BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University and Harrington Field is set to host the Third and Fourth Rounds of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships this week with competition beginning with regional championships games on Thursday.

 

The Vikings will host Point Loma at 6 pm on Thursday in the West Regional Championship Game, with Dixie State and Dallas Baptist playing the early game at 3 pm to decide the South Central Regional Championship. Both regional winners will square off in the national quarterfinal on Saturday at 3 pm at Harrington Field with a trip to the NCAA II Final Four in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the line.

 

WWU enters the Sweet 16 round with a 20-2-0 overall record and carries a 16-game winning streak into the West Regional Final. This marks the fifth consecutive season and seventh time in the last eight seasons that WWU has played in the West Regional Final. Western has won regional titles in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

 

Western opened tournament play as the No. 3 seed in the West Region and advanced with 1-0 wins over Stanislaus State and Cal State LA in the first and second round games played in Rohnert Park, California. West Region No. 1 UC San Diego and No. 2 Sonoma State both lost on its home field to place the host site in Bellingham.

 

The Vikings are making their eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and 10^th overall in program history. WWU earned the Great Northwest Athletic Conference automatic bid to the tournament winning the conference tournament, and were also the regular-season champions with a perfect 12-0-0 record in league play. This marks the seventh time WWU has played host to NCAA Championship games (2008, 2013-17). WWU is Western is 19-7-1 all-time in the NCAA II Championships and is three years removed from winning the 2016 national championship.

 

 

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. The complete bracket for the 56-team NCAA II Women's Soccer Championships is available online at NCAA.com.

 

WWU has advanced to the NCAA II West Regional Championship Game for the fifth consecutive season and seventh time in the last eight seasons. Entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the West Region, the Vikings earned a pair of 1-0 victories in the first two rounds over Stanislaus State (No. 6 seed) and Cal State LA (No. 7 seed). The top two seeds in the region were upset in the first two rounds, leading to WWU hosting the third and fourth rounds at Harrington Field in Bellingham. Senior Lindsey Fujiwara scored the game-winning goal against Stanislaus State in the 63^rd minute and junior Grace Eversaul scored the golden goal in the 103^rd minute in the double-overtime victory over Cal State LA.

 

The box office at Harrington Field will open one hour prior to kickoff at 2 pm on both Thursday and Saturday. Advance tickets can be purchased online at WWUVikings.com/Tickets. All seating is general admission with prices $8 for adults and $5 for WWU students, faculty, staff and seniors (60+).

 

Free parking in the C Lots on the southern edge of the WWU campus will be available for all games during the tournament. Follow directions with signage labeled "Viking Soccer Match" parking.

 

Fans can watch all NCAA Tournament games involving the Vikings with links available viaWWUVikings.com/Live. Thursday's games will stream live to GNAC.tv and to YouTube, which is also available on Roku players, Apple TV (newer generation), Amazon Fire and through the Google Play store.

 

The Vikings have now made eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Championships and 10 overall appearances in the NCAA postseason. The program owns an all-time 19-7-1 record in NCAA Championships play (2-0 this season), winning at least one game in 8 of the 10 trips to the NCAA postseason. WWU was crowned national champions after in 2016 with a 24-0-1 record, capped by a 3-2 victory over Grand Valley State in Kansas City, Missouri.

 

If you don't get past this section of this news release, you should still be updated on all things WWU Soccer:

 

·      The Record – 20-2-0 overall, 12-0-0 GNAC (1^st Place), current 16-game winning streak.

·      Winning Streak – Current 16-game winning streak out-scoring opponents 51-5 during the streak…3^rd-longest winning streak in program history behind 39-game streak (2016-17) and 38-game streak (1982-84).

·      NCAA Championships Record – All-time 19-7-1 in 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament, recording at least one win in 8 of 10 NCAA appearances.

·      GNAC Champions – Won both the GNAC regular-season and conference tournament titles…8^th regular-season title and 5^th tournament title in program history.

·      All GNAC Team – Placed 12 players on the 2019 All-GNAC Team, with four first-team selections including Player of the Year Karli White and Defensive Player of the Year Emily Nelson.

·      GNAC Tournament MVP – Karli White backed up her Player of the Year honor earning her second career GNAC Tournament MVP award scoring the game-winning goal in the championship game.

·      All-Region Awards – Five players earned D2CCA All-West Region Team, including first-team selections Karli White, Grace Eversaul, Emily Nelson, Peyton Chick and second-teamer Natalie Dierickx.

·      National Poll – No. 7 in national coaches poll this week, 62^nd consecutive week in the national top 25.

·      National Champions – 2016 NCAA II National Championship with a 24-0-1 record.

·      Players of the Week – Set a program record with 12 GNAC Player of the Week selections this season, with 10 different players earning a weekly honor.

·      Stingy Defense – Ranks 4^th in NCAA II with 0.360 goals against average…tied for 2^nd with 15 shutouts.

·      Surging Offense – 21^st in the nation averaging 2.59 goals per game, the 3^rd-best goal scoring average by the Vikings over the last 24 seasons (since 1996).

·      Balance – 57 goals have been scored by 14 different players, with 11 players with 3+ goals each…six players have scored 5+ goals each with Karli White, Liv Larson, Grace Eversaul and Zoe Milburn tied for the team lead with 6 goals each.

·      Karli's Points – Karli White is averaging 1.23 points/game in 39 career WWU games (16 G, 16 A).

·      Set Piece Success – Scored 20 of 57 goals off set pieces, including 14 off corner kicks.

·      Clean Sheets – Junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has 10 shutouts this season to rank among the NCAA leaders and is 6^th in NCAA II with a 0.401 goals against average (allowed 8 goals in 1800 minutes)…has recorded a shutout in 18 of 44 starts for the Vikings (6^th in WWU, tied for 12^th in GNAC history).

·      Captains – Seniors Liv Larson, Karli White and Annaliese Laurila are the team captains.

 

WWU finished with a perfect 36 points going 12-0-0 during the 2019 GNAC regular season, recording just the third perfect season in conference play in the 19-year history of the league. WWU was also 12-0-0 during the 2016 national championship season and SPU went 14-0-0 in 2007. It marked Western's fifth undefeated run through the league schedule, also going 11-0-1 in 2015, 11-0-3 in 2014 and 10-0-2 in 2008. 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 2018-19 to add to the 2008 league championship for eight total GNAC regular-season championships. The Vikings have also won five of the eight conference tournament titles including the 2019 GNAC Championships. Over the last eight seasons (since 2012), the Vikings are 92-5-5 (.926) in GNAC play.

 

The Vikings were the No. 1 seed in the 2019 GNAC Women's Soccer Championships held Nov. 14-16 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. WWU defeated host Seattle Pacific University 2-1 in the championship game to win its fifth GNAC Tournament title in the eight-year history of the event. The Vikings have appeared in all eight of the GNAC Championships since the event debuted in 2012 (advancing to the final each year), are 13-1-2 in GNAC Tournament play and claimed titles in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

 

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.

 

Both the WWU women's and men's soccer advanced to play in the NCAA Division II Soccer Championships, with the women's team the No. 3 seed in the West Region (56-team tournament) and the men's squad the No. 6 seed in the Super 4 Region (40-team tournament). According to the NCAA, there are 213 Division II schools that sponsor both men's and women's soccer and just 12 had both programs advance to the NCAA II Championships (five from the West Region):

 

·      Western Washington

·      Cal Poly Pomona

·      Cal State LA

·      Colorado School of Mines

·      Lee

·      McKendree

·      Mercy

·      Millersville

·      UC San Diego

·      UIndy

·      West Chester

·      Wingate

 

The WWU women's and men's soccer teams swept the 2019 GNAC soccer titles, with the men's program winning their first championship since 2008 and third in program history. The two programs have combined for a 33-7-1 record this season. Marks just the third time in the 19-year history of the GNAC that a school swept the men's and women's soccer titles, joining Seattle U. in 2001 and WWU in 2008.

 

 

WWU placed 12 players on the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-League team, led by Player of the Year Karli White and Defensive Player of the Year Emily Nelson. The Vikings had four players earn First Team All-GNAC honors, with junior midfielder Grace Eversaul and junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx joining White and Nelson on the team. Western's domination of the All-GNAC team included four second-team selections (Annaliese Laurila, Jordyn Bartelson, Darby Doyle, Zoe Milburn) and four players as honorable mention (Makenzie Burks, Peyton Chick, Liv Larson, Estera Levinte).

 

 

Following a historic season that saw Western Washington complete a perfect 12-0-0 run in conference play and win the 2019 GNAC Championships, the Vikings dominated the conference's selections to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-West Region Team. WWU landed five players to the All-West Region Team, including four first-teamers in senior forward Karli White, junior midfielder Grace Eversaul and senior defenders Emily Nelson and Peyton Chick. Junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx was a second-team selection.

 

 

Here is a look at the final 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer standings, with WWU claiming its eighth regular-season title in program history with a perfect 36 points at 12-0-0.

 

 

Here is a look at WWU's all-time records and notes on the series vs. three teams that are playing in Bellingham this weekend for the NCAA 3^rd and 4^th rounds…the Vikings are a combined 5-0-0 against the three visiting teams:

 

·      Point Loma – WWU is 1-0-0 all-time vs. Point Loma, with the only meeting being a 2-1 double-overtime victory in the 2018 season opener in San Diego.

·      Dallas Baptist – WWU is 1-0-0 all-time vs. DBU, defeating the Patriots 3-1 in the 2015 national quarterfinal game played at Harrington Field.

·      Dixie State – WWU is 3-0-0 all-time vs. Dixie State, with the last meeting being a 3-0 win over the Trailblazers in 2013 in Bellingham (Orca Field at Whatcom CC).

 

Here are some quick notes on the Vikings:

 

·      Thin Margin – Both of WWU's losses this season have been decided by one goal, and both are against teams that have been ranked in the national top 25 (Cal State LA, Colorado School of Mines).

·      GNAC Offensive Outburst – Outscored opponents 51-5, with a 371-89 domination in shots and 164-35 in shots on goal during the current 16-game winning streak.

·      Chick's Games Played – Peyton Chick has played in 89 career games, 4^th-most in program history.

·      Welcome Back – Senior defender Lindsey Fujiwara (missed 7 games) and freshman midfielder Libby Hielkema (missed 13 games) returned to the field recently after suffering early-season injuries.

·      Assist Leader – Karli White ranks 37^th in NCAA II with team-high 8 assists…also scored 6 goals for 20 points.

·      Eversaul Does it All – Grace Eversaul has scored 6 goals and also contributed 5 assists to rank 3^rd on the team with 17 points…she has started 20 matches this season and was a unanimous First Team All-GNAC selection.

·      Hat Trick +1 – Zoe Milburn tied the GNAC single-game record with 4 goals vs. MSUB on Oct. 5…Milburn is tied for the team lead with 6 goals on the season despite missing the missing four games with an injury.

·      Liv's Assists (and Goals) – Senior Liv Larson has recorded 26 career assists, tied for 2^nd-most in WWU history, and has 19 goals in 83 career games as a Viking (64 points, 14^th in WWU history).

·      Everyday Annaliese – Senior defender Annaliese Laurila had her streak of 83 consecutive starts snapped near the end of the season due to an injury…she is 13^th in program history in games played.

·      Eight is Enough – WWU's 8 goals in the 8-0 victory over MSUB are the second-most during the GNAC era (since 2001), trailing only 9 goals vs. Central Washington in 2005.

·      A Team Effort – A total of 24 players have seen action on the pitch this season for the Vikings, including six freshman (true freshman or redshirts).

·      Senior Success – WWU features a 9-player senior class, with six of the nine making their debut during the 2016 national championship season…this class has recorded a combined record of 80-7-3 (.906) with a 45-2-1 mark in GNAC play.

 

The Vikings ended the regular season ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Poll. WWU entered the season at No. 11 in the nation, the same spot where the team finished in the final 2018 rankings. WWU has a current streak of being ranked in each of the last 62 national polls dating back to midway through the 2014 season, and has at least received votes or been ranked in each of the last 87 polls going back to the 2012 season.

 

The Vikings defense has been stout once again, racking up 15 shutouts and a 0.360 goals against average to lead the GNAC in both categories. WWU is 4^th nationally in goals against average and tied for 2^nd in shutouts. Junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has recorded 10 individual shutouts and ranks 6^th nationally with a 0.401 goals against average (8 goals allowed). Senior defender Emily Nelson was selected as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and WWU had the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week seven times during the season. Here is a look at the top defenses in NCAA II (by goals against average) heading into the NCAA Championships:

 

 

WWU ended the 2019 regular season with a 23-game unbeaten streak in GNAC games going back to last season, with a 22-0-1 mark during this stretch. The last loss in regular-season conference play was Sept. 15, 2018 at Concordia (1-0).

 

Since debuting at Harrington Field in 2014, the Vikings are 56-2-1 (.958), including a perfect 9-0-0 record last season and 8-0-0 this season. The Vikings have a current 18-match home winning streak dating back to their last loss at home on Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Concordia. Including the men's program, WWU's teams have a combined record of 85-19-9 at Harrington Field (.792 winning percentage) since the on-campus facility debuted.

 

Including the 14-2-0 record this season, WWU is 81-13-8 (.833) in games away from Bellingham over the last eight seasons (9-3-2 last season, 12-1-0 in 2018). The Vikings have played 14 of 22 games this season on the road, including two separate trips to Colorado, one to Los Angeles and to Rohnert Park for the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships.

 

The Vikings picked up 12 of the 20 GNAC Player of the Week awards in 2019, and won the defensive honor in seven of the 10 weeks of the season. The 12 GNAC Player of the Week awards have set a single-season program record, passing the seven selections by the 2017 squad. Even more amazing than the 12 GNAC Player of the Week selections, is that 10 different players have earned the awards.

 

 

Junior forward Zoe Milburn scored four goals in the Vikings 8-0 victory over Montana State Billings on October 5 at Harrington Field. Here are some quick facts on the amazing scoring performance by Milburn:

 

»    GNAC Royalty – Tied the single-game record in GNAC history, matching the four goals scored by NNU's Rikki Myers earlier this season (9/14 vs. Cal State East Bay)….most goals by a player in a GNAC conference game.

»    WWU Rarity – First 4-goal game by a WWU player since Shonna Hall in 1995 vs. Evergreen State College.

»    Hat Trick (+1) – 32^nd instance in 40 years of WWU soccer history that a player recorded a hat trick, and only the eighth time to reach the 4+ goal territory.

 

Senior forward Liv Larson has recorded 6 assists this season, including on the game-winning goal in the NCAA second round, and now has 26 assists in 83 career games in her WWU career, tying for 2^nd-most in program history with Cindy Gordon (1981-84) and Kelly Irving (2006-09). Larson's 26 assists are also tied for 8^th-most in GNAC history. In addition to the 26 career assists, Larson has scored 19 goals (6 this season) and has 64 career points to move into the top 15 in program history.

 

 

WWU head coach Travis Connell recorded his 250th head coaching victory in the 3-0 win over Seattle Pacific. In his 17 seasons leading the WWU women's program, Connell owns an all-time 258-71-28 record (.762) at the helm of the women's program, and adds in 125 more victories in his 14 seasons also coaching the WWU men's program (382 total WWU wins).

 

For the second consecutive season, 10 members of the WWU women's soccer team have been selected to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. The Vikings tied the program record for most GNAC Academic All-Stars, matching the 10 selections from last season. The previous high mark for the WWU women's program was eight from the 2017 season. Seniors Jordyn Bartelson, Liv Larson, Annaliese Laurila and Emily Nelson headlined WWU's selections as three-years All-Academic team members. The four are part of select company in WWU program history, now with 18 players earning three GNAC Academic awards in a career. Junior midfielder Grace Eversaul was also selected to the Academic All-District 8 Team for the second consecutive season. WWU also won the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award in each of the last two seasons.

 

 

WWU has won 80 of its last 90 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 80-7-3 (.906) during this stretch. The program has won seven of the last eight GNAC regular-season titles (including 2019), four of the last five GNAC Tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last eight seasons. During the seven-year stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match seven times and advanced to the NCAA II Final Four three times (2013, 2015, 2016). Western has a current streak of 16 consecutive winning seasons the 8th-longest active streak in NCAA II.

 

WWU is 19-7-1 all-time in nine trips to the NCAA Championships, recording at least one win in eight of 10 appearances. Here is a game-by-game rundown of the Vikings in the NCAA Division II Tournament:

 

2006 (0-1-0):

Lost to UC San Diego, 4-0

 

2008 (1-1-0):

Defeated Cal State Dom. Hills, 1-0

Lost to Seattle Pacific, 1-0 (OT)

 

2012 (2-1-0):

Defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 2-1 (OT)

Defeated Sonoma State, 2-1 (OT)

Lost to UC San Diego, 2-1 (OT) – West Region Final

 

2013 (3-1-0):

Defeated Seattle Pacific, 2-0

Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 1-0 – West Region Final

Defeated St. Edward's 2-0

Lost to West Florida, 2-1 (OT) – National Semifinal

 

2014 (0-1-0):

Lost to Cal State Stanislaus, 1-0

 

2015 (3-1-0):

Defeated Seattle Pacific, 1-0

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 1-0 – West Region Final

Defeated Dallas Baptist, 3-1

Lost to Grand Valley State, 3-2 – National Semifinal

 

2016 (5-0-0):

Defeated Central Washington, 2-0

Defeated UC San Diego, 2-1 (OT) – West Region Final

Defeated Colorado Mines, 5-1

Defeated Kutztown, 3-0

Defeated Grand Valley State, 3-2 – National Championship Game

 

2017 (1-1-0):

Defeated Sonoma State, 2-0

Lost to UC San Diego, 2-0 – West Region Final

 

2018 (2-0-1):

Defeated Sonoma State, 1-0

Defeated Concordia, 3-2 (OT)

Tied UC San Diego, 0-0 (2OT) – lost 4-1 on PK – West Region Final

 

2019 (2-0-0):

Defeated Stanislaus State, 1-0

Defeated Cal State LA, 1-0 (2OT)

 

Dating back to the start of the 2013 season (the seven season), WWU has compiled an impressive 137-12-9 record for a .896 winning percentage. During this 158-game span WWU has won the GNAC regular-season title seven times, combining to go 80-3-5 (.938) in league play and won four postseason GNAC Championships. Among all NCAA Division II programs, the winning percentage since the start of the 2013 is the SECOND-BEST IN THE NATION, trailing only Grand Valley State (158-11-6/.920).

 

 

WWU women's soccer is in its 40th varsity season in 2019 and owns an all-time record of 485-209-60 for a .683 winning percentage. In 22 seasons playing at the NCAA Division II level, the program has recorded a 307-113-21 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships 10 times. Over the last eight seasons (since 2012), has combined to go 156-16-9 (.887) with a 92-5-5 (.926) record in conference play, and over the last five seasons (since 2015) has gone 101-9-4 (.904) with a pair of trips to the NCAA Championships Final Four.

 

The Vikings won their seventh GNAC regular-season title and advanced to the NCAA II Championships for the ninth time in program history in 2018. WWU finished with a 18-3-2 overall record and were 10-1-1 in conference play. A seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA II Championships led to a fourth straight trip to the NCAA II West Regional championship game for the fourth consecutive season (6th in last 7 seasons). Had season come to a close in a game decided on penalty kicks in a 0-0 tie vs. UC San Diego in the West Regional championship in Canyon, Texas. Eight players earned All-GNAC honors, five named All-West Region and three players were selected as All-Americans. Set program record with 10 selections to the GNAC All-Academic team. Earned a final national ranking of No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25, extending string of consecutive polls to be ranked in to 52 straight, and the seventh consecutive season to end the season ranked nationally (combined to go 136-14-9/.884 during this stretch). Had 13-game unbeaten streak from Sept. 19-Nov. 1, going 12-0-1 during this stretch. Listed by the NCAA as having the 2nd-toughest schedule in the nation.

 

The Vikings established a program and state of Washington collegiate record with their 39th consecutive victory on Oct. 26, 2017 at Northwest Nazarene. The 39-game winning streak broke the previous record of 38 consecutive wins set by the 1982-84 Vikings (10 games in 1982, 14 in 1983 and 14 games in 1984) and is the 4th-longest in NCAA II history and the 40-game unbeaten streak is tied for 4th-longest.

 

Travis Connell is in his 17th season leading the women's program as head coach and 24th overall as a coach at WWU. Owns a 258-71-28 (.762) record leading the women's program and entered the season listed as the 6th-winningest active coach amongst NCAA Division II head coaches. Overall he is 10th among all-time winningest NCAA Division II coaches, with a minimum of 10 years as a head coach at a DII school. Recorded his 250^th win leading the women's program on October 24 vs. Seattle Pacific.

 

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. (7 of last 8 including 2019). 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 17^th 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.