Tuesday, October 9, 2012
PORTLAND, Ore. - Two shutout wins last week has earned Western Washington a No. 23 ranking in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association NCAA Division II women's poll.
Meanwhile two shutout victories by Western Oregon, which plays at Simon Fraser and Western Washington this Thursday and Saturday, has earned the Wolves the GNAC Team of the Week award.
Western Washington also earned a No. 3 ranking in this week's NSCAA West Regional poll in addition to its first national ranking of the 2012 season. Seattle Pacific is ranked fifth and Montana State Billings is ranked seventh in the regional poll.
The shutouts were the eighth and ninth of the season for WWU, which ranks second nationally in both shutout percentage (.750) and goals against average (0.33).
Viking goalkeeper Jamie Arthur, who set a GNAC and school record for shutouts with her 31st and 32nd of her career, ranks third nationally in goals against average (0.33).
Western Washington (10-2-0, 7-1-0) , which leads Montana State Billings (10-2-0, 6-2-0) by one game in the conference race, is also a nationally ranked Top 30 team in scoring, averaging 2.50 goals per game. That puts them into 28th place.
The Vikings have won their last five games all by shutouts and Arthurs hasn't allowed a goal in 450 minutes, 15 seconds.
Western Oregon, meanwhile, has three consecutive shutouts to jump into the race for one of the conference's four available playoff berths. The Wolves (6-5-1, 4-3-1) lead both Northwest Nazarene (6-6-0, 3-5-0) and Saint Martin's (5-7-0, 3-5-0) by four points for the fourth-and-final berth.
The playoffs will begin Nov. 1 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. with two semifinal games. The championship game will be played Saturday, Nov. 3. The winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA West Regional tournament.
NCAA National Statistics (Oct. 7): Team (Top 30): Scoring – 28. Western Washington 2.50. Goals Against – 2. Western Washington 0.33; 19. MSU Billings 0.57. Shutout PCT. – 2. Western Washington .750; 20. MSU Billings .583. Save PCT. – 27. Western Washington .867. Individuals (Top 30): Goals Against – 3. Jamie Arthurs, WWU, 0.33; 22. Alexandria Johnson, MSU Billings, 0.57.