ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Wildcats offense stays hot as they score twice on 29 shot attempts giving them a 2-0 win over Saint Martins University. The team looked sound on both sides of the ball as they also only allowed six total shots in the duration of the match. This is the first win of the season for the soccer team as they propel themselves to 1-5-3 on the year and 1-2-1 in conference play.
QUOTING CWU HEAD WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH JOHN HAWKS:
"Proud of our group! With a shot count of 47 and 23 on target for the week, and the fact our group had a great defensive and offensive performance for a full 90 today with our shutout to go along with the 2-0 win unlocks a new level in games we knew we had! The cross and finish with [
Alexa Stanfield] and [Shana Mellick] respectively was class. They both have been putting in hard work and I was happy to see them get rewarded at the end of the first half. More importantly, I hope the women in the arena celebrate how they navigated everything that led up to today. Our future is bright because of it ... Go 'Cats!"
FIRST HALF:
Following the Wildcats 2-3 loss vs Western Oregon, the team kept up their offensive momentum heading into the first half of play vs the Saints. The team attempted 16 shots alone in the first half of the game compared to Saint Martin's 4. The Wildcat defenders looked great defensively and turned plenty of those defensive opportunities into offense. While they could not execute on any of those offensive opportunities in the first half, they were keeping consistent pressure on the Saints, and it was only a matter of time until a shot found the back of the net. It was nearing halftime when the Wildcats finally were able to finish one of their many opportunities to take the lead against their opponent. Shana Mellick rose in the air and headed the ball into the net on a pretty pass from
Alexa Stanfield and the team went into halftime up 1-0.
SECOND HALF:
The offense was still in a groove for the second half of play as 13 more shots were put up by the 'Cats. However, the defense was debatably even better as the Saints could only manage to get two shots off in the entirety of the second half. As the game was nearing a close, it was still 1-0 and the Saints looked like there was nothing they could do. Before the match could end, the Saints committed a foul in the goalie box resulting in a penalty kick for CWU.
Jaylee Reynolds took advantage of her chance and tucked the ball in the bottom right corner to give CWU a 2-0 lead at the 84-minute-mark.
SERIES HISTORY:
CWU leads all-time series 23-9-4
4-3-3 in last 10 matches vs SMU
NEXT UP:
The 'Cats are back on the road next as they travel east to take on Montana State Billings University next Thursday at 6 p.m. With two straight games with two goals we will see if the Wildcats can match that total again or even best it.
