.VANCOUVER, BC – The No. 5-ranked Western Washington University women’s soccer team opened the 2018 preseason with a 3-2 victory over the University of British Columbia Thursday afternoon at the Rashpal Dhillon Oval on the UBC campus.
The game was an exhibition match, with the final result and all game statistics not counting towards the 2018 season standings. This was the first of three exhibition matches before the Vikings officially open the 2018 season at the end of the month.
The Vikings wasted little time jumping ahead of the Thunderbirds, scoring a pair of goals 34 seconds apart in the 18th and 19th minutes of the game.
Junior midfielder Jordyn Bartelson (Puyallup, WA) struck first with a shot from outside the 18-yard box that caromed off the hands of the UBC goalkeeper into the back of the net to give WWU a 1-0 lead. Just 34-seconds later senior forward Gabriela Pelogi (Federal Way, WA) opened her preseason account with a shot to the upper left corner of the goal from inside the box.
UBC cut the lead to 2-1 in the 37th minute when Margaret Hadley beat WWU redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor/Colorado State) with a low shot inside the right post.
The Thunderbirds scored the equalizer in the 55th minute when Danielle Steer connected on a half volley inside the left post that beat senior goalkeeper Alyssa Treptow (Flagstaff, AZ).
WWU scored go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal in the 79th minute when sophomore forward Zoe Milburn (Maple Valley, WA/Tahoma) found a loose ball in the box and drove home the rebound at the 78:59 mark.
The Vikings out-shot the Thunderbirds 13-7, while also holding a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal.
The Vikings continue the preseason with the second of three exhibition matches next Tuesday (Aug. 21) traveling to play Trinity Western University in Langley, BC at 7 pm. WWU will host Victoria on August 24 (Friday) at 6 pm at Harrington Field before opening the 2018 regular season on the road at Point Loma (Aug. 30) and No. 5-ranked UC San Diego (Sept. 1).
