BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Senior forward Dayana Diaz scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute to help lift the Western Washington University women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over rival Seattle Pacific University Saturday at Harrington Field.

 

WWU remained unbeaten in Great Northwest Athletic Conference to remain on top of the table with 16 points at 5-0-1 in league play and improved to 6-1-3 overall. Over the last seven games the Vikings are unbeaten with a 5-0-2 record. The Vikings played in front of a crowd of nearly 500 fans as part of a celebration for Latine Heritage Month.

 

Diaz scored the game's lone goal at the 78:22 mark off a free-kick shot from freshman Morgan Manalili. SPU goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen saved the initial shot, but Diaz pounced on the loose ball for a quick shot from close quarters for her second goal of the season and 17th of her career. 

 

WWU snapped a five-game losing streak to the Falcons, regaining momentum in the series that featured a Vikings 21-game unbeaten streak from 2013-21.

 

The Vikings held a 17-14 advantage in shots and a 10-3 edge in shots on goal.

 

WWU junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger made three saves to record her third shutout of the season.

 

"Our players defended really well today and Morgan and Dayana combined to score the goal we needed," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "There wasn't very much separating these two teams today…it was a great battle. We are happy with this result."

 

SPU fell to 6-3-1 overall and remained in third place in the GNAC with a 4-2-0 record. Cullen recorded eights saves for the Falcons in goal and Lauren Snedeker recorded four shots with two on goal.

 

WWU begins a string of four consecutive road GNAC contests next week traveling to play at Saint Martin's in Lacey on Thursday (12:30 pm) and crosses the border Saturday to face Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. (2 pm).

W⚽️ | A look at the game-winning goal by Dayana Diaz off the rebound of the free kick by Morgan Manalili. What a FANTASTIC goal! Viks win 1-0!

🎥 | Sol Sanchez#GoViks pic.twitter.com/u4EEUstI1w
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) October 2, 2022

Western Washington 1, Seattle Pacific 0

Date: October 1, 2022

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 479

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

-----------------------------------------

Seattle Pacific............  0  0  -  0

Western Washington.........  0  1  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      78:22     WWU     Diaz (Manalili)

 

Shots: WWU 17, SPU 14

Shots on Goal: WWU 10, SPU 3

Saves: WWU 3 (Henninger – 3), SPU 9 (Cullen - 8)

Corners: WWU 5, SPU 3

Fouls: WWU 18, SPU 11

Offsides: WWU 2, SPU 2

Kits: WWU (Navy Blue), SPU (White)

Records: WWU (6-1-3, 5-0-1), SPU (5-3-1, 4-2-0)

 

WWU snapped a five-game losing streak to SPU with Saturday's 1-0 victory…had a 21-game unbeaten streak vs. the Falcons from 2013-21…Vikings improved to 22-23-7 all-time vs. SPU with a 13-10-2 record in home games….two teams will meet again on October 13 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.

 

The Vikings (6-1-3, 5-0-1 GNAC) begin a string of four consecutive road games next week with GNAC contests at Saint Martin's (Thursday, 12:30 pm) and Simon Fraser (Saturday, 2 pm). Links on how to follow the Vikings in all games are available via wwuvikings.com/22_WSOC.

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:

 

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 74-4-5 (.922) playing in front of the home crowd, with an undefeated 4-0-1 record in 2022. WWU had a 32-game unbeaten streak (29-0-3) at Harrington Field snapped vs. Seattle Pacific early in the 2021 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).

 

Here is a look at the updated records of the eight GNAC programs following Saturday's games:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 6-1-3 on the season and 5-0-1 in GNAC play following the 1-0 win over SPU:

 

 

One of the great rivalries in college soccer, WWU (2016) and Seattle Pacific (2008) each have claimed an NCAA Division II national championship. WWU has advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last nine seasons, while SPU has appeared in 16 of the last 18 seasons. SPU (9) and WWU (8) have combined to capture 17 of the 20 GNAC regular-season titles.

 

WWU head coach Travis Connell was a four-year letterman for the SPU men's soccer team from 1991-95, helping lead the Falcons to 1993 national championship.

 

There are likely to be a lot of tie games this season with new NCAA soccer rules for 2022 which eliminates overtime during the regular season. Any match that is tied at the 90-minute mark will now end that way, which means no overtime or golden goal scenarios. In the postseason, there will be overtime but no more golden goal; teams will play two full 10-minute extra periods regardless of any goals and if it is still tied, the advancing team will be decided on penalty kicks. Just for kicks, the WWU single-season record for ties is five set in 1981, and most recently four in 2009, 2010 and 2014 (WWU has three this season).

 

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 nine consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in four of the last eight seasons and played for the West Region championship in eight of the last nine seasons (six consecutive). 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 20th season leading the program in 2022 (27th overall at WWU) and has led the Vikings to 11 trips to the NCAA Championships (9 straight) and 28 consecutive winning seasons. He picked up his 400th career victory October 16, 2021 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. Over the last eight seasons (since 2015), the Vikings have combined for a 129-17-11 (.854) record. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.