SEATTLE, Wash. – Karli White has been a master of being in the right place at the right time all season and she was again for Western Washington on Saturday.

 

The senior forward rebounded a saved shot by freshman defender Makenzie Burks in the 81st minute, providing the game-winner for the top-seeded Vikings over No. 2 seed Seattle Pacific, 2-1, in the final of the GNAC Women's Soccer Championships at Interbay Stadium. This marked the Vikings fifth GNAC Championships title in the eight years of the event.

 

White was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for her performance. She had two goals in the two matches, netting the opening goal in Thursday's semifinal, and finished with 12 shots. White was also the GNAC Championships MVP in 2017 as a junior, missed last season as an injury, and returned for her senior season to sweep the conference Player of the Year and Tournament MVP honors.

 

The late goal was the turning point for another epic postseason meeting between the two teams, which met in the final for the fifth time in eight years. Both teams netted goals in the first half with Seattle Pacific freshman Chloe Gellhaus tallying in the 19th minute and Western Washington senior Jordyn Bartelson scoring in the 26th.

 

The Vikings outshot the Falcons 15-9 in the match and seized control in the second half, outshooting the home team 8-4. The Vikings also held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.

 

With its 14^th consecutive win, WWU (18-2-0) earns the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championships, the eighth consecutive season the Vikings will advance to the NCAA postseason. WWU also won the GNAC regular-season title for the seventh time in the last eight seasons going 12-0-0 in league play.

 

"I think we showed our experience today as I thought we handled the moment well and didn't panic after conceding the first goal," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "It was a great soccer match and we have to give SPU a ton of credit. They played a great game and pushed us to the limit. We got two great tests in this tournament as we are lucky to play in a tough conference, and that will help prepare us for the NCAA Tournament next week."

 

Both teams pressed offensively early in the match, though Western Washington has three of the first four shots over the opening 18 minutes. White had the best look early for the Vikings with a shot that came off the crossbar in the fifth minute.

 

A foul early in the 19th minute set up the opening goal of the match for Seattle Pacific. The restart at midfield set long a long run for Gellhaus, who hit unassisted to the lower-left corner of the net for her eighth goal of the season.

While the Falcons kept pressing, the Vikings turned to the set piece to equalize the match.

 

Off of Burks' corner kick in the 26th minute, Peyton Chick smashed yet another shot off the crossbar. This time, the Falcons did not clear the attempt away and senior midfielder Jordyn Bartelson sent it back in on the header in the middle of the box for her third goal of the year.

 

The rest of the half was played mainly in the middle of the field as Seattle Pacific had just more shots in the final 25 minutes. The Vikings held the 7-5 advantage in first-half shots, putting just the Bartelson shot on goal. The Falcons had just two shots on goal.

 

Western Washington's offense stepped up the pressure in the second half, but did not get many scoring opportunities until later in the period. White tested Seattle Pacific goalie Riley Travis a couple of times before the game-winner. In the 81st, Burks rifled a shot from 25 yards out, which Travis batted away but could not corral. White was with her in the box and in the right place to tap in the rebound.

 

Travis finished with three saves in the match while Western Washington goalie Natalie Dierickx made one save in earning her 17th win of the season.

 

"Karli is the MVP and she deserved it. She played that way all season long. A number of players stepped up in a big way, especially our seniors, so this championship was earned by the whole team. Peyton Chick, Emily Nelson, Lindsey Fujiwara battling back from an injury…just a total team effort up and down the roster," added Connell. "The seniors were a huge part of today, but every player was key in today's win and that's what is special."

 

Copy contributed by Blake Timm, GNAC Communications

 

The selection of Karli White as MVP marks the fifth time in the eight years of the tournament that a Western Washington player has won the award…the goal by Gellhaus was the first by Seattle Pacific against the Vikings since Nov. 5, 2016, when Hannah Huesers scored in the GNAC Championships (the Falcons won the match 3-1).

 

 

The Vikings have played in all eight GNAC Women's Soccer Championships since the debut of the event in 2012 and have advanced to the tournament final in all eight seasons. WWU is now 13-1-2 all-time in the GNAC Championships and have won five of the eight tournament titles (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).

 

Western Washington 2, Seattle Pacific 1

Date: Nov. 16, 2019

Field: Interbay Stadium   Site: Seattle, WA

Attendance: 410    Weather: Low 50s, Cloudy

 

Goals by Period            1  2    Tot

---------------------------------------

Western Washington.......  1  1  -  2

Seattle Pacific..........  1  0  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.    18:40    SPU    Gellhaus

2.    25:59    WWU    Bartelson (Chick)

3.    80:56    WWU    White (Burks)

 

Shots: WWU 5, SPU 9

Shots on Goal: WWU 5, SPU 2

Saves: WWU 1 (Dierickx – 1), SPU 3 (Travis - 3)

Corners: WWU 5, SPU 2

Fouls: WWU 11, SPU 7

Kits: WWU – Light Blue; SPU - Maroon

 

Receiving the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, the Vikings will now turn their attention to the NCAA Division II Championships Selection Show that will air Monday at 3 pm PT viaNCAA.com to see if Harrington Field will serve as a host for the first and second round or if the Vikings will take to the road for the tournament.

 

The Vikings swept the regular-season series vs. the Falcons and added today's win to go 3-0 vs. SPU in 2019. WWU has won the last 13 games vs. SPU and is unbeaten over the last 20 contests (17-0-3) dating back to 2013. The recent dominance in the series now gives WWU a 21-18-6 lead in the all-time series.

 

One of the great rivalries in college soccer, WWU (2016) and Seattle Pacific (2008) each have claimed an NCAA Division II national championship. WWU has advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last seven seasons, while SPU has appeared in 15 of the last 16 seasons.

 

WWU head coach Travis Connell was a four-year letterman for the SPU men's soccer team from 1991-95, helping lead the Falcons to 1993 national championship.

 

The Vikings have now won back-to-back regular-season titles and raised the conference trophy for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. WWU won five consecutive titles from 2012-16 and again in 2018 to add to the 2008 league championship. The Vikings have also won four of the seven conference tournament titles.

 

Fans can follow WWU women's soccer online at WWUVikings.com/WSoc, and via social media on Twitter (@WWU_WSoccer), Instagram (@wwu_wsoccer) and Facebook (@WWUsoccerwomens). All home matches feature a live webcast, as well as most road matches, with links on how to follow the games available at WWUVikings.com/Live.

 

The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in three of the last six seasons and played for the West Region championship in six of the last seven seasons. The Vikings won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2016 with an undefeated 24-0-1 record, beating three-time defending national champion Grand Valley State 3-2 in the title game in Kansas City, Missouri. Including the national championship run, the Vikings put together a 39-game winning streak (4th-longest in NCAA II history) and a 40-game unbeaten streak. The program has claimed seven of the last eight Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles, going 92-5-5  in league play during this stretch (since 2012), and has won three of the last four GNAC Championships titles (2005, 2016, 2017). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 17^th season leading the program in 2019, and has led the Vikings to nine trips to the NCAA Championships and 15 consecutive winning seasons.