BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 8 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team closes out its non-conference schedule hosting a pair of games at Harrington Field on the south edge of the WWU campus.
 
The Vikings (2-0-1) host Biola on Saturday (Sept. 18) with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm and entertain No. 22 Point Loma on Monday in a rematch of the 2019 West Region Championship match (7 pm).
 
WWU is off to a 2-0-1 undefeated start through the first three matches of the 2021 season, and is coming off a 2-1 victory over No. 5 Sonoma State last Sunday at Harrington Field.
 
The Vikings are led by junior midfielder Tera Ziemer, who has scored three of WWU's four goals this season to lead the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in goals scored (and points with 6). Sophomore forward Estera Levinte has assisted on three of the four goals and senior midfielder Grace Eversaul recorded a pair of assists vs. Sonoma State. Senior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has a pair of clean sheets and allowed only one goal in 290 minutes.
 
Western opened the season with a 1-0-1 road trip to Colorado, defeating Adams State 2-0 (on a pair of Ziemer goals) and tied now No. 25 Colorado School of Mines 0-0.
 
The Vikings carry a 25-game unbeaten streak (23-0-3) at Harrington Field into the upcoming matches. The GNAC opener for WWU is scheduled for Thursday, September 23 on the road against Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC.
 
WWU's 19-match regular-season schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21_WS.
 

THIS WEEK IN WWU WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, September 18	Live Coverage
Biola »  7:00 pm  »  Bellingham, WA  »  Harrington Field	📊 LiveStats   🎥 Webcast
Monday, September 20	Live Coverage
#22 Point Loma »  7:00 pm  »  Bellingham, WA  »  Harrington Field	📊 LiveStats   🎥 Webcast

Fans are allowed to watch the games inside the venue at Harrington Field. Due to state of Washington and WWU policy, face coverings/masks are required for all fans and social distancing in the stands is encouraged. Tickets will be on sale to the general public beginning one hour prior to kickoff at the Harrington Field Box Office (General - $8, Kids/Seniors - $5) and free parking is available in the C lots on the south edge of the WWU campus.
  We are helping welcome back students to the WWU campus by offering free admission for all students for soccer games Thursday (men vs. Colorado School of Mines), Saturday (doubleheader at 4 & 7 pm) and Monday (vs. Point Loma).
  Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and the two upcoming opponents:

• Biola: Saturday's game marks the first meeting between WWU and Biola.
• Point Loma: WWU holds a 2-0-0 lead in the all-time series, defeating the Sea Lions 2-1 in double overtime in the 2018 season opener on the road and 1-0 in the 2019 West Regional Championship match at Harrington Field.

ZIEMER ON GOAL-SCORING BINGE
Junior midfielder Tera Ziemer, a transfer from Texas A&M that made 44 appearances in two seasons for the Aggies, leads the Vikings (and the GNAC) scoring three goals, including a pair of game winners. Ziemer ranks No. 13 in NCAA II in goals per game (1.00) and 3rd with a pair of game-winning goals.
    The Viking defense opened the season with back-to-back shutouts for the second consecutive fall championship season, logging three consecutive shutouts to open the 2019 season. Through the first three games, WWU has allowed only one goal in 290 minutes for a .310 goals against average to lead the GNAC and rank 22nd in NCAA II.
  Senior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has been selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for games played September 6-12. Dierickx recorded six saves in a 2-1 victory over No. 5 nationally-ranked Sonoma State. In three games this season, Dierickx has played all 290 minutes, allowing only one goal while helping lead the Vikings to a 2-0-1 record. The award marks the fifth GNAC weekly honor for Dierickx in her career, tying former All-American forward Gabriela Pelogi (2015-18) for the most in WWU history. Dierickx ranks 7th in WWU history with 148 career saves and is WWU's all-time leader in goalkeeper wins with a 45-6-3 record between the pipes. She is also the NCAA Division II active leader with a 0.45 goals against average.
    Western is listed No. 8 in the current United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll, moving up 10 spots from the No. 18 ranking last week and 17 spots from the preseason No. 25 ranking. WWU has now been listed in 66 consecutive national polls dating back to the middle of the 2014 season, with 28 weeks as a top-5 team.
  Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 61-2-3 (.947) playing in front of the home crowd. WWU has a current 25-game unbeaten streak (23-0-2) 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 91-20-12 at Harrington Field (.789 winning percentage) since the on-campus facility debuted.
  News and notes on the 2021 WWU Women's Soccer team:

• The Record – 2-0-1 on the season with a 1-0-0 record at home, and 1-0-1 on the road (1-0-0 neutral).
• Harrington Success – Current 25-game unbeaten streak at Harrington Field (23-0-2) and 61-2-3 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.947 winning pct).
• Shutouts – Opened season with consecutive shutouts…recorded 18 shutouts in 26 games in 2019 and 4 in 7 games during 2021 spring season.
• Second Half Viks – Scored three of four goals in the second half, including the game-winner in the 87th minute vs. No. 5 Sonoma State (by Ziemer).
• Corners – Hold a 26-10 advantage over opponents in corner kicks through three games.
• Ziemer Goals – Tera Ziemer (Texas A&M transfer) has scored three of four goals for WWU this season.
• Levinte Not Shy – Estera Levinte has assisted on three of four goals…leads the team and the GNAC with 18 shots (6.00 shots per game).
• Winner in Goal – All-American goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has recorded 45 career wins, most in program history…23 shutouts are 4th-most by a WWU goalkeeper and 7th-most among active NCAA II players…current active leader in NCAA II with career 0.45 goals against average.
• Another All-American – Grace Eversaul was a Third Team All-American by D2CCA in 2019…also a two-time First Team All-GNAC selection…with her next goal will become the 21st player in program history to reach the 20-goal milestone…with 8 assists has 46 total points, tied for 27th in program history.
• Dependable Doyle – Darby Doyle has appeared in 79 career games, currently tied for 21st in program history.
• 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 267-73-31 (.761) as the Western women's head coach…6th among active NCAA II head coaches with a .761 winning percentage…owns 392 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.

WWU prepped for the 2021 season with three preseason contests, and did not allow a goal over the 270 minutes of action. WWU defeated PLU on the road and played Trinity Western to a 0-0 tie. The Vikings also hosted Peninsula College in a scrimmage at Harrington Field.
  The Vikings played an abbreviated seven-match schedule during the spring season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going 4-1-2 with all four wins coming against conference foes. The Vikings return 28 letterwinners and 10 starters from the roster last spring.
  All WWU home games will stream live online via Vikings TV, with the direct links available at WWUVikings.com/Live, with any updates published to that website. All WWU home 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:

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

WWU has built a 85-15-9 record away from Bellingham over the last 10 seasons (since 2012), which includes a 62-11-6 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 (1-0-1 so far this season).
  The 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championships will be held at Harrington Field in Bellingham, with games played November 11 and 13. 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.
    The Vikings entered the 2021 season tied for 25^th in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Coaches Poll and picked No. 2 in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Here is a look at the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll:
 

2021 GNAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Rank	School (1st Place Votes)	2019 Record (Finish)	Points
1.	Seattle Pacific (6)	12-8-0 (9-3-0, 2nd)	62
2.	Western Washington (2)	23-3-0 (12-0-0, 1st)	57
3.	Northwest Nazarene	6-10-2 (3-7-2, 7th)	44
4.	Central Washington	8-9-1 (6-5-1, 4th)	37
5.	Western Oregon	10-6-3 (7-3-2, 3rd)	30
6.	Simon Fraser	2-13-1 (2-10-0, T-8th)	22
	Montana State Billings	6-9-2 (5-7-0, 6th)	22
8.	Saint Martin's	4-13-2 (2-10-0, T-8th)	14
Votes awarded on 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

  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.
  The Vikings calling card in recent years has been a strong defense. Over the last 10 seasons the program has combined for a .451 goals against average, including a NCAA-leading mark of 0.341 in 2019. Since 2012, the Vikings have posted a shutout in 125 of the last 195 games (64.1%) while going 165-18-12 (.877). Senior All-American goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has recorded 23 career shutouts (4th in WWU history) and owns an all-time program record of 45 wins in net (45-6-3).
  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.
    WWU has won 89 of its last 104 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 89-9-6 (.885) 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 267-73-31 (.761) 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 wins as the head coach of the men's soccer program at WWU, Connell has amassed 392 career NCAA head coaching victories. He is assisted by former Viking standouts Claire Morgan and Jamie Arthurs, and Johann Lahud-Zahner.
  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).
  The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of eight 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 seven of the last eight 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 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 finished is in his 19th season leading the program in 2021, and has led the Vikings to 10 trips to the NCAA Championships (8 straight) and 16 consecutive winning seasons. 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 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.