Women's Soccer | 10/17/2012 1:54:00 PM

SOCCER - WESTERN OREGON AT CENTRAL WASHINGTON
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 – 3:00 p.m. – Ellensburg, Wash.

LIVE STATS: WOU TV (Stretch Internet)

SOCCER - WESTERN OREGON AT SEATTLE PACIFIC
Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 – 1:00 p.m. – Seattle, Wash.

LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc/scoreboard.aspx

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Four points clear of fifth-place in the conference standings, the Western Oregon women's soccer team looks to solidify its position for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament when the Wolves travel to Ellensburg, Wash., to face Central Washington on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 3:00 p.m. before a meeting with Seattle Pacific on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 1:00 p.m.

“These are obviously very big games for us as we look to qualify for the GNAC tournament,” head coach Steve Ancheta said. “We are playing well right now; but, need to stay focused as we are playing a pair of very good opponents.”

The top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to the GNAC tournament with the winner claiming the automatic berth for the conference into the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.

The Wolves enter the week with a mark of 7-6-1 overall, 5-4-1 in league play, after WOU picked up a 10 win over Simon Fraser before falling to nationally-ranked Western Washington, 2-0, last week.

Senior midfielder Lindsay Bauman continues to lead the Wolves attack as she has posted 14 points on the season to rank 10th in the league at 0.71 points per game. Bauman leads the team with four goals as a balanced WOU attack has seen nine players score a goal this season.

On the defensive side, sophomore Hillary Lutz leads the Wolves as the goalkeeper ranks third in the league with a 0.91 goals against average. Solid backline play has helped the Wolves rank third in the league with a 1.43 goals against average, allowing only 20 goals on the year.

CWU faces the Wolves with a record of 4-8-2 overall, 3-6-1 in league play, as the Wildcats fell to Montana State Billings before posting a 2-0 win over Northwest Nazarene last week. Carson McKole leads the way with seven goals as Kayla Lipston has posted a 1.40 goals against average for the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, the Falcons enter the week in position to challenge for the GNAC regular season title as SPU carries a record of 9-2-2 overall, 6-1-2 in league play. The Falcons have won four straight contests after cruising to wins over Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene last week.

Ali Martin leads the way with six goals and 15 points while Natalie Harold has posted an impressive 0.95 goals against average for SPU.

Earlier this season, WOU defeated CWU, 1-0, and fought to a 1-1 tie against SPU for its first point against the Falcons since the 2002 season.

Following the weekend road trip, WOU will return home for the final two games of the regular season as the Wolves face Montana State Billings on Thursday, Oct, 25, at 3:00 p.m. before a meeting with Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11:00 a.m.