Women's Soccer | 10/23/2012 1:41:00 PM

SOCCER - MONTANA STATE BILLINGS AT WESTERN OREGON
Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 – 3:00 p.m. – Monmouth, OR

LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm

SOCCER - NORTHWEST NAZARENE AT WESTERN OREGON
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 – 11:00 a.m. – Monmouth, OR

LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm


MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon women's soccer team returns to action this week as the Wolves close out the regular season when they host Montana State Billings on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 3:00 p.m. before the regular season finale against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11:00 a.m.

“We've been on the road the last few weeks and have put ourselves in a position to advance to postseason play if we get quality results this week,” head coach Steve Ancheta said. “We're going  to have to play extremely well as we face a pair of strong opponents; but, the team is excited to be playing for a chance to earn a trip to the conference tournament.”

WOU enters the final week of the season with a mark of 7-8-1 overall and 5-6-1 in the league standings after falling at Central Washington and Seattle Pacific last week. The Wolves are one-point clear of Saint Martin's and three points ahead of CWU for fourth-place in the league standings. The top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to the GNAC Women's Soccer Championship to compete for the right to earn the automatic berth to the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.

Lindsay Bauman leads the WOU attack as the midfielder leads the team with four goals, four assists and 12 points. Marina Austin has also tallied four goals for the Wolves as WOU ranks third in the league, scoring 1.31 goals per game. Nine separate players have scored goals for the Wolves this season, including Kymberly Whitmer, who ranks third on the squad with three goals.

On the defensive side, WOU continues to rank among the league's best as the Wolves rank third in the conference with six shutouts while allowing only 1.25 goals per game. Hillary Lutz continues to play well in goal for WOU as she has posted a 1.12 goals against average during 14 appearances.

MSUB enters the week with a mark of 12-4-0 overall and in third-place in the league with a conference record of 8-4-0. The Yellowjackets are led by Heidi Greenback as the forward has scored seven goals this season. Alexandria Johnson has played every minute in net for MSUB, posting an impressive goals against average of 0.74.

The Wolves close out the regular season against Northwest Nazarene as the Crusaders enter the final week with a record of 7-8-0 overall, 4-7-0 in league play. Jenny Field leads the NNU attack with seven goals while Sarah Staropoli has added four goals and five assists. Meanwhile, in net, Tanya Zickefoose has recorded a 1.79 goals against average in over 1300 minutes of work.

Earlier this season, WOU defeated MSUB, 1-0, on a strike by Bauman in double overtime and fell to NNU, 4-3, in double overtime.

Admission to the contests is $6 for adults and $4 for non-WOU students and seniors. WOU students are admitted free with a valid identification.

Should WOU advance to the GNAC Women's Soccer Championship, the Wolves would open play on Thursday, Nov. 1, in Seattle, Wash., at the Starfire Sports Complex.