BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the eighth time in the last nine seasons, the Western Washington University women's soccer team will play in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship.
The No. 2 seed Vikings defeated No. 3 seed Point Loma 1-0 in a second-round game held at Harrington Field, with senior forward
Jenna Killman scoring the game-winning goal just under seven minutes into the game.
WWU improved to 15-4-3 overall and will play familiar foe Seattle Pacific University in the West Regional Championship on Thursday, December 2 in either Colorado or Texas. No. 1 seed SPU defeated No. 4 Sonoma State 2-1 Saturday in Seattle. The Vikings have advanced to the West Regional Final in each of the last six seasons and are four-time West Regional Champions (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021).
Killman got the Vikings off to a fantastic start notching her 13th goal of the season at the 6:41 mark in the first half. Senior midfielder
Grace Eversaul won a hard-fought ball deep in PLNU territory and fired a cross in the middle of the 18-yard box to find Killman. The senior made a light touch and fired a low and hard right-footed shot inside the right post past PLNU goalkeeper Emma Hinson.
The early strike set the stage for a well-played game by both sides, but the Vikings were able to keep the Sea Lions off the scoreboard for just the second time in 17 games this season.
Point Loma's best scoring opportunity came off a pair of set pieces in the 61st minute, with WWU senior goalkeeper
Natalie Dierickx coming up with a big save.
WWU held a 16-12 edge in shots in the game, with both teams firing eight in the second half. The Vikings held a 10-3 edge in shots on goal.
Dierickx recorded three saves for her eighth shutout of the season and 29th of her career. Point Loma goalkeeper Emma Hinson made eight saves to keep the game close.
UP NEXT
The Vikings (15-4-3) will face Seattle Pacific University in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship (Third Round) in two weeks (Dec. 2-4) in either Texas or Colorado. The South Central Region will host both third-round games on the site of the highest remaining seed with No. 1 DBU, No. 2 Colorado-Colorado Springs, No. 3 Colorado School of Mines and No. 4 Angelo State all in action tomorrow.
QUICK STATS
2021 NCAA Division II Championships – Second Round
Western Washington 1, Point Loma 0
Date: November 20, 2021
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham,, WA
Weather: 46º, Clear Att: 231
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
--------------------------------------------------------
#3 Point Loma.................... 0 0 - 0
#2 Western Washington............ 1 0 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 6:41 WWU Killman (Eversaul)
Shots: WWU 16, PLNU 12
Shots on Goal: WWU 10, PLNU 3
Saves: WWU 3 (Dierickx – 3), PLNU 9 (Hinson - 8)
Corners: WWU 4, PLNU 4
Fouls: PLNU 14, WWU 10
Yellow Cards: None
Offsides: PLNU 3, WWU 1
Kits: WWU (Light Blue/White), PLNU (Green)
HARRINGTON FIELD SUCCESS
Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 70-4-4 (.923) playing in front of the home crowd.
WWU had a 32-game unbeaten streak (29-0-3) at Harrington Field snapped vs. Seattle Pacific earlier this season (previous home loss - Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Concordia). The Vikings are 10-2-0 at Harrington Field in postseason play, hosting NCAA games in 2014 (0-1-0), 2015 (3-0-0), 2016 (1-0-0), 2017 (1-0-0), 2019 (2-0-0) and 2021 (1-0-0), and GNAC Championships games in 2016 (1-0-0) and 2021 (1-1-0).
POSTSEASON SUCCESS
The Vikings are making their ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Championships, the 11th overall trip to the NCAA postseason in program history. WWU has now won at least one game in nine of 11 trips to the NCAA Championships and are making a sixth consecutive trip to the West Regional Final (8th time in last 9 seasons). The 2016 national champions and 2019 national runner-up owns an all-time
23-8-1 record in NCAA Championships play. 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.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. POINT LOMA
WWU leads the all-time series 3-0-1 vs. Point Loma, defeating the Sea Lions 2-1 in double overtime in the 2018 season opener and 1-0 in the 2019 West Region Championship at Harrington Field. The Vikings and Sea Lions played to a 1-1 tie earlier in the 2021 season.
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS
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).
ABOUT WWU SOCCER
The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of nine consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in four of the last seven seasons and played for the West Region championship in eight of the last nine seasons. The Vikings played for the 2019 national title and 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 nine Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles and won four of the last five GNAC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019). Head coach
Travis Connell is in his 19th season leading the program in 2021, and has led the Vikings to 11 trips to the NCAA Championships (9 straight) and 17 consecutive winning seasons. He picked up his 400th career victory October 16 vs. Simon Fraser. WWU finished the 2019 season with a 23-3-0 record, winning the West Regional title and played in the national championship game falling 1-0 to Grand Valley State.
WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.
