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Sept. 25, 2012

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Looking to extend a string of nine straight home shutouts, the Western Washington University women's soccer team completes a three-game home stand this week, playing host to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Sept. 27 (7:30 p.m.) and undefeated and league-leading Montana State Billings on Saturday, Sept. 29 (4 p.m.) in a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests at Orca Field on the campus of Whatcom CC.

THE LAST MEETING Northwest Nazarene 0 Western Washington 4 October 22, 2011 BELLINGHAM WWU snaps out of scoring slump with 4-0 win over NNU Freshman forward Taylor Abrass scored her first collegiate goal and had an assist as Western Washington University broke out of a scoring slump with a 4-0 win over Northwest Nazarene University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer contest Saturday afternoon at Orca Field on the Whatcom CC campus. Recap | Box Score

THE LAST MEETING Montana State-Billings 0   Western Washington 0 2 OT October 20, 2011 BELLINGHAM WWU ties Montana State Billings 0-0 in OT A massive advantage in shot attempts didn't produce a goal for Western Washington University as it tied Montana State University Billings, 0-0 in overtime, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer contest Thursday afternoon at Orca Field on the Whatcom CC campus. The Vikings, who are now 6-5-3 overall and 5-4-1 in GNAC action, had a 24-6 shot advantage. Recap | Box Score

The Vikings, 6-2-0 overall and second in the GNAC standings at 3-1-0, split two league contests last week. They routed Simon Fraser 6-0 at home following a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at Seattle Pacific that wasn't decided until the last 15 seconds.

WWU, coached by Travis Connell (108-7-19), has lost just once (10-1-4) in its last 15 home matches, 13 of the wins being shutouts.

Senior goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs (Richland) has 28 career shutouts and is three away from the WWU record of 31 set by Teresa Fish (2003-05, 2007). Arthurs has five shutouts this season after posting a school-record 11 whitewashes in each of the last two years. She has a 0.50 goals against average this season with 17 saves in 720 minutes.

Freshman forward Catherine Miles (Anacortes) scored two goals and had one assist in the Simon Fraser victory, giving her eleven points overall with four goals and three assists.

Junior forward Kristin Maris (Issaquah), who had a goal and an assist in the Clan blowout, leads WWU with five goals, two of them game winners, and 12 points.

Sophomore defender Brianna Jones (Bonney Lake) scored a goal in each of the Vikings' games last week, giving WWU a 1-0 lead in the 72nd minute at Seattle Pacific.

The Vikings received bad news when they learned that freshman forward Jessica Bertucci (Bellingham/Sehome) suffered a season-ending torn ACL in her right knee against Western Oregon on Sept. 13. She had scored a goal in each of WWU's first three wins, two of them game winners, and earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

WWU has an overall 137-60 shot advantage this season, 81-35 in the second half.

MSUB, which plays at Simon Fraser on Saturday, is 8-0-0 overall and 4-0-0 in league play. The Yellowjackets have posted six shutouts this season, leading the GNAC and ranking sixth nationally with a 0.25 goals against average. They are also sixth among national leaders in save percentage at .938.

WWU holds an 8-3-2 series advantage over MSUB, but is winless and scoreless in the last four meetings (0-3-1), three 1-0 losses and a 0-0 overtime tie, over the last two seasons.

NNU is 4-4-0 overall and 1-3-0 in league play, losing three of its last four games.

The Vikings are 23-1-1 versus the Crusaders, being unbeaten in the last 17 meetings (16-0-1), their last loss in 2003.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012 Women's Soccer Report Week 4 (Sept. 25, 2012)

		        Conference			                All
	                W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts	W      L	T	GF	GA
MSU Billings	        4	0	0	6	1	12	8      0    0       14	2
Western Washington      3	1	0	12	3	9	6      2
        0	20	4
Seattle Pacific	        2	1	1	7	5	7	5      2	1       15	9
Central Washington	2	1	1	7	4	7	3      3
        2	11	14
Saint Martin's	        2	2	0	4	5	6	4      4	0	8	3
Northwest Nazarene	1	3	0	5	10	3	4      4
        0	13	14
Western Oregon	        1	3	0	8	9	3	3      5	0	14	13
Simon Fraser	        0	4	0	2	14	0	1      6	0	3	18

LAST WEEK: Wednesday - Western Washington 1 at Seattle Pacific 2. Thursday -Central Washington 3 at Central Washington 1; Saint Martin's 0 at MSU Billings 1; Western Oregon 3 at Northwest Nazarene 4 (2ot). Saturday - Central Washington 1 at Seattle Pacific 1 (2ot); MSU Billings 1 at Northwest Nazarene 0. Sunday - Western Oregon 1 at Saint Martin's 2; Simon Fraser at Western Washington, 6 p.m.

THIS WEEK: Thursday - Central Washington at Saint Martin's, 3 p.m.; MSU Billings at Simon Fraser, 5 p.m.; Northwest Nazarene at Western Washington, 7:30 p.m.; Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, 3:30 p.m. Saturday - Central Washington at Western Oregon, 1 p.m.; MSU Billings at Western Washington, 4 p.m.; Northwest Nazarene at Simon Fraser, 11 a.m.; Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7 p.m.

POLLS: NSCAA National (Sept. 25) - 23. Montana State Billings. NSCAA West Region (Sept. 25) - 3. Montana State Billings, 5. Seattle Pacific, 9. Western Washington.

NCAA National Statistics (Sept. 23): Team (Top 30): Scoring - 30. Western Washington 2.50. Goals Against - 3. MSU Billings 0.25; 17. Western Washington 0.50. Shutout PCT. - 6. MSU Billings .750; 14. Western Washington .625. Save PCT. - 4. MSU Billings .938. Individuals (Top 30): Assists - 24. Jaucelyn Richter, MSUB, 0.71; 25. Caley Wiseman, SMU, 0.67. Goals Against - 6. Alexandria Johnson, MSUB, 0.25; 18. Jamie Arthurs, WWU, 0.50. Save PCT. - 6. Alexandra Johnson, MSUB, .938; 27. Ashley Engel, SMU, .871. Total Assists - 29. Jaucelyn Richter, MSUB; Sarah Staropoli, NNU, and Caley Wiseman, SMU, 4. GWG - 29. Six with..

GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Offense - Carson McKole, Central Washington (Sr., Oak Harbor, WA) scored two goals and also had an assist as the Wildcats earned four points during a two-game road trip. McKole had a goal and assist in Thursday's 3-1 win at Simon Fraser, then scored a goal in the 74th minute earning CWU a 1-1 draw at Seattle Pacific to grab Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors. Defense - Jennifer Larsen, Montana State Billings (Sr., Mesa, AZ) helped limit Saint Martin's and Northwest Nazarene to just 18 shots in a pair of 1-0 victories. MSUB goalie Alexandria Johnson needed to make just four saves in recording her fifth and sixth shutouts of the season. Larsen scored MSUB's lone goal against the Saints on a penalty kick in earning Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week honors. Honorable Mention - Jaucelyn Richter, Montana State Billings; Jenny Field, Northwest Nazarene; Brianna Jones, Western Washington.

THREE GOALS: NNU's Jenny Field recorded the GNAC's first hat trick of the season, including the game-winner in the 101st minute in Thursday's double-overtime win against Western Oregon. It was the 45th three-goal game in GNAC history, tying the conference single-game record. It was also the first hat trick for a NNU player since Stacey Beckman had three goals against University of Mary on Sept. 5, 2009.

GAME-WINNERS: Jennifer Larsen and Jaucelyn Richter had MSUB's game-winning goals in its victories against Saint Martin's and Northwest Nazarene.. . .Clarissa Strayer scored with 50 seconds left to earn Saint Martin's a 2-1 last-minute win over Western Oregon. . .Meanwhile, Kaylie Winston had Seattle Pacific's game-winning goal with just 15 seconds left in regulation in its 2-1 win against Western Washington. Laura Moore and Brittany Langdon earned assists on the goal.

VIKINGS SPLIT TWO: Catherine Miles scored two goals in Western Washington's 6-0 shutout of Simon Fraser Sunday. Brianna Jones also had a pair of goals including one against the Clan. She also had WWU's lone goal in its 2-1 loss Wednesday at Seattle Pacific.

SHUTOUTS: Montana State Billings, which has six shutouts in its last eight contests, has recorded three consecutive shutouts and hasn't allowed a goal in 309 minutes, 28 seconds dating back to its 2-1 win against Seattle Pacific on Sept. 13. Goalkeeper Alexandria Johnson has a 0.25 GAA.

ASSIST DISADVANTAGE: Western Oregon scored four goals - by Lindsay Bauman, Makana Pundyke, Kym Witmer and Nikki McCall - without earning an assist in road losses at Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's. Meanwhile, its two opponents were credited with eight assists on their six goals. The Wolves were outshot 40-10 in the two contests.

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."

Sept. 10-16: 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 - Brina 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

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). Sept. 17-23 - Central Washington (Volleyball).