BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 7 Western Washington University women's soccer team is back in the national top 10 and right away will face a tough challenge with road matches at Seattle Pacific University and Montana State Billings.

 

Ridding a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) and a four-game winning streak, the No. 7 nationally-ranked Vikings (8-1-3 overall, 7-0-1 GNAC) complete a four-game road trip this week playing at SPU on Thursday (7 pm) and MSUB on Saturday (12 pm MT). 

 

The Vikings are coming off a pair of wins last week on the road at Saint Martin's (2-1) and Simon Fraser (2-0) to keep hold of first place in the GNAC table with 22 points. WWU holds a two-point edge over Northwest Nazarene (20 points) and four-point edge over Seattle Pacific (18 points). SPU and Northwest Nazarene are both receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national poll.

 

Following the completion of the string of four consecutive road matches, WWU returns home to Harrington Field to close out the regular season with four consecutive home games.

 

In eight GNAC contests the Vikings are undefeated at 7-0-1 and are tied for the lead in league games in scoring (2.00 goals per game) and second with a 0.38 goals against average.

 

Freshman Morgan Manalili leads the team and ranks third in the GNAC with 11 points (4 goals, 3 assists), followed closely by senior Tera Ziemer (9 points, 4 goals, 1 assist), freshman forward Claire Potter (7 points, 3 goals, 1 assist) and junior forward Ellie Busik (7 points, 2 goals, 3 assists). Nine of the Vikings 21 goals have been scored by true freshman players.

 

On the defensive side the Vikings have limited opponents to one or fewer goals in 10 of 12 games and are tied for the GNAC lead with seven shutouts. Junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger has started 10 games and is second in the conference with a 0.63 goals against average. Freshman defender Asia Hardin has logged every minute of the Vikings 12 games (1080 minutes) to begin her collegiate career.

 

The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_WSOC.

 

 

The Vikings went 2-0-0 last week with a 2-1 road win over Saint Martin's and a 2-0 victory over Simon Fraser on Burnaby Mountain. Freshman Morgan Manalili had a goal and an assist in the win at SMU and senior Tera Ziemer scored both goals with a brace at SFU. WWU combined to out-shot SMU and SFU 46-12 in the two games with a 21-5 advantage in shots on goal.

 

WWU concludes its four-game road trip this week with away matches at Seattle Pacific (Thursday, 7 pm) and Montana State Billings (Saturday, 12 pm MT). The Vikings went 2-0-0 last week with contests at Saint Martin's (2-1 win) and Simon Fraser (2-0 win). WWU will host four consecutive home games at Harrington Field to conclude the regular season, beginning October 20 (Thursday) hosting Northwest Nazarene at 7 pm at Harrington Field.

 

Here is a look at the updated records of the eight GNAC programs entering play this week:

 

 

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

 

• Seattle Pacific: Defeated SPU 1-0 on a goal by Dayana Diaz in the 79th minute in previous meeting this season on October 1…WWU is 22-23-7 all-time in the series vs. SPU, but  is 18-5-4 in the last 27 games dating back to October 2013…WWU had a 21-game unbeaten streak vs. SPU from 2013-21.
• MSU Billings: Blanked MSUB 2-0 in earlier meeting this season September 29 in Bellingham…Vikings lead the all-time series 26-3-2 with a current 18-game winning streak and a 19-game unbeaten streak…18-0-1 vs. the Yellowjackets since last loss in 2011…10-2-0 all-time in games played in Billings with a current seven-game winning streak…WWU has out-scored MSUB 17-0 in the last four meetings.

 

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

 

 

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.

 

News and notes on the 2022 WWU Women's Soccer team heading into this week's schedule:

 

• The Record – 8-1-3 overall, 7-0-1 GNAC, 4-0-1 Home, 4-1-2 Away.
• Top of the Table – Leads the GNAC with 22 points at 7-0-1 in conference games.
• Undefeated Streak – Current nine-game undefeated streak going 7-0-2.
• Fleury of Goals – WWU has scored 16 goals in the last eight games, after scoring five in the first four games.
• Tie Games – Vikings have three ties, two off the school single-season record of five.
• Balanced Scoring – WWU has scored 21 goals this season – by nine different players…freshman Morgan Manalili and senior Tera Ziemer lead the team with four goals each, followed by three from freshman Claire Potter.
• The Full 1080 – Freshman Asia Hardin has played all 1080 minutes anchoring the Vikings defensive back line.
• Freshman Goals – Of the Vikings 21 goals this season, nine have been scored by true freshmen players.
• Diaz Goals – Senior Dayana Diaz is WWU's active career leader with 17 goals scored (in 88 games/46 starts)…tied for 28th-most goals in program history…tied for 9th in career games played in WWU history.
• Trio of Goalkeepers – WWU has played three goalkeepers in the first 12 games of the season…junior Claire Henninger has made 10 starts and junior Abigail Trengove has made pair of starts, with sophomore Grace Wales appearing in one game in reserve duty.
• Harrington Success – Owns all-time 74-4-5 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.922).
• 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…WWU placed 2nd in the 2021 GNAC standings.
• Always Dancing – Advanced to each of the last nine NCAA Division II Championships and played in six consecutive West Regional title matches (8 in last 9 seasons).
• 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 20th season leading the WWU Women's program (27th at WWU)…owns an all-time 288-79-36 (.759) as the Western women's head coach…owns 413 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer.
• Roster Breakdown – The 2022 roster features 30 players, with 21 from Washington, five from Oregon, two from California, one from Arizona and one from North Dakota.

 

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. 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
• GNAC Live Streams

 

Western Washington University is one of only five programs with both its women's and men's soccer teams ranked in the NCAA Division II national top 25. The WWU women moved back into the national top 10 at No. 7 and the men are listed No. 24. WWU joins Adelphi (M: 13, W: 19), Fort Hays State (M: 16, W: 23), Mercy College (M: 23, W: 15) and West Florida (M: 21, W: 13) as the five programs with both soccer teams ranked nationally.

 

Here is a look at the current United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll (released 10/11). WWU moved back into the national top 10 at No. 7 after moving back into the polls at No. 14 the previous week:

 

 

WWU took over the top spot in the West Region poll conducted by the United Soccer Coaches. The first edition of the NCAA regional rankings is scheduled to be released the week of October 17. The NCAA regional rankings will help determine the six-team field for the NCAA West Regional as part of the 56-team NCAA II Women's Soccer Championships:

 

 

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). Including the men's program, WWU Soccer has a combined record of 114-24-17 (.790) at Harrington Field.

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 8-1-3 on the season and 7-0-1 in GNAC play to sit in first place in the conference standings. WWU has a current nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) while recording four consecutive wins:

 

 

Senior forward Dayana Diaz and junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger (also a graduate student) are serving as team captains for the Vikings during the 2022 season.

 

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).

The Vikings jumped back into the national top 10 at No. 7 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll, moving up from No. 14 (were previously receiving votes). WWU was the preseason No. 10 team in the nation and has appeared in 104 of the last 107 national polls (including receiving votes) dating back to the sixth week of the 2012 season. WWU has advanced to play in the NCAA postseason in each of the last nine seasons (since 2012).

 

The Vikings earned the GNAC Team of the Week Award after opening GNAC play with a 2-0-0 record, scoring a trio of goals in each game September 14 and September 17. WWU opened conference play with a 3-0 home shutout vs. Simon Fraser and going on the road to defeat No. 19 Western Oregon 3-2. Freshman Claire Potter scored the game-winning goal in each contest, with Payton Neal (2nd career goal), Ashley Nguyen (first career goal), Morgan Manalili (2nd goal this season) and Emily Rice (first career goal) also adding goals.

 

The Vikings have made nine consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Championships and 11 overall appearances in the NCAA postseason in program history. WWU played for the national title in 2019, are 4-0 all-time in national quarterfinal games and 2-2 in national semifinal contests. The program owns an all-time 23-9-1 record in NCAA Championships play (5-1 in 2019, 1-1 in 2021), winning at least one game in nine of 11 trips to the NCAA postseason. WWU was crowned national champion 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 110 of its last 136 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 110-15-11 (.849) during this stretch. The program has won seven of the last nine GNAC regular-season titles (last in 2019), four of the last six GNAC Tournaments (last in 2019) and advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last nine seasons. During the nine-year stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match eight times and advanced to the NCAA II national semifinals four times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019). Western has a current streak of 18 consecutive winning seasons for one of the top-10 longest active streaks in NCAA II.

 

Travis Connell is in his 20th season leading the women's program as head coach and 27th overall as a coach at WWU. Owns a 288-79-36 (.759) record leading the women's program to rank as the 8th-winningest active coach amongst NCAA Division II head coaches. Overall, he is 11th 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 411 career NCAA head coaching victories. He is assisted by former Viking standouts Claire Morgan and Jamie Arthurs.

 

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 131-17-11 (.855) record. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.