Women's Soccer | 9/25/2013 10:29:00 AM

SOCCER - WESTERN OREGON AT NO. 2 WESTERN WASHINGTON
Thursday, Sept. 26 - Bellingham, Wash. - 3:00 p.m.

LIVE STATS: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wwu.portal#

SOCCER - WESTERN OREGON AT SIMON FRASER
Saturday, Sept. 28 - Burnaby, B.C. - 5:00 p.m.

LIVE STATS: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/sfu.portal#
LIVE VIDEO: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/sfu.portal#

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Looking to continue its strong start to the season, the Western Oregon women's soccer team continues Great Northwest Athletic Conference play as the Wolves travel to Bellingham, Wash., to face No. 2 Western Washington on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 3:30 p.m. before a meeting with Simon Fraser on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 5:00 p.m. in Burnaby, B.C.

WOU enters the match with an overall mark of 3-1-2 and is sitting in third-place in the GNAC standings with three points at 1-1-0 after splitting a pair of matches last week. The Wolves fell to Seattle Pacific, 1-0, before claiming a 1-0 win at Central Washington to close out the week.

The defense has been the story for the Wolves through the first six matches as WOU has allowed only two goals this season while posting four shutouts. WOU enters the week with a plus-six goal differential and rank No. 12 in the nation with a 0.31 goals against average. Amanda Rose Johnson leads the Wolves in net as she leads the league and ranks No. 13 in the nation with a .933 save percentage.

Offensively, Makana Pundyke leads a balanced WOU attack with three goals and six points while Taija Bjorgo and Allison Frost have each scored two goals for the Wolves. So far this season, WOU has owned a 43-28 edge over opponents in shots on goal.

The Wolves will face a stern test in their first match this week as WOU faces the second-ranked team in the nation, Western Washington. The defending league champions, the Vikings enter the week with a perfect 5-0-0 mark and are 2-0-0 in league play after wins over Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings last week.

The Vikings have only allowed one goal through five games this year and are led by Kristin Maris and Catherine Miles as the duo have scored three goals apiece this season.

Meanwhile, Simon Fraser enters the week with a mark of 0-3-1 overall and 0-1-1 in league play after a scoreless draw against NNU on Saturday.

Last season, WOU picked up a pair of wins over the Clan while falling to WWU on three occasions by identical scores of 2-0.

Following this week's matches, which concludes a seven-match road swing for the Wolves, WOU will return to action on Thursday, Oct. 3, when the Wolves host Northwest Nazarene at 3:30 p.m.