central Washington 0 at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m.; MSU Billings at Northwest Nazarene, noon. Sunday - Western Oregon at Saint Martin's, 1:30 p.m.; Simon Fraser at Western Washington, 6 p.m.

POLLS: NSCAA National (Sept. 18) - No GNAC team is ranked. NSCAA West Region (Sept. 18) - 4. Montana State Billings, 7. Western Washington; 9. Seattle Pacific.

NCAA National Statistics (Sept. 16): Team (Top 30): Goals Against - 12. Western Washington .333. Shutout PCT. - 20. Western Washington .667. Individuals (Top 30): Assists - 24. Jaucelyn Richter, MSUB, 0.71; 25. Caley Wiseman, SMU, 0.67. Goals Against - 15. Jamie Arthurs, WWU, 0.33; 18. Alexandria Johnson, MSUB, 0.34. Save PCT. - 12. Alexandra Johnson, MSUB, 0.93. Total Assists - 4. Jaucelyn Richter, MSUB, 5; 12. Caley Wiseman, SMU, 4. GWG - 15. Jessica Bertucci, WWU; Megan Lindsay, SPU; Abby McFaul, SMU, and Chelsea Shuman, MSUB, 2.

GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Offense - Heidi Greenback, MSU Billings (F, 5-7, Jr., Woodinville, WA) scored both of the Yellowjackets' goals as MSUB handed Seattle Pacific its first-ever loss at Billings 2-1. She also turned in a solid performance in Saturday's 2-0 shutout of Central Washington to earn Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors as MSUB improved to 6-0 on the season.

Defense - Brian Sych, Western Washington (M, 5-6, Jr., Vancouver, WA - Union) played excellent defense from her right back position as the Vikings allowed just one goal in road wins at Western Oregon (2-0) and Saint Martin's (3-1). Sych, who was selected the Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week, also contributed offensively, scoring the first goal against the Saints and then earning an assist on the game-winning goal against Saint Martin's.

HONORABLE MENTION: Kristin Maris, Western Washington (F, 5-9, Jr., Issaquah, WA) scored three goals - including the game-winner in Saturday's 3-1 win at Saint Martin's - as the Vikings extended their win streak to five games with two victories. . . Abby McFaul, Saint Martin's (F, 5-3, Fr., Federal Way, WA - Decatur) scored three of the Saints' four goals as SMU won two of three contests. She had the game-winner in both victories, converting in the 81st minute to snap a 1-1 tie in a 2-1 win over Corban and with 12 seconds left in their 1-0 win over Simon Fraser. She also had a short-handed goal in Saturday's 3-1 loss against Western Washington. . . Adrienne Biglow, MSU Billings (D, 5-5, Sr., Yakima, WA - West Valley) led the Yellowjacket defense that held Seattle Pacific to one goal and shutout Central Washington, allowing a total of just 18 shots.

AROUND THE GNAC: Chelsea Shuman scored both of MSU Billings' goals in their 2-0 shutout of Central Washington. Goalie Alexandria Johnson had 11 saves as the Yellowjacket' allowed just one goal in the two victories. . .Saint Martin's Caley Wiseman had three assists and now has set up Abby McFaul on all four of her goals this season. . .Carson McKole had a goal and assist in Central Washington's 3-0 win at Northwest Nazarene, Nikki Caudill had a goal and assist in Western Oregon's 4-1 win against Simon Fraser and Ali Martin had a goal and assist as Seattle Pacific split two contests.

MILESTONES: Western Washington coach Travis Connell set a school record for career wins as he recorded his 105th and 106th victories with last weekend's victories at Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. Dominic Garguile, who coached at WWU from 1981to 1990, held the old record with 105 wins.

PREVIOUS RED LION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week of Aug. 25-Sept. 2: Offense - Chelsea Shuman, Montana State Billings (M, 5-2, So., Kalispell, MT - Flathead) scored the game's only goal as the Yellowjackets nipped nationally fifth-ranked Colorado Mines 1-0 Thursday. "Chelsea had an amazing game in the middle and scored a beautiful goal from 25 yards out," MSUB head coach Wojceich Krakowiak said. "She also connected on a lot of passes from our forwards." Defense - Jennifer Larsen, MSU Billings (D, 5-4, Sr., Mesa, AZ - Mountain View) was instrumental in the Yellowjackets' 1-0 shutout of nationally fifth-ranked Colorado Mines Friday. Larsen also scored two goals in a 3-0 shutout of Northern State on Saturday. She was the lone GNAC player to score twice during the opening weekend. "Jennifer was very solid in the back and won a lot of headers," Krakowiak added.

Week of Sept. 3-9: Offense - Jessica Bertucci, Western Washington (F, 5-8, Fr., Bellingham, WA - Sehome) had the game-winning goals as the Vikings swept Hawaii Pacific and Azusa Pacific by identical 2-0 scores. She also had an assist on WWU's clinching goal against APU. Defense - Natalie Harold, Seattle Pacific (GK, 5-3, Jr., Vancouver, WA - Heritage) had five saves, including one to preserve a 1-0 shutout of Azusa Pacific as the Falcons won a pair of home contests. "Natalie took away a sure goal from Azusa with an amazing save," SPU coach Chuck Sekyra said. "Natalie has been strong in the net. We have not given up a lot of chances, but when we have, she has come up huge."

GNAC TEAMS OF THE WEEK: Aug. 27-Sept. 2 - Montana State Billings (Women's Soccer). Sept. 3-9 - Western Washington (Volleyball). Sept. 10-16 - Northwest Nazarene (Men's Soccer).