October 14, 2007

Vikings Knock Off Lady Jacket Soccer
Box Score
MSUB Season Stats
Game Photos

BILLINGS, Mont. – Western Washington scored a goal in each half Sunday to down Montana State Billings 2-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer. 

The win evened the Vikings’ conference record, pulling them into a tie with MSU Billings at 4-4-1 for third place in the GNAC.  Western, ranked sixth in the NCAA Far West Region, improved to 9-5-1 overall while dropping the Yellowjackets to 8-6-1.

“I thought it was a really good game,” said Yellowjacket head coach Don Trentham.  “Both teams worked hard and played well.  That’s what you like to see in a key match up in the conference.  It was two teams working hard to beat each other, and we just came up on the short end today.  I really thought we played a good game.  Nobody can fault our players’ effort today.  It just didn’t go our way.”

The Vikings dodged a bullet in the first 50 seconds when MSUB’s Dani Ritter (Great Falls) beat WWU goalkeeper Teresa Fish to a high-bouncing ball in the box.  Ritter headed a soft lob over Fish, but it was kicked away by a Vikings defender just before it bounced over the goal line.

Western broke the scoreless tie at 23:47 when Claire Morgan sent a free kick from about 40 yards over the head of Yellowjacket keeper Jordan Fenwick (Boise, Idaho).  The ball skipped off Fenwick’s hands just below the crossbar for a 1-0 Vikings lead.

The Vikings added an insurance goal in the 61st minute when Morgan and Lucy Miller broke free behind the defense.  Morgan set up Miller, who fired from the left side off the hands of a diving Fenwick and inside the right post.

Fenwick finished the day with four saves while Fish had one.  The Vikings out-shot the Yellowjackets 15-12, including 6-2 shots on goal. 

The Yellowjackets hit the road for their next two games, both GNAC counters.  They play at Saint Martin’s next Friday and at Western Oregon on Sunday.  The Jackets’ next home game will be against Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 25.

“The next game is a big game because it’s the next game,” said Trentham.  “Our goal is to win every game we play, so we’re going to be excited to play in our next game Friday.”