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ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) season is nearing the end. With the Wildcats holding a conference record of 4-4-2, good enough for fourth place in the GNAC, the ‘Cats have one more road stand to get through. With third place in the GNAC still in striking distance, Central will first have to get through Western Oregon University (1-6-3) and Saint Martins University (1-8-1). Both teams sit at the bottom of the GNAC; however, WOU’s only conference win came against the Wildcats. Two wins this week for the ‘Cats and two losses for the 6-2-2 Seattle Pacific Falcons would tie both teams for third going into the final week. SPU has no easy task this week as they take on #8-ranked Western Washington University (9-0-1) and recently ranked Simon Fraser University (7-2-1).
LAST WEEK:
Jaylee Reynolds was on fire last week for the ‘Cats. She earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for her two goals scored in the week. Her first came against Seattle Pacific to bring the ‘Cats within one of the Falcons. Her other extended the Wildcats’ lead to 2-0 over the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets. The Wildcats ultimately lost their game to SPU 1-2, as they couldn’t find any more offensive firepower to match SPU. They were, however, able to get the best of the Yellowjackets as they won 2-1. A win or tie versus SPU would have been great for the Wildcats season points total, but now the ‘Cats will have to attempt to win both games this week to claw back into the fight for a top three spot in the GNAC.
LOOKING AT SMU:
Saint Martin’s University has not had the season they were hoping for. With their conference record of 1-8-1, they sit at the very bottom of the GNAC standings with only four total points on the season. Their first match against the ‘Cats came nearly a month ago as the ‘Cats ran away with a 2-0 victory over the Saints. The team itself has only scored six goals on the season as they have been struggling to find the offensive firepower they need to keep up with their other GNAC counterparts. Their one win of the season came on a third-minute goal against MSUB where they took the lead early and didn’t look back.
LOOKING AT WOU:
The Western Oregon Wolves have also had a struggle of a season so far. They hold a conference record of 1-6-3 in the GNAC with a total of six points on the year. Their one and only win came against the Wildcats on their home turf at Tomlinson Stadium, where they outscored CWU 3-2. The Wolves have only scored nine goals all year, meaning they scored a third of those goals against CWU. They have put up only two goals since they last saw the ‘Cats, so their offense has hit a lull at this point in the season. Western Oregon’s Kyra Dibenedetto and Maya Courtenay will have to find their footing again against a team they have had recent success against offensively to compete with the ‘Cats.