Box Score BELLINGHAM, Wash. – With less than four minutes to play in regulation, the Montana State University Billings women's soccer team clung to a 1-0 lead over first-place Western Washington in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup Thursday afternoon at Harrington Field.
 
Catherine Miles, the leading scorer in the GNAC for the 2013 season, scored on a header for the Vikings to equalize the game late, and then helped WWU remain unbeaten on the season with a goal in overtime to stun MSUB in a 2-1 defeat.
 
Alisa Sagdahl scored the lone goal for the 'Jackets, capitalizing on a penalty kick in the first half to push MSUB ahead. The Yellowjackets, which began the day in second place in the conference standings, fell to 6-3-2 on the season and are now 4-3-2 in GNAC play.
 
WWU improved to 11-0-2 overall and stayed atop the conference table at 7-0-2 in GNAC contests. The Vikings outshot the Yellowjackets 14-6 on the contest, but only placed four attempts on frame while MSUB managed three.
 
Miles created a dangerous opportunity for the Vikings early on, settling a cross but missing high with a shot from seven yards out.
 
Chelsea Shuman countered with her first shot of the game, dribbling through a pair of WWU defenders to create space at the top of the box. Her right-footed strike rolled wide of the far post as the game remained scoreless.
 
Miles ran onto a through ball several minutes later, as she was led into the box on another dangerous scoring chance. MSUB goalkeeper Krystal Daniels sprinted off of her line towards the ball, diving and securing it just as it met the forward's foot in a contact play.
 
The Vikings won the first corner kick of the game midway through the first half, and an apparent goal was called back as the offside flag was raised on a header into the net by Delanee Nilles.
 
Nilles looked for goal again less than a minute later, but her right-footed shot from the right corner of the 18-yard box missed high over the crossbar.
 
The Yellowjackets' defense stood strong on a long free kick attempt by the Vikings, as Kari Kastelic got her foot on a loose ball at the top of the box to clear away a threat.
 
With less than 20 minutes to go until halftime, Haley McFarlane came up huge for MSUB with a sliding clear on a ball rolling around the top of the box. The effort prevented what would have been a sure shot by WWU, keeping the game scoreless as the break approached.
 
In the 36th minute, Sagdahl found herself with space on the left side of the box. She took her first shot of the match, but the ball curled wide of the far post.
 
Nilles again freed herself up, this time inside the six-yard box, and redirected the ball towards goal with a header shot off of a cross. Daniels let the ball roll wide of the post, covering the slow shot with ease.
 
Shuman forced Viking keeper Ashley Haden to make her first save of the match a minute later, placing a shot on frame from just outside the 18-yard box.
 
Creating problems for WWU's defense again, Sagdahl was taken down inside the box and awarded a penalty kick with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first. Haden knocked down her shot, but the ball had enough momentum to continue its path into the net as it rolled over the goal line.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, WWU maintained possession and took several shots as the team pressured the Yellowjackets' defense. A shot by Kim Cooper in the 65th minute was blocked, and neither team had another look on frame until the closing minutes of regulation.
 
The Vikings' first goal was the result of a set free kick, as a cross by Elise Aylward found Miles's head and then the net.
 
It didn't take long for Miles to double her tally in the first overtime period, as Jessica Bertucci and Katherine Miccile combined to set the junior forward up for a near-post finish from 16 yards out.
 
The win was the second of the season for the Vikings over the Yellowjackets, as WWU downed MSUB in Billings on Oct. 2 by the score of 1-0.
 
AHEAD: MSUB wraps up its four-game road swing with another GNAC tilt against Simon Fraser on Saturday. The Clan will host the Yellowjackets in a 6 p.m. Mountain time kickoff at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, B.C.