LACEY, Wash. (Oct. 29) – Mackenzie Nolte's 15^th minute goal finished as the lone tally for the Central Washington University soccer team as they topped Saint Martin's University in the regular season finale, 1-0.
 
"The offensive part of us continues to roll," CWU Head Coach Mike Farrand said.  "Saint Martin's played well on their senior day and limited what we could do.  A salute to their seniors and their senior class, I'm proud of their girls.  I'm really proud of our girls for setting the regular season record for wins with 13. It's a good day for us to finish on and get ready for the GNACs next week."
 
The Wildcats are now 13-4-1 overall and 8-3-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  With the win, they clinch the number two seed in the GNAC Championships next week.  Saint Martin's falls to 3-14-1 and 2-10-0 in the GNAC.
 
Not only did the Wildcats set a regular season win record, they also won the most games in conference (8) since 2013 (10).
 
Nolte found the score sheet with her seventh goal of the season in the 15^th minute.  Keilin Farrand fed the junior midfielder and Nolte beat Ali Koehler for a 1-0 lead.
 
Central Washington compiled nine shots and five corner kicks in the first 45 minutes of play. 
 
The Saints generated three chances in the first half, but Emily Holt and the Wildcat defense rebuffed the attacking side each time.
 
Holt finished with four saves on the afternoon.
 
A pair of chances from Saint Martin's in the 58^th minute sought to level the score, but the Saints could not find the back of the net.
 
The 60^th minute saw the Saints back on the attack.  A shot by Hannah Frakes was gathered by Holt, keeping the 1-0 lead intact for Central Washington.
 
The Wildcats generated two shots and a pair of corners in the second half, but they stifled Saint Martin's advances in the attacking third and kept the Saints to just one shot on goal in the second stanza.
 
Central Washington is joined by Western Washington and Simon Fraser as the teams currently clinched for next week's GNAC championships.  The Wildcats await results for Seattle Pacific and Concordia, who play each other in Portland, as the Falcons and Cavaliers jostle for the postseason.  Currently, SPU is tied with SFU with 21 points.  A Concordia win gives SPU, SFU, and CON 21 points each and bounces SPU out of the postseason.
 
The GNAC Championship is scheduled to begin on Thursday (Nov. 3) in Burnaby, British Columbia at Simon Fraser University.