Tuesday, October 22, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – After completing the upset of the season with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Western Washington last Saturday, Western Oregon is one step closer to solidifying its second consecutive berth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship tournament.

The top four teams in the GNAC standings earn a spot in the postseason tournament, and two schools have already punched their tickets. WWU, which fell to No. 12 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America national poll, remains in first place despite its first setback of 2013, and Central Washington joins the Vikings to represent the first two teams guaranteed spots in the tournament.

With four games remaining, Seattle Pacific sits in third place and needs just one more point to secure a spot, while WOU can guarantee a berth with one more victory. 

While not mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, both Montana State Billings and Saint Martin’s must win each of their remaining four games and hope for a major collapse by WOU or SPU to have a chance to play in the postseason tournament.

With its conference-leading 10th shutout of the season on Saturday, WOU moved within the top-10 in the NCAA in goals-against average (8th, .336) and shutout percentage (9th, .714). Goalkeeper Amanda Rose Johnson has been the Wolves’ rock, ranking eighth across Division II individually in goals-against average at .329, and 11th in save percentage at .895.

WWU remains a top team in the NCAA offensively, ranking No. 18 in scoring offense (2.62), and No. 15 in assists per game (2.15).

RECAP

The first collegiate goal by Mariah Konyn was all the scoring that WOU (8-2-4, 6-2-2 GNAC) needed on Saturday, as the Wolves upset then-No. 2 WWU in Monmouth to prove the Vikings are beatable. Before Konyn’s goal on Saturday, WWU (12-1-0, 9-1-0) had not trailed for a single second in more than 1,100 minutes played this season. The Wolves would not have won the match were it not for the exceptional play of Johnson, whose six saves on Saturday and ability to command balls sent into the box in the air garnered Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Central Washington (9-4-0, 8-2-0) kept its hot streak going last week with a pair of 1-0 victories. Reilly Retz converted a penalty kick in each game, the first of which came in overtime against MSU Billings on Thursday and was CWU’s first successful penalty kick in two years. 

Seattle Pacific (10-4-0, 7-3-0) burst out of a rut with a pair of victories last week. Before Thursday’s 2-1 triumph over Northwest Nazarene, the Falcons had lost three of their previous four matches. Freshman Maddie Krauss scored twice in 30 seconds for SPU on Saturday, leading the Falcons to a 3-0 win and earning Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors.

With a pair of tough defeats, MSU Billings (4-6-2, 3-5-1) watched as its postseason hopes were nearly stifled last week. The Yellowjackets outshot CWU on Thursday 13-5, but could not find the net in the heartbreaking overtime defeat.

Saint Martin’s freshman Kelli Bannerman scored a pair of goals on Saturday to push the Saints to victory. Bannerman has given SMU (4-9-0, 3-7-0) something to smile about in a sub-.500 season, as her team-high seven goals are third most in the GNAC.

Simon Fraser (0-10-2, 0-8-2) put together a comeback effort against SMU on Saturday, but could not find an equalizer after Marissa Di Lorenzo put the Clan on the board in the 72nd minute. 

Playing well enough to earn a point in each of its games last week, Northwest Nazarene was twice denied despite a pair of strong efforts. The Crusaders (1-9-3, 0-7-3) came up short in a comeback bid against SPU on Thursday, as they could not back up a Sarah Blum goal in the 68th minute with an equalizer. NNU outshot CWU on Saturday 13-11, but could not find the back of the net as Wildcat goalkeeper Kayla Lipston stopped all six Crusader shots that were on target.

AHEAD

Western Oregon faces arguably the toughest stretch of any GNAC team in its final four games of the season, hosting CWU and SPU this weekend before traveling to play MSU Billings and NNU on the final weekend of the season.

WWU will look to rebound from its first loss of the season with a pair of home games against MSU Billings and NNU, while SPU hosts SMU on Thursday and travels to Monmouth, Ore., on Saturday to challenge the Wolves.

MSU Billings and NNU will look to rebound after tough losses last week, as each faces WWU and SFU on the road.