ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The second half of the Great Northwest Academic Conference (GNAC) soccer season is in full swing, and the 'Cats sit in fourth place in the GNAC standings with a conference record of 3-3-2. They have a big game coming up this Thursday, as they host Seattle Pacific University, who sits one spot ahead of them in the GNAC standings with a record of 4-2-2. A win against the Falcons would tie the two teams for third place with 14 total points on the year. That is not their only game of the week, though, as they also host Montana State Billings on Saturday as well. The Yellow Jackets are another competitive opponent for the 'Cats, as they are fifth place in the GNAC just behind the 'Cats with a conference record of 2-4-2.
 
Last Week:
 
The 'Cats had a tough matchup to begin last week's play, with #24 Simon Fraser University coming into town. Despite the Red Leafs keeping the pressure on the 'Cats, CWU was able to score a goal off the foot of Kylee Schreck in the 86^th minute to tie the game. The crowd at Tomlinson Stadium erupted with cheers as the Wildcats held their own against a ranked conference opponent. They followed it up on Saturday with an impressive win over Northwest Nazarene thanks to a strong opening from Marisa Badillo. In just the first 15 minutes of play, Badillo scored two goals to quickly put the 'Cats up 2-0, the first of which came four minutes into the match. The win over NNU bolstered CWU into fourth place in the division, where they now have their sights set on third place in the GNAC.
 
Looking at SPU:
 
In the Wildcats and Falcons' first match of the year, we saw SPU take down the 'Cats 3-1 as CWU could not get it done on the road. This time around, the 'Cats are going to have to keep an eye on Natalie Carroll, as she scored two goals in the second half of the match. The Wildcats, however, have found strong offensive momentum since that game and look to carry that over into their home match against SPU. The Falcons are coming off a 0-0 tie against Northwest Nazarene University, where neither team could find the net.
 
Looking at MSUB:
 
Sitting at 2-4-2, the Yellow Jackets are in a similar position to the Wildcats, as they are only one game behind CWU. The last match between the two teams resulted in a 1-0 Wildcat win thanks to a second-half Kylee Schreck goal. Yellow Jackets were held at bay nearly the whole match as they were only able to get one shot attempt up on the 'Cats defense against the 12 that CWU put up themselves. MSUB does not have one primary goal scorer for the squad, as CWU will look for a repeat of two weeks ago in their first match of the year vs. MSUB. The last match was on MSUB's home turf as well, and now the roles will be reversed as the 'Cats will host them at Tomlinson Stadium at 11 a.m.
 
Up Next:
Following the Wildcats' upcoming home stand, they will be back on the road to take on Saint Martin's University for their Thursday match, and Western Oregon in their Saturday match. With a strong week this week, the 'Cats could be heading into next week with even more momentum and a better position in the GNAC standings.