Thursday, November 8, 2018

PORTLAND – Behind some dominant defense and an early goal, No. 16 Western Washington shutout Sonoma State 1-0 in Thursday's NCAA Championships first round match at Tuominen Yard.

The win advanced the Vikings to the NCAA West Region semifinals, where they will take on the winner of Thursday's Concordia/Seattle Pacific match later in the week. 

With just over 15 minutes gone in the first half, junior Liv Larson delivered a perfect pass into the box. It found the head of forward Gabriela Pelogi, who promptly guided the ball into the back of the net to put the No. 3 seed up 1-0.

The goal was Pelogi's eighth of the season, putting her at the top of the WWU scoring list. Thursday's match marked her first appearance in the postseason after missing the GNAC Championships due to injury.

"It was off a throw-in," said Pelogi while recounting the goal. "I saw that Liv made a nice cross so I went all-in and got the goal thanks to her and my team. It just feels really good to be back helping the team out."

With a goal in hand, head coach Travis Connell's team was able to rely on its defense for the majority of the second half. Keeper Natalie Dierickx shined in goal, making nine saves while keeping her seventh clean sheet of the season.

The offensive production was pretty even on both sides as the Seawolves finished with a slight 16-15 advantage in shots.

The victory improved the Vikings' record to 17-3-1 on the season. The club is back in the NCAA Championships for a seventh consecutive season.

Western Washington will return to the pitch on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Portland. While it does not yet know its opponent, the matchup will be an all-GNAC affair as it will face either No. 2 seed Concordia or No. 7 seed Seattle Pacific.

"It is a testament to (the strength) of the conference," Connell said when looking ahead to the matchup. "We have a fantastic league that sharpens everyone throughout the season. It's an honor for the GNAC and we're looking forward to the opportunity to play."