Bellingham, WA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills was out-shot 13-8 by host Western Washington in the season opener for both teams, including a 6-3 margin for shots on goal, as the No. 19-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros fell 2-0 to the Vikings to kick off the 2006 campaign at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus.

Host WWU, coming off a 9-8-2 overall record in 2005, was the aggressor from the start, tallying 6 shots to the Toros' 2 in the first 45-minute session. The Vikings' offensive intensity paid off in the 42nd minute as Alyssa Kessler took a feed from Amanda Font near the top of the penalty area and found Katie Weber 6 yards out for a tap-in past CSUDH goalkeep Rachel Rood (West Hills, CA/Pierce College), giving WWU a 1-0 lead entering intermission.

The Toros' offense would mount its own charge after the break as senior Rachele McDonald (Ventura, CA/Buena HS) blasted a shot towards the goal five minutes into the second period, but WWU goalie Brittany Martin-Gegax stifled the two-time 1st-team All-Region senior forward, keeping the Vikings up a goal. McDonald had perhaps the Toros' best scoring opportunity just two minutes later, but a header from eight yards out sailed wide, preserving WWU's 1-0 lead.

Western Washington's offensive again took center state 10 minutes after McDonald's missed attempt as Amanda Font took a corner from Meghan Woodman and sent her own header into the top shelf by a leaping Ashley De Alejandro (Lakewood, CA/Long Beach City College), the second goalie of the day for the Toros, for a 2-0 advantage.

That would prove enough WWU netminder Martin-Gegax kept CSUDH out of the goal the remainder of the contest, giving WWU a win to kick off 2006.

De Alejandro made three saves in her Toros' debut, while starter Rood stopped one shot on goal in the loss. WWU's freshman goalie tallied three saves of her own in her WWU debut while Font tallied game high scoring honors with both a goal and assist.

CSUDH continues its northwest swing on Tuesday with a prime time match-up against No. 2-ranked Seattle Pacific University, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.

Cal State Dominguez Hills  0 0 --- 0 
Western Washington         1 1 --- 2

SCORING SUMMARY:
WWU - Weber (Kessler/Font), 41:47
WWU - Font (Woodman), 59:42

Shots: Western Washington 13, Cal State Dominguez Hills 8

Corner Kicks: Western Washington 3, Cal State Dominguez Hills 4

Fouls: Western Washington 20, Cal State Dominguez Hills 12

Saves: Western Washington 3 (Martin-Gegax 3), Cal State Dominguez Hills 4 (Rood 1, DeAlejandro 3)

Date: 8/27/06 Attendance: 149