Thursday, November 3, 2016

BURNABY, B.C. – Western Washington remained unbeaten in the five-year history of the GNAC Championships with a 3-0 win against No. 4 seed Simon Fraser on Thursday night at Terry Fox Field.

The Vikings improved to 18-0-1 on the season, reaching its fifth consecutive GNAC championship match, where they will face Seattle Pacific for a fourth consecutive year. Seattle Pacific and Western Washington have each won two of the four GNAC Championships since the conference added the tournament at the end of the season.

Oregon State transfer Mariah Roggow scored the game-winning goal for the Vikings in the 32nd minute. Freshman forward Peyton Chick sent a pass forward on the ground into the box and Roggow was the first player to get to it, getting the shot off before SFU goalkeeper Priya Sandhu could close in. Roggow became the eighth different player this season to score a game-winning goal for WWU.

The Vikings added a pair of insurance goals in the second half within two minutes of each other. In the 59th minute, Roggow was on the giving end of a goal, assisting GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Emily Webster. It was the second goal this year for Webster who also has six assists.

Only 93 seconds later, Gabriela Pelogi drilled a shot with the left foot from 25 yards out to the far side of the goal to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. Pelogi became the first player in the GNAC to record six goals and six assists in a single season since Isabel Farrell did so for Seattle Pacific in 2014.

Western Washington has now won 18 consecutive matches and has only allowed one goal in its last nine matches. Junior goalkeeper Ashley Homer recorded her 12th shutout this season with a pair of saves. She has led a defense that has a total of 15 shutouts in the 2016 season. The Vikings have also shutout the Clan in all 14 matches in the series history since SFU joined the GNAC.

On Saturday at 1 p.m. (Pacific), Western Washington will face Seattle Pacific as both teams go for a record third GNAC tournament championship. Seattle Pacific won the meetings between the two programs in 2013 and 2014 on penalty kicks, but Western Washington won last year 3-1. The Vikings also won the inaugural tournament in 2012, beating Montana State Billings in the championship match.

The Clan, which reached its first ever GNAC Championships, ends its season 9-7-1. It is the second consecutive winning season under head coach Annie Hamel, who has helped turn the program around in her fourth year at the helm.