BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team opens a four-game homestand this week, hosting Saint Martin's and Simon Fraser at Harrington Field.

The Vikings are ranked No. 23 in the recent United Soccer Coaches NCAA II poll and are tied for the top spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference table with a 5-1-0 league record and 8-1-2 overall. 

WWU will play Saint Martin's on Thursday at 7 pm and Simon Fraser on Saturday at 4 pm, with both days featuring a WWU Soccer doubleheader with the men's team playing Seattle Pacific on Thursday (7 pm) and Montana State Billings on Saturday (4 pm). 

Western had its 10-game unbeaten streak to open the season snapped last Saturday in 1-0 overtime defeat on the road against nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific. The loss also snapped a 23-game GNAC winning streak and a 29-game conference unbeaten streak, both dating back to the 2018 season.

The season-high four-game homestand concludes the regular-season slate of matches at Harrington Field, with the Vikings closing out the 2021 schedule with four road GNAC matches. WWU and Harrington Field will serve as the host of the 2021 GNAC Women's Soccer Championships, with the top four teams in the final conference standings playing Nov. 11-13 in Bellingham for the GNAC Tournament title.

WWU enters this week's matches out-scoring opponents 21-5 and rank 2nd in the GNAC with a 0.43 goals against average and six shutouts.

WWU's 19-match regular-season schedule and all results, recaps and box scores can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_WS. The 2021 GNAC Women's Soccer Championships will be hosted by WWU November 11-13 at Harrington Field, with the top four teams from the conference standings at the conclusion of the regular season battling for the conference title.

News and notes on the 2021 WWU Women's Soccer team:

• The Record – 8-1-2 on the season with a 5-0-1 mark at Harrington Field and 3-1-1 on the road (1-0-0 neutral).
• GNAC – Tied for the top spot in the GNAC table with a 5-1-0 record in conference play.
• Spreading the Wealth – 12 players have combined to score the 21 goals.
• Academics – Led the conference with 22 selections to the GNAC All-Academic Team.
• Harrington Success – Current 30-game unbeaten streak at Harrington Field (27-0-3) and 65-2-4 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.944 winning pct).
• Shutouts – Recorded 6 shutouts in 11 games…had 18 shutouts in 26 games in 2019 and 4 in 7 games during 2021 spring season…2nd in the GNAC with 6 games not allowing a goal this season.
• Second Half Viks – Scored 13 of 21 goals in the second half, including the game-winner in the 87th minute vs. No. 5 Sonoma State (by Ziemer).
• Corners – Holds a 78-25 advantage over opponents in corner kicks through 11 games.
• Ziemer Goals – Tera Ziemer (Texas A&M transfer) has scored four goals to tie for GNAC lead (3 game-winners).
• Eversaul's Goals – All-American Grace Eversaul has scored a goal in three of last six games…16th in program history with 22 career goals and 20th with 52 points…has 10 career game-winning goals.
• Winner in Goal – All-American goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has recorded 51 career wins, most in program history…25 shutouts are tied for 3rd-most by a WWU goalkeeper and tied for 5th-most among active NCAA II players…current active leader in NCAA II with career 0.46 goals against average.
• Dependable Doyle – Darby Doyle has appeared in 87 career games, currently tied for 8th in program history…has scored 32 career points (12 goals, 8 assists).
• Always Dancing – Advanced to each of the last eight NCAA Division II Championships, and played in the West Region title match in six of the last seven seasons (four regional titles).
• GNAC Champions – Won both the GNAC regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2019, the 8th regular-season title and 5th tournament title in program history.
• National Champions – 2016 NCAA II National Championship with a 24-0-1 record…also national runner-up finish in 2019 (23-3-0).
• The Gaffer – Travis Connell is in his 19th season leading the WWU Women's program (26th at WWU), and owns an all-time 273-74-32 (.763) as the Western women's head coach…6th among active NCAA II head coaches with a .761 winning percentage (entering season)…owns 398 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer.
• Roster Breakdown – The 2021 roster features 33 players, with 26 from Washington, three from Oregon, two from California, one from Colorado and one from North Dakota.
• Senior Day – The annual Senior Day will be held Saturday, October 23 prior to the 1 pm kickoff vs. Montana State Billings…WWU will honor eight players that are competing in their final collegiate season: Grace Eversaul, Zoe Milburn, Natalie Dierickx, Darby Doyle, Jenna Killman, Karina Provo, Olivia Lee, Sophie Butterfield.

Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and the two upcoming opponents:

• Saint Martin's: WWU leads the all-time series vs. the Saints 22-2-1 with a current 17-game winning streak (since 2011)…recorded five consecutive shutouts vs. SMU including 1-0 win in the last meeting on April 20 during the abbreviated spring season…two teams will meet again in the regular-season finale Nov. 6 in Lacey.
• Simon Fraser: Defeated SFU 2-1 in the GNAC opener for both teams on Sept. 23 in Burnaby…WWU leads the all-time series 31-17-3, including a current 19-game winning streak dating back to the 2011 season…also has a current 23-game unbeaten streak vs. SFU (21-0-2)…14-8-1 all-time vs. Simon Fraser in home games, including a 5-0-0 record at Harrington Field.

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 65-2-4 (.944) playing in front of the home crowd. WWU has a current 30-game unbeaten streak (27-0-3) at Harrington Field dating back to the end of the 2017 season (last home loss - Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Concordia). Including the men's program, WWU's soccer teams have a combined record of 97-21-13 at Harrington Field (.790 winning percentage) since the on-campus facility debuted.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings heading into this week's action, with the Vikings tied for the top spot in the table with 12 points at 5-1-0 in league play:

 

Highlighted by four-time award winners Grace Eversaul and Natalie Dierickx, the WWU women's soccer team led the conference with 22 student-athletes earning Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic honors. Eversaul and Dierickx became the first four-time GNAC All-Academic players in WWU Women's Soccer history. The 22 selections are the most in program history, with 10 selections from the 2018 and 2019 seasons being the previous record. In addition to the pair of four-time award winners, WWU had five student-athletes earn the GNAC academic honor for the second time – Claire Henninger, Jenna Killman, Estera Levinte, Karina Provo and Katie Watt.
 

 

Western is listed No. 23 in the current United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll, dropping from No. 6 in the previous week's poll. Had a string of four consecutive weeks in the national top-10 before dropping to No. 23 following the narrow 1-0 overtime loss at nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific. WWU has now been listed in 70 consecutive national polls dating back to the middle of the 2014 season, with 29 weeks as a top-5 team.

 

WWU has built a 87-16-9 record away from Bellingham over the last 10 seasons (since 2012), which includes a 64-12-6 road record and a 23-4-3 mark in neutral-site games. The Vikings will play nine of 19 games on the road in 2021 (3-1-1 so far this season).

All WWU home games (and most road games) will stream live online with the direct links available at WWUVikings.com/Live. Games at Harrington Field will feature an HD webcast on WWU's YouTube channel. For easy access, each WWU Women's Soccer game will feature a URL redirect that will send you right to the current game, so bookmark the following links, which will direct you to watch games this weekend vs. MSUB and SPU.

• Webcast – wwuvikings.com/WS_Watch
• Live Stats – wwuvikings.com/WS_Stats

The Vikings have made eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Championships and 10 overall appearances in the NCAA postseason. WWU played for the national title in 2019 and are 2-2 all-time in national semifinal contests. The program owns an all-time 22-8-1 record in NCAA Championships play (5-1 in 2019), 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.

Katie Watt (Defense) and Tera Ziemer (Offense) swept the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Players of the Week for games played September 13-19. Ziemer earned the offensive award after scoring the game-winning goal in the 1-0 win over Biola on Saturday and Watt received defensive honors leading the stalwart back line not allowing a shot on goal. Natalie Dierickx also won the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week award for Sept. 6-12.

The Vikings are the two-time defending GNAC regular-season champions (2018 & 2019) and have raised the conference trophy seven times 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.

WWU has won 95 of its last 112 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 95-10-7 (.879) 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 eight-year stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match seven times and advanced to the NCAA II national semifinals four times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019). Western has a current streak of 17 consecutive winning seasons the 7th-longest active streak in NCAA II.

Travis Connell is in his 19th season leading the women's program as head coach and 26th overall as a coach at WWU. Owns a 273-74-32 (.763) record leading the women's program to rank as the 5th-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. Connell recorded his 250^th win leading the women's program on October 24, 2019 vs. Seattle Pacific, and including 125 wins as the head coach of the men's soccer program at WWU, Connell has amassed 398 career NCAA head coaching victories. He is assisted by former Viking standouts Claire Morgan and Jamie Arthurs, and Johann Lahud-Zahner.

Through the first 11 games, WWU has allowed only five goals in 1,034 minutes for a .435 goals against average to rank 2nd in the GNAC and 12th in NCAA II. The Vikings have out-scored opponents 21-5 overall and 15-3 in GNAC games.

The Vikings calling card in recent years has been a strong defense. Over the last 10 seasons the program has combined for a .452 goals against average, including a NCAA-leading mark of 0.341 in 2019. Since 2012, the Vikings have posted a shutout in 129 of the last 203 games (63.5%) while going 171-19-13 (.874). Senior All-American goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has recorded 25 career shutouts (tied for 3rd in WWU history) and owns an all-time program record of 51 wins in net (51-7-4).

The 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championships will be held at Harrington Field in Bellingham, with games played November 11 (4 & 7 pm) and 13 (1 pm). The top four teams in the GNAC table at the end of the regular season will qualify for the postseason tournament, with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. This marks the first time WWU will be officially hosting the three-game tournament in the nine-year history of the championships, but Harrington Field did serve as the site of the championship game in 2016 after the planned title match was fogged out in Burnaby, BC. WWU is the defending GNAC Tournament champions winning the title in 2019, and is 13-1-2 all-time in the conference championship event. The Vikings have won five of the eight tournament titles (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and advanced to the tournament final all eight seasons.