MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University soccer team gets to start out the early parts of the 2021 fall season right at home when they will face Linfield and Portland State this week. Linfield will come in first on Aug. 24, while Portland State will arrive on Aug. 27.
The Wolves begin the exhibition portion of the fall season against Linfield starting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. WOU and Linfield have matched up more over the past few years including a meeting earlier this spring. The Wolves tallied a 3-1 win in McMinnville and also claimed a 6-0 win on the road against Linfield in 2019. Linfield played several games in the spring season, posting a 7-1 overall record. Michayla Sponsel led the team with nine points, while Laney Green had a team-high three goals. In net, Madi Reimer played in all eight games, coming away with five shutout victories.
Just a few days later, WOU will welcome in Portland State with a 2 p.m. start time on Friday. This will be just the second time since 2000 that the teams will play in Monmouth. The Wolves won the first meetings in the series in 2000 and 2001, while Portland State has victories in the last two meetings in 2002 and 2005. It's been even over those four matches, with neither team winning by more than a goal and each team scored five goals. Portland State went 0-8 during the spring season, with Paige Donathan leading the team with four points and a team-high two goals. In goal, Enya Hernandez started all eight games, collecting 49 saves.
During the 2021 spring season, Camille Darland, Piper Matson and Alyssa Tomasini all led the team in goals with one in the countable eight games. Four goalies saw time in net, with Morgan Mihelich playing in four games and had a win with 11 saves. Emily Wheeler played in four games and tallied 22 saves.
Going back to the 2019 season, Tomasini led the team in points with 25, collecting nine goals. Current assistant coach Isabelle Creighton and Selene Konyn added 14 points apiece, with Creighton tallying four goals and Konyn with five. Alex Qualls started 19 games in goal, tallying 10 wins, six shutouts, one combined shutout and 57 saves.
WOU will play three total exhibition games facing Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls on Monday, August 30. The regular season opens in Colorado on Sep. 3 against Western Colorado in Grand Junction.
Live stats will be available for both games and can be found here. Fans will be allowed to attend and cost will be free for both exhibition games. Masks are required for both indoor and outdoor settings as this time.
