Friday, April 30, 2021
CAN’T TOUCH THIS: Nobody’s perfect, but Northwest Nazarene didn’t get that memo.
The Northwest Nazarene women completed their perfect season with five wins in April, finishing the season at 11-0-0. The Nighthawks are ranked No. 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, released April 20. Of their five wins this month, four were shutouts.
The Nighthawks beat Montana State Billings on April 8, 4-0, and NAIA Carroll (Mont.) on April 10, 2-0. They won both matches at Saint Martin’s on April 15 and 17 by scores of 3-2 and 2-0, respectively and then closed the season with a 2-0 win at Western Oregon on Saturday.
Four different players scored in the 4-0 rout of the Yellowjackets. Sophomore forward Kailyn LaBrosse struck first in the 18th minute, followed by fellow sophomore forward Carolyn Moravec in the 24th, senior midfielder McKenzie Buell in the 48th and sophomore defender Makayla Roggow in the 68th. Moravec also assisted on LaBrosse’s opening goal.
Buell went right back to work against Carroll, opening the scoring with a goal in the 53rd minute off an assist from Moravec. Junior forward Ashley Parton notched the insurance goal off an assist from Roggow. Roggow was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of April 5-11 after anchoring a backline that allowed opponents to just two shots on goal and 10 total shots.
Parton led NNU with a pair of goals in the April 15 win at Saint Martin’s, scoring in the fourth and 60th minutes, both off of assists from senior forward Rikki Myers. Sophomore midfielder Madison Grande scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 64th minute off an assist from LaBrosse.
Parton scored the game-winner against the Saints on April 17, scoring in just the fourth minute of the match again. Buell scored the insurance goal in the 11th to give NNU its 10th straight win.
Junior goalkeeper Alexis Montoya was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this spring on April 19 after she made a pair of saves on April 15 and earned her fifth shutout of the season on April 17. Montoya finished the season with a 10-0-0 record with 12 saves, six shutouts and a 0.41 goals against average.
In the win at Western Oregon on Saturday, the Nighthawks limited the Wolves to six shots and didn’t allow a single shot on goal. Junior forward Sierra Sanchez (44th minute) and Buell (62nd minute) both notched their sixth goals of the season. Roggow earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors again on Monday after she led the Nighthawks to their seventh shutout of the season.
RACKING UP THE GOALS: Seattle Pacific is 6-0-1 on the season and has scored four or more goals in all seven matches. The Falcons picked up a pair of 5-0 wins at home over Division III Pacific Lutheran on April 10 and Western Oregon on April 16. The Falcons beat the Wolves again on April 17, 4-0, and then tied with Western Washington, 4-4, in Bellingham on Saturday. Seattle Pacific opened this week with a 4-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s on Thursday.
Sophomore midfielder Chloe Gellhaus opened the scoring against the Lutes. She scored in the 39th minute off an assist from freshman forward Jacqueline Blakeley and then scored unassisted in the 44th. Blakeley also scored the fifth goal for SPU in the 80th minute. Sophomore midfielder Toni Miranda and freshman forward Sophie Beadle scored the third and fourth goals, respectively.
Senior midfielder Claire Neder was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for the week of April 12-18 after she scored two goals in both wins over Western Oregon. In the 5-0 rout, Neder scored the game-winner in the ninth minute and added an insurance goal less than two minutes later. She scored a pair of insurance goals in the 4-0 shutout of the Wolves in the 26th and 71st minutes.
Senior forward Sophia Chilczuk also left her mark against the Wolves. In the first meeting, Chilczuk scored goals in the 27th and 66th minutes and assisted on Neder’s opening goal. In the second match, Chilczuk scored the opening goal in the third minute and assisted on Neder’s second goal.
The Falcons got goals from Gellhaus (12th minute), Chilczuk (19th minute), junior midfielder Makena Rietz (75th minute) and junior defender Mariah Alexander (78th minute) in the 4-4 tie with the Vikings. The Falcons outshot the Vikings, 19-13, and had 11 shots on goal.
The Neder-Chilczuk combo stole the show again on Thursday in Lacey. Neder scored the first two goals in the sixth and seventh minutes. Chilczuk was credited with an assist on both goals. Chilczuk also scored a goal of her own in the 15th minute off an assist from Beadle.
Seattle Pacific is ranked No. 7 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, released April 20. The Falcons have already scored 30 goals this spring. The Falcons will end the week at home, hosting Central Washington on Saturday.
OPENING-MATCH MADNESS: Central Washington opened the season with a pair of wins against Saint Martin’s. The Wildcats escaped with a 4-3 win in double overtime on April 10 and then topped the Saints, 2-0, on Saturday.
Senior forward Jayme Woodfill and junior midfielder Sydney Lowe scored the first two goals on April 10, unassisted. Sophomore defender Kiana Harris tied the game at 3-3 in the 70th minute with an unassisted goal of her own. Freshman midfielder Emily Darcy’s first collegiate goal was a big one as she notched the golden goal in the 102nd minute off an assist from freshman forward Grace Jackson.
Jackson opened the scoring in the 2-0 win on Saturday, striking in the 25th minute off an assist from sophomore midfielder Meagan Kelly. Senior midfielder Sophia Keenan delivered an insurance goal, unassisted, in the 58th minute.
Junior goalkeeper Megan Fox earned both wins. She played 57 minutes in the first game and made a save. She made another save in 45 minutes on Saturday.
VIKINGS FIGHT BACK TO TIE FALCONS: Western Washington hasn’t lost a match this spring. The Vikings beat Saint Martin’s, 1-0, on April 20. They fought back to tie with Seattle Pacific, 4-4, on Saturday and then shut out Western Oregon, 3-0, on Wednesday.
Senior midfielder Darby Doyle scored the game-winning goal against the Saints in the 29th minute off an assist from sophomore forward Estera Levinte. The Vikings outshot SMU, 19-7, and limited the Saints to four shots on goal.
Levinte earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday after she scored a pair of goals against SPU and dished out the assist to Doyle against SMU. Levinte scored in the 52nd and 74th minutes against the Falcons. The first goal was assisted by junior midfielder Caylie Etherington while the second goal was unassisted.
Junior forward Dayana Diaz notched the Vikings’ second goal in the 67th minute, assisted by sophomore defender Jayden Nguyen. Freshman Abigail Arnold connected with fellow freshman Zola Carbone with 16 seconds left in the match to tie it at 4-4 and force overtime.
Sophomore midfielder Payton Neal scored the opening goal in the 34th minute of the shutout of the Wolves. She was followed by Carbone in the 55th minute and freshman forward Drew Baty in the 65th.
Western Washington is 2-0-2 this spring. The Vikings will play at Central Washington on May 8 in the first of their four remaining matches.
ENDING AT HOME: Montana State Billings went 2-1-0 at home in April to finish 4-5-0 on the season. The Yellowjackets won a rematch with Minot State on April 3, 4-1. They were shut out by Northwest Nazarene, 4-0, on April 8 before ending the season with a 1-0 win over Carroll (Mont.) on April 11.
The first three goals for MSUB against the Beavers were unassisted. Junior forward Lexie Bloyder scored first in just the third minute. Freshman forward/midfielder Izzy Menning scored the next two goals for the Yellowjackets in the 14th and 52nd minutes. Freshman defender Vendela Andersson notched the final insurance goal in the 65th off an assist from junior midfielder Kelsey Hogan.
Freshman goalkeeper Clare Keenan played 90 minutes and earned the win against the Beavers. She allowed just the one goal and made seven saves on eight shots on goal. Keenan also made five saves in the loss to the Nighthawks and earned the win with one save against Carroll.
Junior midfielder Haylee Gunter scored the only goal for MSUB against Carroll, but it was all the Yellowjackets needed in the 1-0 victory. Freshman forward Jordan Roe connected with Gunter in the 15th minute and then the defense took over as MSUB allowed just three shots and one shot on goal.
Montana State Billings ranks third among conference teams with 13 goals and 31 points. Roe led the team with three goals and seven points.
TOMASINI SHINES IN EXHIBITION WIN: Western Oregon won a pair of matches in April but ended the season with four consecutive shutout losses. The Wolves beat Division III Linfield, 3-1, on April 2 and then topped Humboldt State, 4-1, on April 11. The Wolves lost twice to Seattle Pacific on April 16 and 17 by scores of 5-0 and 4-0, respectively. They were shut out by Northwest Nazarene at home on Saturday, 2-0, before completing the season with a 3-0 loss to Western Washington on Wednesday.
Senior forward Alyssa Tomasini earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the week of April 5-11 after she netted a hat trick in the win over Humboldt State. She connected on the opening goal of the match in the 10th minute and then notched back-to-back goals in the 53rd and 77th minutes. Freshman Gabby Pulliam assisted on Tomasini’s first and third goals while freshman Piper Matson assisted on the second. Matson also assisted on an insurance goal in the 86th minute by freshman Lilly Nowatzke.
Freshman goalkeeper Morgan Mihelich finished the season with a 1-2-0 record and led the Wolves with a 2.00 goals against average to go with 11 saves.
THE FINISH LINE: Saint Martin’s dropped seven straight matches to end the season. The Saints lost at Central Washington in double overtime on April 10, 4-3. The Saints lost a pair of home matches to Northwest Nazarene on April 15 and 17, 3-2 and 2-0, respectively. The Saints’ final road match ended in a 1-0 loss at Western Washington on April 20. They closed the season at home with a 2-0 loss to CWU on Saturday and a 4-0 loss to Seattle Pacific on Thursday.
Three different Saints scored in the double-overtime loss to the Wildcats. Freshman forward Rachel Kimura connected with sophomore forward Taylor Goodpaster in the sixth minute. Senior midfielder Kiersten Madsen followed with an unassisted goal in the 16th. Fellow senior midfielder Lexi Caceres scored the go-ahead goal off an assist from freshman midfielder Payton Aselton in the 40th minute to make it 3-2 before CWU sent it to overtime and eventually escaped with the victory.
Familiar names made an impact against the Nighthawks on April 15. Madsen connected with Kimura in the 61st minute to give the Saints their first goal. Caceres scored unassisted in the 80th to make it 3-2, but the NNU defense prevented a comeback. The Saints were limited to four shots on goal.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ali Campigotto played every minute in goal for Saint Martin’s this spring. She finished the season leading all GNAC goalkeepers with 63 saves and 5.73 saves per game to go with a shutout and a 2.61 goals against average.