Friday, November 18, 2016
GOLDEN, Colo. – Western Washington found itself in a position it hadn’t been in all season, trailing UC San Diego 1-0, but the Vikings got two goals from sophomore forward Gabriela Pelogi to win the West Regional final 2-1 on Friday and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals.
For the first time all year, the Vikings trailed in a match after UC San Diego scored in the 32nd minute. The Vikings responded with a second-half goal by Pelogi, her fourth this postseason, to force overtime. Only two minutes into overtime, a perfectly-placed lob pass by Taylor Hallquist landed just outside the 18-yard box and Pelogi only had to beat D2CCA All-West Region goalkeeper Itzel Gonzalez to the ball. After the third bounce, Pelogi took the ball out of the air and shot with her right foot as Gonzalez dove towards the ball, but Pelogi's shot was already rolling towards the left side of the net for a golden goal.
It was Pelogi’s fifth goal this postseason as the Vikings won the West Region for the third time in four years. With the win, the Vikings advance to the NCAA quarterfinals, where they will play South Central champion Colorado Mines on Sunday in Golden at noon mountain time. Western Washington goes into the quarterfinal with a 21-match winning streak and a 21-0-1 record this season. The Vikings extended their West Region unbeaten streak to 40 matches with the victory.
The Tritons’ lone goal came when Western Washington was leading in shots taken 7-1, but UCSD made the most of the opportunity when Aimee Ellis sent a long cross into the box. Goalkeeper Ashley Homer elected to stay in the frame and Jordyn McNutt was the first to get to the ball for UCSD, placing a loft shot perfectly over Homer into the far post. It was only the sixth goal allowed this year by Homer, who remains on pace to break the single-season GNAC record for goals against average. Homer tallied four saves in the win.
The Vikings continued to outshoot their opponents and in the 53rd minute, the constant offensive pressure paid off. Pelogi got a pass in the box and shot immediately for the equalizer. Erin Russell and Caitlyn Jobanek were credited with the assists. For Jobanek, it was her sixth assist of the year.
The Tritons created some scoring opportunities late in the game, but a save by Homer in the 89th minute sent the match into overtime, where Pelogi’s heroics sent WWU to the next round. Overall, WWU led the shot count 16-9 at the end of regulation.
Colorado Mines also had a 2-1 victory in overtime on its home field earlier in the day to reach the quarterfinals. The Orediggers are 20-2-1 on the season after winning the Rocky Mountain Conference and South Central Region titles. In the last nine years, the winner of the West Region has advanced against the South Central champion eight times. The one exception was in 2014, when Colorado Mines advanced on penalty kicks against Stanislaus State, which was also played in Golden, Colo.