BELMONT, Calif. – The No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Western Washington University women’s soccer team opened the 2017 season with a 3-1 road victory over Notre Dame de Namur Thursday afternoon at Koret Field.
The Vikings (1-0) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard first, when sophomore forward Liv Larson (Arlington, WA) scored two minutes into the game when she took a cross from junior forward Gabriela Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) and found the back of the net.
WWU struck again less than seven minutes later with the Larson and Pelogi combination giving the Vikings the early 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. Pelogi, who led the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with 29 points last season (11 goals, 7 assists) took a through ball from Larson and drove it past NDNU goalie Abigail Cebrero for her 22nd career goal (15th in WWU history).
“It was a great start for sure and that is exactly what we were after,” said head coach Travis Connell. “We are very happy getting a result like this on the road against a very talented team.”
The Argonauts pulled to within one goal late in the first half in the 38th minute when Alina Martinez headed home a corner kick from Vanessa Sanchez.
The two teams battled throughout the second half before the Vikings added a late insurance goal in the 87th minute to seal the victory. Freshman forward Talia Daigle (Edmonds, WA/Archbishop Murphy) took a long ball from junior defender Taylor Hallquist (Vancouver, WA/Columbia River) and scored on the breakaway in her first collegiate game.
Western senior goalkeeper Ashley Homer (Puyallup, WA) earned the win in the net making three saves.
“It was a very end-to-end game, so it was key to have players come off the bench and contribute solid minutes,” added Connell, who is in his 15th season leading the program and 22nd overall at WWU.
The Vikings continue their Northern California road trip facing Holy Names on Saturday at 11 am. The game will be played on the Saint Mary’s College Recreation Field in Moraga, Calif. WWU will play its first five matches of the 2017 season on the road before debuting at Harrington Field in the GNAC opener on Sept. 16 vs. Western Oregon.
