The combination of Leah Wymer (Bothell, Wash.) and Ashley Porter (Redmond, Wash.) struck again for the 16th-ranked Seattle University women’s soccer team, as the seniors connected on two of the Redhawks’ goals in Seattle’s 3-1 victory over Central Washington Thursday afternoon in GNAC action at the CWU Soccer Field.
The first Seattle goal of the match came 17 minutes after the opening kickoff, as Porter earned her ninth assist of the season by setting up Wymer for her tenth goal of the year. Even though the Redhawks outshot Central Washington (3-5-2, 0-3-0 GNAC) 10-6 in the first half, no other goals were scored, as CWU goalie Aneesa Gonzales made four saves before intermission.
The Redhawks continued the offensive pressure in the second half, as Sarah Dean (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) picked up her second goal of the season eight and a half minutes in the second half. Seven minutes later, Porter again set up Wymer, giving Porter her tenth assist of the season and earning Wymer her 11th goal of the year, already a career high for the senior forward.
After almost 457 minutes of shutout soccer, Seattle’s defense gave up its first goal in five matches, as Stacey Bankston’s corner kick found Kelsey Penn, whose header eluded Kaitlyn Jackson (Kent, Wash.) for Penn’s sixth goal of the season. Jackson did tally a season-high seven saves in the match for her eighth victory in nine contests.
Wymer now has 38 career goals, just two behind Trisha Tateyama for third on Seattle’s all-time goals list. She also has 92 total points in her career, seven behind Tafara Pulse for fourth place on the school’s career points list. Meanwhile, Porter, second in Division II in assists per game heading into the weekend, has 44 career assists, four off the school career record of 48 helpers held by Jamie French. With the two assists in this match, Porter tied French for sixth on the career points list with 82.
Presently on a six-match winning streak, Seattle University (8-1-0, 4-0-0 GNAC) plays its final non-conference match of the regular season Saturday, Sept. 22, hosting Grand Canyon at Championship Field beginning at 12 noon.