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Oct. 2, 2012

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Tied for first-place in the league standings, the Western Washington University women's soccer team is on the road for two Great Northwest Athletic Conference games this week, traveling to Simon Fraser on Thursday (7 p.m.), Oct. 4, and to Central Washington on Sunday (12 noon), Oct. 7.

The Vikings, who have allowed just four goals in 10 games this season and rank fifth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/NCAA Division II West Region Poll, are 8-2-0 overall and tied with Montana State Billings atop the GNAC standings at 5-1-0. They completed a sweep of a three-game home stand last week with wins over Northwest Nazarene, 4-0, and nationally No.23-ranked and previously unbeaten MSUB, 3-0.

THE LAST MEETING Simon Fraser 0 Western Washington 6 September 23, 2012 BELLINGHAM WWU rebounds with 6-0 win over Simon Fraser Freshman forward Catherine Miles scored two goals and assisted on another as Western Washington University blanked Simon Fraser University, 6-0, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer game Sunday night at Orca Field on the campus of Whatcom CC. Recap | Box Score

THE LAST MEETING Western Washington 1 Central Washington 2 October 13, 2011 Ellensburg, WA WWU loses 2-1 at Central Washington Western Washington University had a three-game winning streak snapped as it fell 2-1 to Central Washington University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer contest Thursday afternoon at the CWU Soccer Field. The Vikings, who also had an eight-game series unbeaten string (6-0-2) broken, fell to 6-4-2 overall and 5-3-0 league. They entered the match having won five of their last six games. Recap | Box Score

WWU, which has won eight of its last nine contests, is working on a three-game winning streak. The Vikings have posted seven shutouts. Their only losses have both been on the road to then No.4-rated Chico State, 1-0, to open the season, and to Seattle Pacific, 2-1, the Falcons coming back with two goals in the final 10 minutes and the game winner with 15 seconds remaining.

WWU, coached by Travis Connell (10th year, 112-57-19), has recorded 11 straight shutouts at home, five of them this season with a scoring margin of 17-0. The Vikings have lost just once (12-1-4) in their last 17 matches at Whatcom CC's Orca Field, 15 of the wins being whitewashes.

Senior goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs (Richland) raised her four-year career shutout total to 30 and needs one more to tie the school record set by Teresa Fish (2003-05, 2007). Arthurs has seven shutouts this season after posting a school-record 11 in each of the last two years. She has a 0.40 goals against average this season, which ranks ninth nationally in NCAA Division II,with 19 saves in 900 minutes.

Also playing major roles on defense are junior midfielders Brian Sych (Vancouver/Union) and Ashton Griffen (Duvall/Cedarcrest) and sophomore defender Katherine Miccile (Kent/Kentlake).

WWU is outscoring its opposition, 27-4, and has a shot advantage of 163-77, leading the GNAC in goals (2.70), assists (2.60), and least goals against (0.40). The Vikings had a 13-0 scoring margin in their three-game home stand sweep.

Junior forward Kristin Maris (Issaquah) has six goals and four assists for 16 points, leading the GNAC in points, tied for first in goals and tied for second in assists.

Freshman forward Catherine Miles (Anacortes) has five goals and four assists for 14 points.

Miles has had a goal and/or assist in six of WWU's last seven games, and Maris in six of the last eight.

Sych also has four assists, being named Red Lion/GNAC Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season.

Griffen, who was named this week's conference defensive POW, had an assist in each of WWU's wins over NNU and MSUB. Senior midfielder Joana Houplin (Olympia) scored a goal in both of those contests and assisted on another in the NNU game.

Simon Fraser, which lost 6-0 to the Vikings at Bellingham, on Sept. 23, is 1-8-0 overall and 0-6-0 in league play. Though the series is tied at 16-16-3, WWU is unbeaten in the last seven meetings (5-0-2), shutting out the Clan in the last five (3-0-2).

Central Washington, which plays host to Seattle Pacific on Thursday, Oct. 4, is 3-5-2 overall and 2-3-1 in GNAC action. The Vikings hold a 28-11-6 series advantage, but lost the second meeting of last season's home-and-home series after going unbeaten in eight meetings (6-0-2).

Notes: 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 ... Ranked ahead of the Vikings regionally are Cal State Stanislaus, Sonoma State, UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012 Women's Soccer Report Week 5 (Oct. 2, 2012)

		        Conference			                All
	                W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA
MSU Billings            5	1	0	8	4	15	9	1	0	 16	5
Western Washington      5	1	0	19	3	15	8	2	0	27	4
Seattle Pacific         3	1	2	10	7	11	6	2	2	18	11
Saint Martin's          3	3	0	8	9	9	5	5	0	12	17
Western Oregon          2	3	1	10	10	7	4	5	1	16	14
Central Washington      2	3	1	9	8	7	3	5	2	13	18
Northwest Nazarene      2	4	0	6	14	6	5	5	0	14	18
Simon Fraser            0	6	0	2	17	0	1	8	0	3	21

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

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

NEXT WEEK (Oct. 8-14): Thursday - MSU Billings at Central Washington, 4 p.m.; Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific, 7 p.m.; Western Oregon at Simon Fraser, 7 p.m.; Saint Martin's at Western Washington, 3 p.m. Saturday - Northwest Nazarene at Central Washington, 11 a.m.; MSU Billings at Seattle Pacific, 1 p.m.; Saint Martin's at Simon Fraser, 7 p.m.; Western Oregon at Western Washington, 4 p.m.

POLLS: NSCAA National (Oct. 2) - 30. Montana State Billings. NSCAA West Region (Oct. 2) - 5. Western Washington; 6. Montana State Billings; 8. Seattle Pacific.

NCAA National Statistics (Sept. 30): Team (Top 30): Scoring - 22. Western Washington 2.70. Goals Against - 4. Western Washington 0.40; 14. MSU Billings 0.50. Shutout PCT. - 6. MSU Billings and Western Washington .700. Save PCT. - 20. MSU Billings .872. Individuals (Top 30): Goals Against - 9. Jamie Arthurs, WWU, 0.40; 13. Alexandria Johnson, MSU Billings, 0.50. Save PCT. - 22. Alexandra Johnson, MSUB, .872.

GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Offense - Shayla Page, Seattle Pacific (D, 5-6, Fr., Redmond, WA - Eastlake) scored the game-winning goal with 10 seconds remaining in overtime as the Falcons edge Saint Martin's 2-1 Saturday at Interbay Stadium to avoid their third consecutive 1-1 draw and earn the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors. Page has scored goals in three of SPU's final four games, including the first goal in a 2-1 win against Western Washington on Sept. 19 and their lone goal in Thursday's 1-1 draw with Western Oregon. Defense - Ashton Griffen, Western Washington (M, 5-4, Jr., Duvall, WA - Cedarcrest) had a pair of assists and also contributed to two more home shutouts while playing right back and center mid to earn Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Vikings have outscored their opponents 17-0 in five home games this fall and have posted 11 consecutive home shutouts dating back to a 1-0 win over Central Washington on Sept. 17, 2011. "Ashton's work ethic and fitness level is fantastic," WWU coach Travis Connell said. "This past weekend she covered so much ground, tirelessly closing down the ball, dominating in the air and winning knockdowns. Her commitment to the team was inspiring." Honorable Mention - Joana Houplin, Western Washington; Marina Austin, Western Oregon; Hillary Lutz, Western Oregon; Jaucelyn Richter, MSU Billings; Whitney Siler, MSU Billings.

ARTHUR ONE AWAY FROM CAREER SHUTOUT RECORD: Western Washington goalie Jamie Arthurs and Montana State Billings keeper Alexandria Johnson each have seven shutouts in 10 games. Arthurs now has 30 career shutouts, one shy of the WWU and GNAC records of 31 set by Teresa Fish between 2003 and 2005 and in 2007. Johnson has 34 saves, while Arthurs has 19 including just five in the Vikings' five shutouts this fall at Orca Field. In those five contests, WWU has outshot its five opponents 97-31 and has had a 47-6 advantage in shots on goal.

VIKINGS END MSUB STREAK AT NINE: Western Washington did have a shot disadvantage (12-10) in its 3-0 win Saturday against Montana State Billings. The Vikings got goals from Joana Houplin, Anna Geldenhuys and Catherine Miles in ending MSUB's nine-game win streak. Houplin, who had the game-winner, also had a goal and assist in Thursday's 4-0 shutout of Northwest Nazarene.

GAME WINNERS: Marina Austin scored the game's only goal in Western Oregon's 1-0 home win against Central Washington Saturday. The Wolves' goal in its 1-1 tie with Seattle Pacific was an "own goal." ... Sasha Dini contributed to all three of Saint Martin's goals in a 3-2 win against Central Washington, scoring a pair and also earning an assist on the game-winner by Molly Campbell in the 85th minute.

MORE GAME WINNERS: Jaucelyn Richter scored MSUB's game-winner in a 2-0 win at Simon Fraser. Whitney Wood had the game's lone goal in Northwest Nazarene's 1-0 win at Simon Fraser.

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

Sept. 17-23: 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. 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.

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).