MONMOUTH, Ore.-- The Western Oregon women's soccer team needed just one goal Tuesday to top the Saint Martin's Saints, 1-0 at WOU Soccer Field.

"It was a hard-fought game," said Western Oregon head coach Steve Ancheta. "It's the GNAC, there's never an easy game. They came out here and gave us everything they had. We had some good early play and as the game progressed it became a real defensive battle. We snuck in a goal and held on."

Western Oregon (5-6-2, 3-4-1 GNAC) out-shot Saint Martin's (5-8-0, 1-6-0 GNAC) 5-2 in the first half, but neither side would see a try on goal.

SMU generated the best scoring chance on a breakaway. With 9:22 left in the first half, Alex Qualls stepped out to thwart a SMU fast break.

A great deal of the scoring chances came in the second half when 15 of the game's 22 shots took place. The Saints made many late plays for a goal, but Qualls delivered four saves in the second half to keep SMU scoreless.

"We had to match intensity," said Ancheta. "We did a better job of that in the second half and that gave us a little more offensive play out of it."

Western Oregon relied on a 71st minute score from Kaili Brundage for the victory. The junior midfielder found some open room on the left side to begin a run. With Dacia Alexander following to her right, the duo completed a give-and-go to find the net. Alexander got the pass at the top of the box and immediately touched it back for Brundage's shot into the left side of the goal. For Brundage, it was her first goal of the season as well as the first assist of the year for Alexander.

Alyssa Tomasini contributed a team-high four shots, one on goal, and Isabelle Creighton added in two shots of her own in the win.

With the victory, the Wolves are now just two points behind Seattle Pacific for fourth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. 

"Three points is always huge. We had three tough games against three top teams where we had to learn a lot of lessons, so it's good to bounce back."

Western Oregon will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 13 with a road match at Seattle Pacific. Opening kick against the Falcons is set for 4 p.m.