MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Western Oregon went toe-to-toe with No. 17 nationally ranked Western Washington on Thursday afternoon at the WOU Soccer Field, but two second-half Viking goals pushed the visitors past the Wolves for a 2-0 victory.
The Vikings improved to 6-1-3 on the season and to 4-0-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with their third straight victory. The Wolves are now 2-4-3 overall and 1-2-2 in GNAC action.
The home team kept the Vikings off the scoreboard in the first half, although their defense was stretched to do so. WWU had seven shots in the first 45 minutes, three of them on goal, compared to just one each for WOU. Western Oregon keeper Ayanah Soon kept busy with three saves while facing the seven shots overall.
WOU had its best opportunity before intermission when Kaia Borje-Peeples popped a shot that had to be saved by Viking keeper Ellie McGowan. At the half, WWU had three corner kicks to WOU's one.
The Vikings broke through not too long after the break. Chloe Van Wey took a pass from Emily Fojo and directed it into the top left-hand corner of the goal to notch the first score of the day. Just prior to that shot and just after the goal, Soon had to make solid saves to keep the scoring minimal.
The Wolves continued to battle on defense all afternoon before WWU added the clincher in the 79th minute on a high-center shot from Triya Mitchell to make it 2-0. Western Oregon had its next best scoring opportunity in the final minutes off a set piece on a corner, but the ball bounced in the air in traffic before the Vikings controlled it and kicked it away.
Soon finished with five saves on the afternoon, and she faced 13 shots. The final stat tally showed a 13-1 shot advantage for Western Washington with a 7-1 lead in shots on goal. The Vikings had six corner kicks to two for the Wolves.
Western Washington moved into first place in the GNAC with the victory, just one point ahead of Simon Fraser, who is the next opponent for the Wolves. The Red Leafs will be in town on Saturday for a 10 a.m. match.
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