Monday, October 30, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. – Earning its first GNAC regular season title in program history, Concordia downed previously-undefeated Western Washington 2-0 on Saturday to capture this week’s GNAC/Red Lion Team of the Week honor.
After five seasons of Vikings’ dominance, Concordia claimed the No. 1 seed heading into the 2017 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships next week in Portland after going unbeaten in conference action (11-0-1). The Cavaliers’ win put a halt to Western Washington’s 39-game win streak and 40-game unbeaten streak, as WWU ended the regular season one-point shy of a first-place tie.
Concordia withstood a 23-shot Vikings’ barrage on Saturday to come away with its 10th shutout of the year. Junior midfielder Gabrielle Ewing gave Western Washington its first deficit of the season when she netted a goal in the 32nd minute to put the Cavs up 1-0. Sophomore forward Quinn Williams sealed the game late when her close-range effort with 9:34 left in the match doubled CU’s advantage.
Like she has been all season, Concordia goalkeeper Anna Miller was phenomenal in the contest, turning away all nine of Western Washington’s shots on goal. The most important save, however, came just nine minutes into the match when she denied an early Vikings’ penalty kick attempt to keep the game level.
"I told the team after the game, I am a little bit speechless right now," said Concordia head coach Grant Landy. "WWU is such a great team and they put us under constant pressure today. We were resilient in our defending and scored some timely goals. Anna Miller had a great game in goal today. If you are going to beat such a great strong team like WWU you need a high-level performance from your goalkeeper.”
The Cavaliers ran their unbeaten streak to 13 and have recorded shutouts in seven of their last nine matches. They have allowed just two GNAC goals this season and is second in the league with 10 shutouts. Prior to the match, Western Washington allowed just two goals all season to GNAC opposition. The defeat gave the Vikings their first conference loss since at 1-0 loss at Western Oregon on Oct. 19, 2013.
Miller has been a tough keeper to get past this season, as she has allowed just six goals in 14 appearances. Concordia’s last loss came in a 4-1 non-conference defeat to Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 8. "We started building this team three years ago when we first joined the GNAC," noted Landy. "All of our experiences since then have helped mold our team to compete like we did today. We are excited to host the GNAC tournament next week.”
The No. 1 seeded hosts will play No. 4 seed Northwest Nazarene in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. Concordia is in its second GNAC Championships, having lost in double overtime to Seattle Pacific in the 2015 semifinals. Northwest Nazarene enters the tournament with its best season in program history, achieving the most regular season (11) and conference victories (eight) in a year. “We will celebrate today (Saturday) but we will need to quickly turn our attention to Northwest Nazarene for Thursday's game. They are a very good team and have had a fantastic season. "
Online tickets with discounts are available now through midnight on Nov. 1. Tickets can be purchased at EventBrite.com.