ELLENSBURG, Wash. – It is the final week of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season, and the Wildcats hold a conference record of 5-5-2 for fourth place in the GNAC. The 'Cats will close out the season by starting on the road for a match against Northwest Nazarene University (4-6-2), then will be back home for senior day on Halloween to take on the #8-ranked Western Washington Vikings (11-0-1). With 17 points on the season, Central trails Seattle Pacific University (6-4-2) with their 20. If the squad can overcome the two tough opponents, the Wildcats still have a shot at third place in the GNAC.
 
LAST WEEK:

The 'Cats were on the road last week and split the trip with one win and one loss. Their win came on Thursday against the Saint Martin's Saints (1-10-1), where they won 3-0. Emma Barrett was facilitating at a strong level as she had two assists on the day. The first of hers came 37 minutes into the match, finding Jaylee Reynolds to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Her next assist found its way to Olivia Fast to seal the game 3-0. Sydney Madison also got in on the scoring fun as she scored her first goal of the season. The defense of Central was outstanding as well, only allowing three shots in the first half and zero in the second half. 

Their next match came against Western Oregon University (3-6-3), where they fell to the Wolves 1-3. This was the second time in the year that WOU was able to take down the Wildcats, as they also beat Central a month ago on the 'Cats' home turf. The Wolves' leading scorer on the season took over this match as Kyra DiBenedetto was too strong a force for the Wildcats to stop. DiBenedetto scored two goals, with the first one taking place just six minutes into the match, and she also got fouled in the penalty box to score a goal from a penalty kick. Emma Barrett continued her strong play into this match with a goal of her own late in the match to bring the score to 1-3 right before the horn rang.
 
LOOKING AT NNU:

Northwest Nazarene University currently holds a record of 4-6-2, which is good enough for fifth place in the GNAC as they sit right behind the Wildcats. A win from the Nighthawks would tie the two teams for fourth place and end the Wildcats' hopes of climbing to a top three spot in the conference. This season, the Nighthawks have been led by Attie Jo Westbrook. She leads the team in nearly every category and has four goals this season with nine points. The two teams faced off on Oct. 10 for the Wildcats' homecoming match, where the 'Cats won 3-1 thanks to a strong two-goal start from Marisa Badillo.
 
LOOKING AT WWU:

The 'Cats have a tough final matchup of the season as they host the #8-ranked Western Washington Vikings, who hold a conference-best 11-0-1 record in conference play. The Vikings are going into the week with a ten-game winning streak and have yet to lose a conference match. At worst, they tied against CWU on their home field. The Vikings have multiple different weapons at their disposal this season; Madaline Mays, Audrey Holdridge and Reese Walker have all been threats for opposing teams when taking on WWU. The last match between the two ended 0-0, but the Wildcats gave up 13 shot attempts compared to their two. The Wildcats will have to fire off on all cylinders to pull off yet another upset on their rivals.