Saturday, November 12, 2016

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington continued its dominance over GNAC opponents for its 20th consecutive win, beating Central Washington 2-0 in the NCAA West Regional semifinal at Harrington Field on Saturday.

With the win, Western Washington moves within three wins of the all-time GNAC record for longest winning streak, but more importantly advances to the third round of NCAA playoffs for the third time in four years. The Vikings will play No. 2 UC San Diego, which was a 4-2 winner over No. 6 Azusa Pacific in its semifinal match. The West Regional final will be played next weekend with the time, date and location still to be determined.

“It was a great team effort,” Western Washington head coach Travis Connell said. “Lots of people contributed and we are really happy with the result. It was great to play in front of our home crowd. Players get so motivated to play in front of their fans.”

The Vikings (20-0-1) got a very quick start, scoring just 23 seconds into the match. Liv Larson scored the first-minute goal and Gabriela Pelogi and Taylor Hallquist were credited with the assists on the goal that stood as the game-winner.

“It was exactly the way you want to start a playoff game,” head coach Travis Connell said. “Then, we defended hard and moved the ball really well for the rest of the game.”

In the 16th minute, Elise Aylward added her eighth goal of the season for insurance and becoming one of three players to lead the Vikings with eight goals on the season. Aylward’s goal came straight off her corner kick, curling it past the keeper into the far post.

Viking goalkeeper Ashley Homer recorded four saves to help the team record its ninth shutout in its last 11 matches. For Homer, it’s her 13th shutout of the 2016 campaign as she remains on pace to break the GNAC single season record in goals against average. Her mark for the season is now down to .257, which is nearly six tenths better than the current record.

For Central Washington (14-6-1), it’s the end of a year of firsts. After starting the season with five consecutive wins for the first time in program history, the Wildcats earned their first-ever NCAA playoffs berth. They backed that up with the first playoff win to reach the West Regional semifinals.

Next week’s meeting with UC San Diego will be the second meeting for the Vikings after defeating the Tritons 3-2 at home during the non-conference portion of the season. Central Washington also played UC San Diego, falling 3-2 in overtime on a penalty kick.