Western Washington’s women’s soccer team will be heading to the Great Athletic Northwest Conference title match after defeating Western Oregon 3-1 Thursday, Nov. 14 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.
The Vikings pressured the Wolves’ defense in the first few minutes but struggled to get shots on net in the first half. Kyrsten McGuffey had the first opportunity in the fifth minute when she was dribbling inside the box but lost the ball to a defender.
Western Oregon had a pair of shots in the first half and capitalized on one of them. In the 20th minute, the Wolves’ Hadlie Bullock received a through ball to the right corner. She crossed the ball in the air and Ciara Garcia headed it for the 1-0 lead.
Western has not trailed often this season and made sure to keep it that way. In the 41st minute, Morgan Manalili took a corner kick. As the ball crossed into the box, players from both teams scrambled to put a foot on the ball. Olivia Connell found the ball and tapped it in for the equalizer, assisted by Kascia Muscutt.
Western’s offense dominated in the second half. In the 50th minute, Myka Carr scored her first goal of the game and season. Emily Holdridge took a shot near the top of the box and a Wolves’ defender deflected it to Carr, who shot it for the 2-1 lead.
Carr found her second goal two minutes later on a left-footed volley to make it 3-1. McGuffey led the offensive attack with a deep pass to Holdridge. Holdridge chipped it over the defenders to Carr.
Western kept firing shots around the goal, finishing with 12 shots compared to Western Oregon’s six. The Vikings will return to Interbay Stadium Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. against the winner of Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
