Women's Soccer | 10/16/2013 12:12:00 PM
MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University women's soccer team begins a four-game homestand Thursday against Simon Fraser University and welcomes No. 2 Western Washington University Saturday.
The Wolves (6-2-4, 4-2-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) ride a five-game unbeaten streak into the pivotal weekend. Western Oregon has six matches left in the regular season, with five at home.
Just over the halfway point of GNAC play, WOU sits a point behind Seattle Pacific for the third spot in the conference standings, but comfortably in fourth with a four-point margin ahead of Montana State Billings. The top four teams advance to the GNAC Championships.
Western Oregon's defense has been dominant this season. The Wolves' backline has allowed just eight goals through the 12 games played. A streak of 536 minutes over a five-game span without allowing a goal came to an end last Saturday with a penalty kick scored by Northwest Nazarene.
The Wolves' 0.39 goals against average is second in the conference, behind WWU's 0.27 average. WOU is 10th in NCAA Div. II with that average, while Western Washington is sixth. The Vikings have allowed only three goals this season. Both schools have posted eight shutouts this season. Western Oregon is 12th in the country with a .667shutout percentage.
Amanda Rose Johnson ranks second in the conference and 12th in the country with a .393 goals against average. She has stopped nearly 87 percent of the 30 shots she has faced this season, which is second in the GNAC. Johnson has six shutouts in her 10 appearances.
Makana Pundyke is second in the conference with seven goals scored this season.
Taylor Higa is third in assists.
Simon Fraser (0-8-2, 0-6-2) rides into Thursday's matchup with the Wolves on a four-game losing streak, and is seeking its first victory of the season. The Clan has been outscored 14-1 in its last three contests. Last week, SFU fell in a pair of games against the top two teams currently in the GNAC standings, Western Washington and Central Washington.
The Clan has won eight of the 13 all-time matchups against Western Oregon. The last meeting was less than a month ago in Burnaby, B.C. WOU took 12 of the 15 shots in the Sept. 28 contest, but neither team found the back of the net through the 110 minutes of play.
Simon Fraser's Simone Tessler leads the conference saving 5.88 shots per game. She has made 47 saves this season. Offensively, the Clan is eighth taking an average of 5.60 shots per outing. SFU has scored four goals this season.
Saturday, Western Oregon hosts the second-ranked team in the country, Western Washington (11-0-0). While the Vikings' defense boasts impressive numbers, its offense is equally mentionable. WWU leads the GNAC with 31 goals this season, an average of 2.82 per game.
Catherine Mills leads Western Washington and the conference with 19 points this season. She has scored eight goals and made three assists. The combination of Kristin Maris' 18 points makes the duo nearly unstoppable. Maris has seven goals and four assists. Ashton Griffen and Stephanie Hamilton have combined for nine assists this year. In the net, Alyssa Beauchamp has one of the country's best save percentages at .889.
The Wolves handed undefeated Western Washington one of its toughest challenges this season. On Sept. 26 in Bellingham, WOU and the Vikings battled for 90 minutes, but it was WWU that pulled out a 2-0 win behind a 16-3 shots advantage. Western Washington holds a 31-5 all-time advantage in the series.
Both Thursday's and Saturday's games in Monmouth will be tape-delayed for rebroadcast on KWVT in the Willamette Valley. The game will also feature a live video stream on WOUWolves.com. Thursday's matchup with Simon Fraser is at 1:30 p.m. and Saturday's meeting against No. 2 Western Washington is at 3 p.m.
