BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University freshman forward Dayana Diaz scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute to lift the No. 15 nationally-ranked Vikings to a 1-0 victory over Simon Fraser University on Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Harrington Field.
The Vikings improved to 6-2-0 overall and leveled its conference mark at 1-1-0 with their 15th consecutive victory over the Clan. SFU falls to 3-3-0 overall and 1-1-0 in GNAC play.
“It was awesome to see Dayana come off the bench and give us such a spark, not only scoring the goal, but also creating chances,” said head coach Travis Connell. “I am also very proud of the shutout with the way that Simon Fraser can score goals. Our center backs – Hattie North, Emily Nelson, Annaliese Laurila – were dominating today.”
The game was evenly matched for the first 80 minutes before Diaz (Granite Falls, WA) scored the only goal the Vikings would need to secure the victory.
Junior forward/defender Peyton Chick (Renton, WA/Kentridge) served a cross into the box, and after a mad scramble for possession, Diaz blocked an attempted clearance by an SFU defender in the box and converted a left-footed streak from 6-yards away to the far post for her second career goal.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State) made 3 saves in goal to record her second shutout of the season.
WWU out-shot the Clan 14-9, including a 7-3 margin in the second half, and held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
SFU goalkeeper Nicole Anderson made 4 saves, including a first-half long-distance shot from Diaz that she made a diving save on at the 33:28 mark.
The Clan’s best scoring opportunity came in the 41st minute when Gabrielle Brissette hit the left post following a corner kick at the 40:10 mark.
The Vikings (6-2-0, 1-1-0 GNAC) return to the road next week with a pair of GNAC matches away from Bellingham, first traveling to Lacey to play Saint Martin’s on Thursday (3:30 pm) and then continues south to play Western Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 29 in Monmouth, Oregon at 11:30 am. WWU’s next home game will be against rival Seattle Pacific on Thursday, October 4 with a 7 pm kickoff.
