BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team is back in action during the penultimate week of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

 

Ranked No. 7 nationally and on top of the GNAC table, the Vikings bring an 11-match undefeated streak and six-game winning streak into an altered slate for the week due to unhealthy air quality due to wildfire smoke in the Northwest region of Washington. WWU will play a road game Thursday at Central Washington University in Ellensburg (originally scheduled for Saturday in Bellingham) and host second-place and No. 25 nationally-ranked Northwest Nazarene University Saturday at Harrington Field (7 pm).

 

WWU enters the week with a 10-1-3 overall record and is undefeated at 9-0-1 in GNAC play. The Vikings have already punched their ticket to the four-team GNAC Championships (joining NNU) that will be held November 3-5 in Nampa, Idaho. Western is also listed in the first edition of the NCAA West Region rankings and holds the top in the United Soccer Coaches West Region Coaches Poll.

 

The Vikings 11-game undefeated streak features a 9-0-2 record, which began September 6 with a 1-1 road tie at nationally-ranked Point Loma in San Diego. The six-game winning streak features five shutouts while outscoring opponents 14-1. The Vikings are coming off a pair of 3-0 victories last week, defeating rival Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings by identical scores.

 

The altered schedule means the Vikings will extend their road trip to five consecutive games, the longest stretch of games away from Bellingham during the regular season since also playing five straight road games in September 2004. WWU's season record features a 4-0-1 mark at Harrington Field and 6-1-2 record on the road.

 

With four regular-season games remaining before the postseason, WWU leads the GNAC table with 28 points with second-place Northwest Nazarene close behind with 26 points. Seattle Pacific (21 points), Western Oregon (9 points), Simon Fraser (9 points), Central Washington (8 points) and Saint Martin's (7 points) are all fighting for the final two spots in the GNAC Championships. 

 

The Vikings rank second in the conference averaging 1.93 goals per game and are tied with NNU and SPU averaging 2.20 goals per game in GNAC play. WWU leads the conference with a 0.50 goals against average (only 7 goals allowed) and is tied with NNU with nine shutouts.

 

Junior forward Estera Levite is the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week following her three-goal performance last week and is tied for 3rd with a team-leading five goals. Levinte has scored in three of the last four goals, combining for four goals during that stretch. Freshmen Morgan Manalili and Claire Potter, and senior Tera Ziemer are tied for fifth with four goals each. Manalili is making a strong case for GNAC Freshman of the Year honors ranking fifth with 11 points (4 goals, 3 assists).

 

Junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger has started 12 of 14 games and leads the conference with a 0.539 goals against average (22nd in NCAA) and is 2nd in the GNAC with five shutouts. Freshman defender Asia Hardin has started all 14 games and logged all 1,260 minutes during her first collegiate season.

 

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

 

 

The Vikings have officially punched their ticket to the postseason as the first team to qualify for the four-team GNAC Championships that will be held November 3-5 in Nampa, Idaho. WWU has now qualified for each of the 10 GNAC Championships and is a five-time winner of the event with tournament titles in in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Western has advanced to the title game every season of the GNAC Championships and is 14-2-2 all-time in the GNAC postseason.

 

Here is a look at the updated records of the eight GNAC programs entering the penultimate week of the 2022 regular season. WWU and NNU have both secured a spot in the four-team GNAC Championships that will be held November 3-5 in Nampa, Idaho:

 

 

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

 

• Central Washington: Making second trip to Ellensburg this season due to reschedule of Saturday's game planned for Bellingham (air quality concerns)…defeated CWU 3-0 on September 22…unbeaten vs. the Wildcats in last 22 games (20-0-2) with a current eight-game winning streak…out-scored CWU 15-0 in the last three meetings dating back to the start of last season…21-5-4 all-time record in games played in Ellensburg (9-game unbeaten streak).
• Northwest Nazarene: Will play NNU Saturday at Harrington Field in a battle of nationally-ranked teams…WWU and NNU played to a scoreless tie September 24 in Nampa…the Vikings lead the all-time series 38-2-2 with an undefeated 21-0-1 record in home games (7-0-0 at Harrington Field).

 

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

 

 

WWU has extended its road trip to five consecutive games with the shift in the schedule moving the home game vs. CWU to Ellensburg on Thursday due to unhealthy air quality conditions due to the wildfire smoke in Northwest Washington. The Vikings are 4-0-0 during the current stretch of road contests, traveling to play Saint Martin's (2-1 win), Simon Fraser (2-0 win), Seattle Pacific (3-0 win) and Montana State Billings (3-0 win). The five-game road trip is the longest by the Vikings during the regular season since also playing five consecutive road games September 2-15, 2004…that stretch of games included road contests at San Francisco State, Sonoma State, Western Oregon, Cal Poly Humboldt and Seattle Pacific.

 

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 so far 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 114-25-17 (.785) at Harrington Field.

 

Junior forward Estera Levinte has been selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for games played October 10-16. Levinte scored three goals in the Vikings 2-0-0 week with one in the 3-0 victory at rival Seattle Pacific and recorded her third career brace in a 3-0 road win at Montana State Billings. Levinte has now scored a goal in three of the last four games to take over the team lead with five goals to rank tied for third in the GNAC. This marks the third career GNAC Player of the Week honor for Levinte, also winning the award during the 2021 spring season and as a freshman in 2019. Levinte's three career GNAC weekly awards are tied for fifth-most in WWU women's soccer history.  With the recent barrage of goals, Levinte is nearing the climbing the career charts with 13 goals and 12 assists (38 points) in 54 career games (23 starts). Levinte is the second WWU women's soccer player to earn a GNAC weekly award this season, joining freshman Claire Potter who earned offensive honors September 12-18.

 

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

 

• The Record – 10-1-3 overall, 9-0-1 GNAC, 4-0-1 Home, 6-1-2 Away.
• Top of the Table – Leads the GNAC with 28 points at 9-0-1 in conference games.
• Undefeated Streak – Current 11-game undefeated streak going 9-0-2.
• Fleury of Goals – WWU has scored 22 goals in the last 10 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 27 goals this season – by 11 different players…junior Estera Levite leads the team with five goals (3 last week), followed by four goals each by senior Tera Ziemer and freshmen Morgan Manalili and Claire Potter.
• The Full 1260 – Freshman Asia Hardin has played all 1260 minutes anchoring the Vikings defensive back line.
• Freshman Goals – Of the Vikings 27 goals this season, 11 have been scored by true freshmen players.
• Diaz Goals – Senior Dayana Diaz is WWU's active career leader with 17 goals scored (in 90 games/48 starts)…tied for 28th-most goals in program history…tied for 7th in career games played in WWU history.
• Levinte's Points – Junior Estera Levinte has tallied 38 career points, with 13 goals and 12 assists…ranks tied for 26th in WWU history with 12 assists.
• Trio of Goalkeepers – WWU has played three goalkeepers in the first 14 games of the season…junior Claire Henninger has made 12 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 290-79-36 (.760) as the Western women's head coach…owns 415 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

 

Here is a look at the current United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll (released 10/18). WWU remained at No. 7 securing its place in the top 10 for the second consecutive week:

 

 

The first edition of the NCAA Division II West Regional rankings debuted this week with the Vikings one of the eight teams listed (first poll is listed alphabetically). 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. WWU is listed No. 1 in the West Region poll conducted by the United Soccer Coaches:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 10-1-3 on the season and 9-0-1 in GNAC play to sit in first place in the conference standings. WWU has a current 11-game unbeaten streak (9-0-2) while recording six 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.

 

The Vikings placed 12 student-athletes on the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. Senior Karina Provo and juniors Claire Henninger and Katie Watt highlight WWU's 12 selections as three-time award winners. Seniors Zola Carbone, Allison Lepp, Gracie Sturdevant, junior Jayden Nguyen and sophomores Chloe Unflat, Ashley Nguyen and Grace Wales were all repeat award winners. Senior All-American Tera Ziemer and sophomore Sophie Bearden Croft received the academic award in their first year eligible.

 

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 remained at No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week, moving up from No. 14 two weeks ago (previously receiving votes). WWU was the preseason No. 10 team in the nation and has appeared in 105 of the last 108 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 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 112 of its last 138 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 112-15-11 (.851) 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 290-79-36 (.760) 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 415 career NCAA head coaching victories. He is assisted by former Viking standouts Claire Morgan and Jamie Arthurs.