Women's Soccer | 11/5/2013 9:17:00 PM
MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University women's soccer team appears in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships for the second straight season. It will be familiar territory for the Wolves.
Western Oregon (9-3-6, 7-3-4 GNAC) plays No. 10 Western Washington in the conference semifinals for the second consecutive season. The Vikings ended WOU's season a year ago with a 2-0 win in the inaugural GNAC Championships.
The Wolves have won six of the 37 meetings all-time against defending conference champion WWU. But, Western Oregon was the victor in the last meeting. WOU snapped the Vikings 11-game conference win streak.
The Vikings are ranked second in the West Region, and have won three games since their lone loss at WOU. The Wolves handed then-ranked No. 2 in the nation Western Washington a 1-0 road setback.
Four Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams keep their season alive as they head to the GNAC Championships this week at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.
Western Washington, which jumped to No. 10 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America top-25, is the top-seeded team entering the tournament after wrapping up its second straight GNAC regular season title last week.
The Vikings will face the fourth-seeded Western Oregon Wolves on Thursday in the second semifinal match, and WOU is the only team to beat WWU all season long.
Central Washington earned the second seed in the tournament, after beating Seattle Pacific for the second time this season on Saturday. The Wildcats converted on their last chance to leapfrog SPU into second place in the GNAC standings, and the two teams will face each other in the first semifinal match of the tournament on Thursday.
In the latest NCAA West Region rankings, WWU remained at No. 2 while SPU fell one spot to No. 7 despite winning both of its games the week before the rankings were released. Three of the top six teams in the West Region according to the NCAA rankings will be selected to the Division II postseason, supplementing the three conference champions to complete a six-team regional field.
WWU remained one of the top teams in the nation in scoring offense, ranking at No. 14 in the NCAA and checking in at No. 5 in win-loss-tie percentage at .941. Defensively, WWU ranks No. 7 in the NCAA in goals-against average at .353 and No. 17 in save percentage at .872. Western Oregon is tied for 9th in save percentage at .893, while ranking No. 12 in goals-against average at .412.
Individually, Catherine Miles checked in at No. 24 in the NCAA in points per game with 1.71, as her 13 total goals are the most in the GNAC and have her tied for 14th across Division II. WWU goalkeeper Alyssa Beauchamp jumped to No. 11 in goals-against average and No. 28 in save percentage.
Both semifinal matches will feature live video and stats on GNACSports.com. The first semifinal is scheduled for 4 p.m., with the WOU and Western Washington game to follow at 7 p.m.
