Tuesday, November 5, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – Four Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams keep their season alive as they head to the GNAC Championships this week at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.

Western Washington, which jumped to No. 10 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America top-25, is the top-seeded team entering the tournament after wrapping up its second straight GNAC regular season title last week.

The Vikings will face the fourth-seeded Western Oregon Wolves on Thursday in the second semifinal match, and WOU is the only team to beat WWU all season long.

Central Washington earned the second seed in the tournament, after beating Seattle Pacific for the second time this season on Saturday. The Wildcats converted on their last chance to leapfrog SPU into second place in the GNAC standings, and the two teams will face each other in the first semifinal match of the tournament on Thursday.

In the latest NCAA West Region rankings, WWU remained at No. 2 while SPU fell one spot to No. 7 despite winning both of its games the week before the rankings were released. Three of the top six teams in the West Region according to the NCAA rankings will be selected to the Division II postseason, supplementing the three conference champions to complete a six-team regional field.

WWU remained one of the top teams in the nation in scoring offense, ranking at No. 14 in the NCAA and checking in at No. 5 in win-loss-tie percentage at .941. Defensively, WWU ranks No. 7 in the NCAA in goals-against average at .353 and No. 17 in save percentage at .872. Western Oregon is tied for 9th in save percentage at .893, while ranking No. 12 in goals-against average at .412.

Individually, Catherine Miles checked in at No. 24 in the NCAA in points per game with 1.71, as her 13 total goals are the most in the GNAC and have her tied for 14th across Division II. WWU goalkeeper Alyssa Beauchamp jumped to No. 11 in goals-against average and No. 28 in save percentage. 

RECAP

WWU (16-1-0, 13-1-0 GNAC) finished off its regular season slate with a solid 2-1 victory over second-place Central Washington and a decisive 5-0 result over Simon Fraser. The Vikings’ goal differential of +36 is by far the best in the conference, as SPU holds the next best mark at +16.

The Falcons (13-5-0, 10-4-0) closed out their season with a tough 1-0 loss to Central Washington after conceding a goal in the first 10 minutes and failing to score for the rest of the match. SPU will get an immediate chance at redemption, as it will face CWU on Thursday in the GNAC tournament. CWU is the only team besides WWU to beat the Falcons twice this season.

Central Washington (11-5-1, 10-3-1) tied the score at 1-1 against WWU on Thursday as Danielle Brandli scored in the 82nd minute. The Vikings responded immediately however, as Kristin Maris scored off a corner less than a minute later to push WWU to victory. After finishing tied for sixth last season, CWU saw marked improvement in 2013, ending up in second place and qualifying for its first GNAC tournament.

Western Oregon (9-3-6, 7-3-4) capitalized on the team-leading goal from Makana Pundyke to tie the game at 2-2 against Montana State Billings (6-8-2, 5-8-1) in the 83rd minute on Thursday, followed by the first career goal by freshman Allison Sprecher in the first period of overtime to send the Wolves to victory.

Northwest Nazarene (2-12-3, 1-10-3) emerged victorious for the first time this season in a GNAC contest, handing Saint Martin’s (4-12-1, 3-10-1) a 1-0 loss on Oct. 31 as Lexi Fesenbek scored in the first period of overtime. Simon Fraser (1-13-2, 1-11-2) meanwhile, ended its season against two of the toughest teams in the conference, losing 5-0 to WWU and SPU.