ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Western Washington University junior midfielder Grace Eversaul scored a golden goal just under three minutes into the second overtime period to lift the Vikings to a 1-0 victory over Cal State LA on Sunday to advance to the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship for the fifth consecutive season.
The No. 3 seed Vikings finally solved the No. 7 seed Cal State LA defense in the 103rd minute, when senior defender Peyton Chick lofted a high ball into the box from the left flank, where senior forward Liv Larson flicked it towards the goal and Eversaul touched it home for the golden goal. Assists were credited to Chick (19th in career) and Larson (26th in career), two of the top assist artists in program history.
"It was a great ball by Peyton and a little touch by Liv that had a gigantic impact," said head coach Travis Connell. "I am proud of the team, but really just more excited for the players to experience this and to be rewarded for all of their hard work. They came up big in big moments all game…and they were rewarded with the game-winner."
The 1-0 victory avenged an early-season loss by the Vikings to the Golden Eagles, one of only two defeats this season for WWU, on a golden goal in the 98th minute. It took over 200 minutes for WWU to score a goal against CSLA this season, but the one that mattered advances the Vikings to the Sweet 16 and the West Regional Final on December 5 vs. Point Loma. WWU and Harrington Field will likely be announced as the host site, with the South Central Regional Championship between Dallas Baptist and Dixie State also played at the same site.
With its 16th consecutive victory, WWU improved to 20-2-0 recording the fourth 20-win season in the 40-year history of the program. WWU is playing in its 10th NCAA II Championships overall and eighth consecutive, and is now 19-7-1 in tournament play.
Cal State LA ends its season 9-8-1 overall while playing in its sixth NCAA Championships. The Golden Eagles upset No. 2 seed and sub-regional host Sonoma State 1-0 on Friday to advance to today's match vs. the Vikings. Junior goalkeeper Amanda Leal and the Golden Eagle defense kept the Vikings off the board until the golden goal, with Leal making 13 saves for the second consecutive game.
"We have to give a lot of credit to Cal State LA…they are hard to score against as is evident by how long it took us in two games, but they did a great job, had a great game plan and presented us with numerous challenges," added Connell.
The Vikings dominated the run of play in the first half and out-shot CSLA 10-1, but the game was scoreless through the first 45 minutes. The Golden Eagles had their first real scoring opportunity in the second half at the 47:20 mark, when they were awarded a free kick from 45 yards out on the left side of the pitch. A high-lofted free kick found its way to the center of the 6-yard box, with a first header strike was punched away by Natalie Dierickx and a second header attempt went just over the crossbar.
WWU out-shot CSLA 22-4 and held a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Vikings recorded their 15th shutout victory of the season with Dierickx tallying her 10th clean sheet of the campaign.
"The defense always had an answer and the back line and Natalie (Dierickx) were fantastic today," said Connell on his defense. "Cal State LA threw a lot at us in the second half and our players stepped up and were up to the task."
The Vikings will likely host the West Regional Final and South Central Regional Final in the round of 16 of the NCAA II Women's Soccer Championships December 5-7 at Harrington Field, but the NCAA has not officially announced host sites yet for the next round.
No. 3 seed WWU (20-2-0) will play No. 4 seed Point Loma (14-4-2) in the West Regional Final, with the winner advancing to play in the NCAA II Quarterfinal against the winner of the Dallas Baptist (17-0-3) vs. Dixie State (11-3-6) South Central Regional Final. The winning team in the national quarterfinal will advance to the NCAA II Championships Final Four in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania held Dec. 12-14 at Highmark Stadium.
"Harrington Field is a special place and I am just really excited that our seniors get the chance to play at home at least one more time…they deserve this," said Connell.
WWU is 56-2-1 all-time at Harrington Field since the on-campus facility debuted in 2014. This will be the third time WWU has hosted the NCAA II West and South Central Regional Finals and the national quarterfinal, with Dallas Baptist, St. Edward's and Azusa Pacific visiting Bellingham in 2015 at Harrington Field and St. Edward's, MSU Denver and Cal State San Bernardino in 2013 at Whatcom Community College. Both times the Vikings advanced to the NCAA II Championships Final Four.
WWU extended its winning streak to 16 consecutive games, out-scoring opponents 51-5 during the streak…it is the 3rd-longest winning streak in program history trailing only a 39-game streak (2016-17) and 38-game streak (1982-84)…15 of WWU's 20 wins this season have been shutout victories…WWU improved to 19-7-1 in 10 trips to the NCAA Championships, recording at least one win in 8 of 10 NCAA appearances…senior defender Peyton Chick appeared in her 89th career game, 4th-most in program history…junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx recorded her 10th shutout of the season and 18thcareer shutout, 6th-most in WWU history and 10th in GNAC history…Liv Larson recorded her 26thcareer assist (in her 83rd game) to move into a tie for 2nd-most in WWU history with Cindy Gordon (1981-84) and Kelly Irving (2006-09)…Peyton Chick recorded her 19th career assist to tie for 9th-most in program history…current assistant coach Claire Morgan holds the all-time record with 27 assists…Jordyn Bartelson appeared in her 88th career game to tie for 5th-most in program history…WWU's senior class has recorded a 80-7-3 record (.906) with four trips to the NCAA II West Regional Final.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CAL STATE LOS ANGELES
With today's win, WWU leads the all-time series vs. Cal State LA 3-1-0. Sunday's 1-0 victory marked the first time the two teams have played against each other in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles defeated the Vikings 1-0 early in the season on a golden goal in the 98th minute to spoil WWU's 3-0 start to the season. The two teams also met previously in a neutral-site game in Rohnert Park on September 3, 2006 in the Sonoma State Seawolf Classic.
#3 Western Washington 1, #7 Cal State LA 0 (2 OT)
Date: Nov. 24, 2019
Field: Seawolf Soccer Field Site: Rohnert Park, CA
Attendance: 80 Weather: Low 70s
Goals by Period 1 2 OT OT2 Tot
-----------------------------------------------
Cal State LA............. 0 0 0 0 - 0
Western Washington....... 0 0 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 102:57 WWU Eversaul (Chick, Larson)
Shots: WWU 22, CSLA 4
Shots on Goal: WWU 14, CSLA 2
Saves: WWU 2 (Dierickx – 2), CSLA 13 (Leal - 13)
Corners: WWU 7, CSLA 2
Fouls: WWU 11, CSLA 9
Kits: WWU – White; CSLA - Black
The Vikings are playing in their eighth consecutive NCAA Division II Championships and 10th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason. The program owns an all-time 19-7-1 record in NCAA Championships play, winning at least one game in 8 of 10 trips to the NCAA postseason. WWU was crowned national champions in 2016 with a 24-0-1 record, capped by a 3-2 victory over Grand Valley State in Kansas City, Missouri.
BACK-TO-BACK GNAC CHAMPIONS
The Vikings have 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 won four of the last five GNAC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 17th season leading the program in 2019, and has led the Vikings to 10 trips to the NCAA Championships (8 straight) and 16 consecutive winning seasons.
