LACEY, WA. – The Saint Martin's women's soccer team (4-5-1, 2-4-1 GNAC) had a tough battle on Thursday afternoon, coming up short against No. 14 ranked Western Washington (7-1-3, 6-0-1 GNAC), falling 2-1 at the hands of the Vikings despite a valiant second-half surge.
 
It was a troubling start for the Saints as the WWU came out on the offensive, forcing early saves out of Soph Mendoza, one in the 5^th minute and one in the 6^th. The dominoes fully fell just one minute later when a great cross from the Vikings Morgan Manalili found Estera Levinte who settled it into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. The Vikings didn't have to go any more than ten minutes longer before the netted another one, this time Manalili launched a ball towards the inside corner where her teammate was screening Mendoza enough to allow the ball to squirt over the line for a 2-0 lead.
 
Mendoza would have another clutch save in the 33^rd minute, and the Saints would force a good save out of the WWU keeper midway through the first half. Right before the halftime whistle, Taylor Goodpaster nearly found the scoresheet with a lethal shot that just whistled by the left post. The Saints would go into halftime down 2-0.
 
It was another half where Mendoza came up big on multiple occasions. A duo of saves within the first five minutes led to a period of play controlled by the Saints. The home side kept the pressure on Western Washington before eventually finding a breakthrough in the 68^th. Rachel Kimura played a great through ball in front of Maria Pagnotta who took a couple of touches before launching a perfect shot past the outstretched paws of the Vikings keeper.
 
The Saints pressure started to frustrate WWU who were tempted into three different yellow cards in the last 20 minutes of the contest. The Vikings found their shooting boots in the final minutes, though, and Mendoza was forced to make four more saves, bringing her big day to a total of nine saves. The Saints couldn't grab a goal, and the contest ended 2-1.
 
The Saints are back at home Saturday, where they'll take the Wolves of Western Oregon (4-3-4, 1-3-3 GNAC). Kickoff for the Breast Cancer Awareness game is set for 1 PM at Saints Field.