Friday, November 22, 2019

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Lindsey Fujiwara picked the perfect time to score her first goal of the 2019 season.

Behind another dominant defensive performance and a timely second-half goal by Fujiwara, No. 7 Western Washington escaped with a 1-0 victory over Stanislaus State in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship on Friday in Rohnert Park, California.

The Vikings and Warriors went into halftime scoreless. Western Washington put the pressure on early and was able to tally 11 shots and five shots on goal in the first half but the Warriors played sound defense to keep the match tied at zero.

Fujiwara broke the silence when she notched the game-winning goal from 25 yards out to the lower-left part of the net in the 63rd minute off a cleared corner kick by freshman defender Makenzie Burks. Before scoring the goal, Fujiwara had just three shots on goal the entire season.

The Warriors had their chances late in the game as they put up three shots in the final 10 minutes of the match, but the Vikings held on as time ran out.

The Vikings totaled 16 shots and eight shots on goal while limiting the Warriors to just four shots on goal in the 1-0 win. Junior midfielder Grace Eversaul led the Vikings with four shots while senior forward Karli White followed with three shots, all of which were on goal. The Vikings also had a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.

Junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx made four saves in the match to secure her ninth shutout of the year and improve her record to 18-2-0. Dierickx sits atop the GNAC rankings with an .837 save percentage and a 0.43 goals against average.

The Vikings picked up their 14th shutout of the season and have won 15 straight matches since their 2-1 loss to Colorado Mines on Sept. 25.

With the win, Western Washington improves to 19-2-0 on the season and advances to the next round of the NCAA Division II West Regional. The Vikings will face No. 7 seed Cal State LA at 1 p.m. on Sunday.