MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Washington University senior forward Gabriela Pelogi scored her 40th career goal and added an assist in the No. 17 Vikings 3-0 road victory over Western Oregon on Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at WOU Soccer Field.
Western extended its winning streak to four consecutive games to improve to 8-2-0 overall and 3-1-0 in conference play. Western Oregon had its four-game unbeaten streak snapped to fall to 4-4-2 on the season and 2-2-1 in GNAC play.
The Vikings wasted little time building a two-goal advantage, netting a pair of goals in the first 12 minutes of the contest.
“We talked about getting off to a good start in training this week, and I thought in both games we accomplished that and played with a lot of energy right out of the gate,” said 16th-year head coach Travis Connell. “The team was on a mission it seemed like. Great energy was rewarded with two quick goals. We could not have started the game any better.”
Sophomore midfielder Grace Eversaul (Vancouver, WA/Skyview) scored at the 9:31 mark to get the Vikings on the board, connecting on a shot from 8-yards out after a scramble in the box. SophomoreSophie Butterfield (Bellevue, WA) nearly scored on a shot just seconds before, but after a save, WWU regrouped, leading crisp passes from junior Lindsey Fujiwara (Sammamish, WA/Skyline) and Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) to assist on the goal.
A little over two minutes later at the 11:48 mark, Pelogi scored her fourth goal of the season when she got behind the WOU defense, eluded the Wolves goalkeeper and scored the empty-net goal to put the Vikings up 2-0. The goal was the 40th of her career, making her the eighth player in GNAC history to reach the 40-goal mark.
“Gabi had a lot of energy today and worked really hard,” said Connell. “A well-deserved honor for her to get her 40th goal. She has a lot of fun out there and when she is scoring it makes our team better.”
Sophomore forward Zoe Milburn (Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) scored in the 55th minute to put the Vikings up 3-0, collecting the ball in the box after a scramble, and connected on a shot from 7-yards out for her second goal of the season.
Redshirt sophomore Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State) and senior Hillary O’Connor (Los Angeles, CA/The Archer School) combined for the shutout. The Vikings defense allowed only seven shots in the game, and non on target, helping the Vikings to the fifth shutout win of the season.
“We were able to work on a lot of things in these two games that we have identified as areas we need to improve on…and I felt like we accomplished that,” added Connell. “It was a good road trip and we’ll come back and get ready for our next match against Seattle Pacific.”
Western Oregon goalkeeper Alex Qualls made nine saves while playing the full 90 in goal.
The Vikings (8-2-0, 3-1-0 GNAC) return to action next Thursday hosting rival Seattle Pacific at Harrington Field with kickoff set for 7 pm.
“That is the game that everyone looks forward to. It is a healthy rivalry and a lot of the players know and respect each other,” said Connell. “The best part of college athletics is these types of games. We are looking forward to a great match and crowd at Harrington Field Thursday night.”
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 35-6-1 all-time vs. WOU…extended the unbeaten streak against the Wolves to eight consecutive games (7-0-1)…23-1-1 in the last 25 meetings in the series…Gabriela Pelogi scored her 40th career goal, remaining in 6th place in WWU history (5th is 42 goals)…Pelogi also recorded her 19th career assist moving into a tie for 7th in program history and has 99 career points to rank 5th in WWU history.
