Tuesday, September 24, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Washington (5-0-0, 2-0-0 GNAC) moved from No. 4 to No. 2 and Seattle Pacific (5-1-0, 2-0-0 GNAC) forced its way back into the national rankings at No. 25 as both teams won their first two conference games of the season last week.

The lone difference between the two programs came in both teams’ first game of the season, as SPU fell to UC San Diego, while WWU pulled off a dramatic 1-0 victory over the California powerhouse in early September.

Since then, both have won five straight games and outscored opponents by a combined score of 22-1. SPU hasn’t allowed a goal over the stretch, and the single tally WWU conceded was an own goal last week.

The Vikings are amongst the national leaders in most team offensive categories, highlighted by a microscopic 0.2 goals against average (7th) and three assists per game (8th).

Alexa Diaz (D, 5-4, Jr., Burien, WA - Kennedy) represents SPU amongst the individual nationwide statistical leaders, as her four total assists are seventh most and her average of 0.8 per game is sixth best.

 Western Oregon’s Amanda Rose Johnson (GK, 5-8, Jr., Montrose, CA - New Mexico Highlands) ranks 13th in the nation in save percentage, as her .933 mark is the best in the GNAC.

WWU, SPU ESTABLISH COMMAND:

The Vikings and Falcons both proved last week that their ranks among the nation’s best are deserved.

WWU’s offense exploded for seven goals in 3-0 and 4-1 wins over Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings. Leading the offensive charge was Catherine Miles (F, 5-7, So., Anacortes, WA - Anacortes), whose two goals and assist earned her GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

The Vikings spread their scoring throughout the squad with six different players getting on the tally sheet, and five others providing assists.

Despite allowing their first goal of the season – an own goal – the Vikings maintain the best goal differential in the conference as they have outscored opponents 13-1.

SPU achieved the same result as WWU, albeit in much different fashion. The Falcons relied on a single player – Heather Young (F, 5-5, Jr., Lacombe, Alberta – Lacombe Composite) – to score both of their goals in a pair of 1-0 victories over Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s.

The Falcons’ excellent defense allowed just six total shots on goal in the two games, as GNAC Defensive Player of the Week Shayla Page (D, 5-6, So., Redmond, WA – Eastlake) acted as commander of the back line and helped keeper Natalie Harold (GK, 5-3, SR., Vancouver, WA – Heritage) reach 450 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal.

MSU Billings (2-1-1, 1-1-0 GNAC) began the week with a pair of confidence-boosting 2-0 victories over the University of Mary and Simon Fraser at home, but stumbled on Saturday when the Vikings came to town and rolled to a 4-1 win.

The Yellowjackets will count on Heidi Greenback (F, 5-7, Sr., Woodinville, WA – Woodinville), who scored twice last week, to pace their offense as they head to Washington this week to face SPU and Central Washington in a pair of tough road matchups.

WOU (3-1-2, 1-1-0 GNAC) put forth a valiant effort against SPU last Thursday, but fell victim to Young’s 85th-minute game-winning goal. The Wolves have had an encouraging start to the 2013 campaign, as they have outscored opponents 8-2.

The momentum from NNU’s and first-year coach Mary Trigg’s first win of the season two weeks ago did not carry over, as the Crusaders settled for a 0-0 tie on Thursday despite outshooting SFU 15-6 with five shots on frame. NNU (1-3-1, 0-1-1 GNAC) fell to WWU on Saturday and the Crusaders have scored just two goals in five games thus far.

Danielle Brandli (M, 5-4, Jr., Bellevue, wA – Interlake) made headlines with her two goals against SMU on Thursday, as the Wildcats beat the Saints in Lacey, Wash. The luck ran out for CWU (2-3-0, 1-1-0 GNAC) on Saturday however, as Steven Ancheta’s WOU Wolves put nine of their 12 shots on frame and grabbed the 1-0 victory on a 78th-minute goal from Makana Pundyke (M/F, 5-5, So., Kula, HI – Kamehameha).

SFU (0-3-1, 0-1-1 GNAC) is in search of its first GNAC goal of the season, after falling to MSU Billings on Thursday and battling NNU tough for 120 minutes on Saturday to a 0-0 draw.

THIS WEEK:

Conference play continues Thursday with all three Washington schools and SFU hosting GNAC opponents.

SPU welcomes MSU Billings on Thursday, and NNU on Saturday as the Falcons will have to beat a pair of tough opponents in order to preserve their winning streak.

WWU hosts WOU and SMU, which went a combined 3-1 last week and pose a legitimate threat towards tarnishing the Vikings’ perfect 5-0 record. SFU hosts the same two schools in Burnaby, BC in its first home conference matches of the season.