Monday, October 2, 2023
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Oregon women’s soccer team has not only been one of the best teams in the conference this season but also one of the best in Division II. The Wolves showed that quality last week with a pair of 1-0 victories over Simon Fraser and Western Washington to earn GNAC Team of the Week honors.

The Wolves opened last week by blanking the Red Leafs at home and dominating the run of play by outshooting SFU 13-5. The Western Oregon defense was led by senior defender Hannah Rispler who played the full 90 on Thursday while allowing Simon Fraser just two shots on goal. Both of the shots were stopped by junior goalkeeper Sophia Pierce to record her fourth shutout of the season while junior midfielder Lilly Nowatzke scored her second goal of the year in the 61st minute to secure the win.

On Saturday, the Wolves came right back and took the fight to defending national champion Western Washington to take their second consecutive win over the Vikings after defeating WWU on the road, 2-1, on Oct. 27, 2022. The Wolves outshot their opponents 13-11 with the lone goal of the match scored by junior forward Reanne Jones in the 24th minute on assists from Elizabeth Parker and Chloe Smith. The tally was Jones’ third goal of the season and sees her rank second for WOU and tied for fourth in the GNAC with seven points. Saturday’s match was also the fourth straight game that Jones has factored in on the scoresheet.

On the defensive side, it was déjà vu as Risper and Pierce shone yet again. Rispler played the full 90 on the backline for the eighth time this season and led a defense that held WWU to two shots on goal to earn GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Pierce, once again, made both stops in net to record her conference-leading fifth shutout. Rispler has been a staple for WOU on defense, starting 23 of the team’s last 28 matches and owning an iron woman streak that dates back to Oct. 21, 2022.

Western Oregon has been one of the best teams in the conference on both sides of the ball the season, ranking second in the GNAC with 11 goals and 11 assists while also leading the GNAC with just a 0.62 goals against average and five clean sheets.

“Last week was a big week for us as we knew we were playing two of the best teams in the GNAC,” head coach Kacey Bingham said. “We focused on just taking it one game at a time and the girls were focused and motivated leading up to each game. We were proud of the defensive efforts and execution on the attack.”

Western Oregon will be back in action this week on the road at Montana State Billings on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.