BILLINGS, Mont. – Keeping its unbeaten streak alive on Thursday afternoon at Yellowjacket Field, No. 6 Western Washington University cruised to a 4-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win over the host Montana State University Billings women's soccer team.
 
The Vikings (8-0-2, 5-0 GNAC) scored twice in each half and produced their sixth shutout of the season with the lopsided result. The Yellowjackets slipped to 4-4-2 overall and are now 1-3-1 in conference play after the defeat. "This is a really frustrating game for us, because we did not show up with the defensive intensity we knew we needed when playing a team like Western Washington," said MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo. "Our first half lacked fight and grit, and we made the game too easy for them."
 
Four different Vikings found the back of the net on Thursday, while Darby Doyle had a goal and an assist to lead the way. Doyle put the Vikings ahead 10 minutes into the match, while Ellie Busik added her second of the season in the 36th minute to help the Vikings to a 2-0 halftime lead. Dayana Diaz and Jayden Nguyen put the game away with a pair of goals in the final six minutes of action, as the Vikings capitalized twice at the end of the match.
 
WWU out-shot MSUB 21-10 in the match, and placed nine strikes on target compared to three on-frame looks by the Yellowjackets. Busik led the team with five shot attempts in 49 minutes off the bench, and she, Ashley Nguyen, and Diaz each put a pair of strikes on frame.
 
Doyle's goal came on a drop pass from Ashley Nguyen, who maintained control of the ball inside the box despite being closely marked by MSUB's Sydney Wate in the 10th minute. Doyle took a touch at the top of the box, before firing a strike into the back of the net.
 
Liberty Palmer had MSUB's first shot midway through the opening half, fighting for a strike inside the box that led to a Yellowjacket corner kick. Haylee Gunter followed with an on-target header attempt, but Dierickx smothered it to keep the score at 1-0.
 
Doyle returned the favor 10 minutes before halftime, playing a cross to Busik who curled a left-footed strike into the upper corner of the net to make the score 2-0.
 
The Yellowjackets' best stretch of play came at the outset of the second half, as the team garnered more possession and displayed will to fight back in the contest. MSUB's most promising scoring chance came in the 62nd minute, when Jordan Roe punched a promising strike towards the lower-right corner of the net. All-American goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx used every inch of her frame to fully extend and knock away the shot with a diving stop to keep the shutout intact. Dierickx had two saves in the match, while Claire Henninger made the only save required of her as she played the final 27 minutes in goal.
 
"We showed up in the second half and created some real chances," Cavallo said. "Their keeper made a fantastic save to keep Jordan Roe from scoring. We showed in the second half that when we play with intensity we can be a dangerous team. We just weren't consistent, and when you only play well for 35 minutes against WWU you are guaranteed to lose."
 
WWU put the game away in the closing minutes, when Allison Lepp found Diaz inside the goal box and watched the veteran striker calmly tuck her second goal of the year into the net from within the box. The final strike followed two minutes later on a corner kick, when a service from Karina Provo was headed by Sophie Butterfield and eventually tapped in by Jayden Nguyen from inside the goal box.
 
Clare Keenan made five saves throughout the match, as she and the back line were kept on their toes throughout. Hailee Gertsch led the way defensively with 81 minutes played, while Palmer led the Yellowjackets with four shot attempts.
 
THE BUZZ: Roe was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 3-24-1 all-time against WWU and is 2-10 in home matches…WWU extended its winning streak in the series against the 'Jackets to 16 matches.
 
AHEAD: The Yellowjackets host Simon Fraser University on Saturday with an 11 a.m. kickoff on MSUB Kicks Cancer day. Live video will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here.