Womens
Western women’s soccer team's 21-game conference winning streak was broken Monday, falling short to Saint Martin’s University in a 2-1 loss at Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Wash.
“After our emotional win Saturday, we didn’t quite have the same energy today,” head coach Travis Connell said. “We played much better in the second half, but they did a good job of organizing their defense and keeping us from getting that tying goal.”
All three goals came near the end of the first half and within a span of 1 minute, 50 seconds.
Saint Martin’s was the first to get on the board, but Western forward Claire Morgan quickly responded with a goal 28 seconds later.
Morgan has played in ten games this season, making two starts. This was her first season goal for the Vikings.
Emily Franklin—who leads the Vikings in most goals scored this season with a career high of five—said she was disappointed about the game.
Franklin said the team felt they had something to prove when they played against Seattle Pacific University and wished they had come out with the same intensity Monday.
Franklin said they are excited to get back out on the field and prove themselves to be the team they truly are.
“We learned our lesson and it is not going to happen again,” Franklin said. “We are going to come out next game and prove how we can really play.”
Connell said the game was a tough loss and the results were disappointing, but he was proud of the team for the way they battled against Saint Martin’s.
The Saints went on to take the lead 2-1 in the 44th minute as St. Martin’s midfielder Jenny Baker scored her first goal of the season.
Western had won 18 league games and tied three others since their last season league loss to then-number two ranked Seattle Pacific on Oct. 17, 2007.
Western is now 6-3-2 overall (4-2-2 at home and 2-1-0 away) and will play at UC San Diego on Thursday at 7 p.m. for a non-conference contest.
Mens
Western’s men’s soccer team battled long and hard against Saint Martin’s University, but a game-winning goal in the 70th minute caused Western to lose 1-2 at Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Wash.
Saint Martin’s led 1-0 at halftime when Saints’ midfielder Ruben Orozco scored from 30 yards out after taking a free kick from defender Tony Armitage.
However, Western sophomore Tyler Bjork tied the game at 1-1, scoring in the 56th minute of the second half.
It was the first goal of the season for Bjork.
Saint Martin’s forward Connor Briggs scored the final goal of the night, a game-winning shot in the 70th minute to help Saint Martin’s University defeat Western 2-1.
“The game didn’t go exactly as we wanted to,” Western coach Travis Connell said. “But I am proud of how we played in the second half, coming out and scoring and putting pressure on them.”
Connell said Western is hoping to have a stronger showing every time they take the field and hope they can learn from their performance Monday.
Saint Martin’s University had an advantage of 16 shots on goal compared to Western’s 8. The Saints also had an advantage of 5-1 in corner kicks.
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