LACEY, Wash. - Kiersten Madsen scored her first collegiate goal against the No. 1 team in the country, Western Washington in the 6-1 loss at home on Saturday. 

The Vikings (7-0-0, 3-0-0 GNAC) proved why their are number one ranked team in all of NCAA D-II after controlling the ball throughout the entirely of the match and gaining an early 3-0 lead in the first half.

The Vikings scored first in the second half, just 1:23 minutes out of halftime to extend their lead over the Saints (0-7-0, 0-2-0) 4-0. However, the Saints found their first chance to score in the 77th minute when Madison Walker took a corner. Walker placed the ball on the right side of the box, finding Madsen who capitalized for her first goal in a Saints uniform. Madsen's goal was the first the Vikings had conceded since September 2 and first in conference play.

Western Washington closed out the match with two goals in the final 10 minutes to secure the 6-1 win and their 31st straight match without a loss.

"Unfortunately we were unable to put together a full game today," said head coach Heather Cato. "WWU is a great side so a team can't take 45 minutes to start playing. However, I'm excited about the improvements that we made today and getting a goal on such a quality side is something we can build on."

Madsen led the team with two shots including her one on goal, while Shea McKnight and Brittany Orlosky each recorded one shot. Ali Koehler got the start at keeper, making seven saves on 31 shots faced, increasing her total saves to 37 in five matches.

The Saints stay at home for three more GNAC matches, starting with Simon Fraser Thursday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.