Western men’s soccer lost its shared possession of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after a 2-0 home loss to Northwest Nazarene University, while the women’s team cruised to a pair of 3-0 road wins. Volleyball stayed red-hot, beating Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, and winning its sixth-straight match. It was a busy week on the road for Western athletics, but the biggest loss happened at Harrington Field on Saturday.
Men’s soccer loses top spot in GNAC
The No. 24 nationally ranked Western men’s soccer team traveled to Monmouth, Oregon, on Oct. 13 to face off against GNAC rival Western Oregon University. The Vikings were locked in a scoreless defensive battle for the majority of the game, with the game-winning goal coming off the foot of senior forward Alessandro Tomasi.
With just minutes remaining in the deadlocked game, Tomasi was gifted a penalty kick, but the attempt was blocked by WOU goalkeeper Juan Suarez. Moments later, a throw-in from Western sophomore defender Jacob Sundberg reached junior defender Mitchell Hutter, who volleyed a pass to Tomasi. The senior forward didn’t waste his second chance at a goal and launched a left-footed shot into the net, earning the Vikings a hard-fought, 1-0 win on the road.
Just two days later, Western came home to Harrington Field to face off against another GNAC foe, Northwest Nazarene University. The Vikings entered the game with a 9-1-3 overall record, tied for first place in the GNAC with 15 points at 5-1-0 in conference play.
But the Vikings didn’t look ready to play on offense and were shut out at home by the unranked NNU squad, losing 2-0.
“Tonight was a disappointing result. We were not as sharp in the final third as we needed to be, but credit to NNU. They capitalized on their opportunities and were difficult to break down,” Western coach Greg Brisbon said. “We’ll get some much-needed rest and get back to preparing for our next game.”
WWU now sits one point behind NNU on the GNAC standings, and will have a few days off from competition before taking on Simon Fraser University at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20 at Harrington Field.
Women’s soccer earns pair of 3-0 road wins
The Western women’s soccer team had a successful week of competition, blowing out both Seattle Pacific University and Montana State University Billings, 3-0.
On Oct. 13, the No. 7 nationally ranked Vikings traveled to Seattle to face off against SPU in one of GNAC’s fiercest rivalries.
Freshman forward Claire Potter stole an early lead for the Vikings when SPU’s goalkeeper bobbled an attempted save, leaving the ball for Potter to easily clean up and score in just the 10th minute. In the 29th minute, freshman Minji Rauch scored her first collegiate goal, putting the Vikings up 2-0 before the first half concluded.
Junior forward Estera Levinte, who already tallied an assist in the first half, put the game on ice with a left-footed missile from 26 yards out that clanked off the crossbar and into the net. The goal was No. 3 on the year for Levinte, and No. 11 for her career so far at Western.
“The team was ready to play, and I am really proud of the performance tonight,” Western coach Travis Connell said. “When you match the tactics with the effort and belief, and you combine all three of those things, it equals what we saw tonight, which was a great team performance.”
The Vikings concluded their four-game road trip with a 3-0 win over Montana State Billings on Oct. 15. Levinte continued to dominate in the final third, scoring twice to extend the Vikings’ unbeaten streak to 11 consecutive games.
Western’s sixth-straight victory yet again featured another player scoring their first career goal. On Oct. 15, it was junior defender Kascia Muscutt who put the Vikings up 3-0.
The Vikings now look to close out the regular season with four home games at Harrington Field. WWU will next face off against Northwest Nazarene University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20.
Five-set win north of the border
On Oct. 15, the No. 11 nationally ranked Western volleyball team gutted out a five-set win in Burnaby, British Columbia, against Simon Fraser University, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 15-8.
Since its straight-set loss to No. 14 University of Alaska Anchorage on Sept. 22, the Vikings have won six consecutive matches, improving to 14-4 overall with a 9-1 conference record.
Sophomore pin hitter Gabby Kepley logged a career-high 17 kills, and senior pin hitter Calley Heilborn had a dominant day with a 16-kill, 17-dig double-double.
The win also brought WWU coach Diane Flick-Williams closer to a major career milestone. The 3-2 win over SFU was her 499th career victory as head coach. Flick-Williams looks to earn yet another GNAC Championship as the Vikings enter the final stretch of the regular season. They play the University of Alaska Fairbanks at Carver Gym at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20.
