ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The No. 7 nationally-ranked Western Washington University women's soccer team went on the road under unusual circumstances and battled in-state rival Central Washington University to a 1-1 tie Thursday afternoon at CWU Soccer Field.

 

A game that was originally scheduled for Saturday in Bellingham was moved across the state due to unhealthy air quality concerns in Northwest Washington. After playing five consecutive road games (4-0-1 record) the Vikings return home for their final three games of the regular season beginning Saturday hosting No. 25 Northwest Nazarene University.

 

WWU picked up one point in the GNAC standings at 10-1-4 overall and 9-0-2 in conference play. The Vikings extended their undefeated streak to 12 consecutive games going 9-0-3 dating back to a 1-1 tie vs. nationally-ranked Point Loma Nazarene on September 6.

 

CWU forged ahead first with a goal by Emily Darcy in the 31st minute, but the Vikings answered right back 36-seconds later with the equalizer by freshman Morgan Manalili. Junior forward Estera Levinte beat her defender near the endline and put a cross into the box that was touched home with a left-footed shot in front of the goal mouth by Manalili for her fifth goal of the season.

 

WWU held a dominating 22-8 advantage in shots, 9-0 in corner kicks and 7-3 in shots on goal. The Vikings unleashed 11 shots in the second half, including three in a sequence in the 88th minute, but couldn't find the back of the net.

 

"Sometimes that is the way soccer goes. I thought we did a lot of good things today and created a lot of chances…but you also have to give a lot of credit to CWU. They played a great game today," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "Our players played super hard, but we just couldn't get that second goal today. We embrace all the challenges we can to help us for our ultimate goals in the playoffs. We were well prepared and performed well, the ball just didn't go into the back of the net for us. It's business as usual as we prepare for a big match Saturday."

 

WWU (10-1-4, 9-0-2 GNAC) is finally back home this Saturday hosting No. 25 Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at 7 pm at Harrington Field. The complete 2022 season schedule with links to webcast info, live stats, updated statistics and team information is available at wwuvikings.com/22_WSOC.

 

#7 Western Washington 1, Central Washington 1

Date: October 20, 2022

Field: CWU Soccer Field   Site: Ellensburg, WA

Attendance: 119

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

#7 Western Washington......  1  0  -  1

Central Washington.........  1  0  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      30:06     CWU     Darcy

2.      30:42     WWU     Manalili (Levinte)

 

Shots: WWU 22, CWU 8

Shots on Goal: WWU 7, CWU 3

Saves: WWU 2 (Henninger – 2), CWU 5 (Jaggard - 5)

Corners: WWU 9, CWU 0

Fouls: CWU 12, WWU 8

Offsides: WWU 6, CWU 0

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), CWU (White)

Records: WWU (10-1-4, 9-0-2), CWU (3-8-4, 2-6-3)

 

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 went 4-0-1 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), Montana State Billings (3-0 win) and Central Washington (1-1 Tie). 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.

 

WWU made its second trip to Ellensburg this season, finishing 1-0-1 after today's 1-1 tie and a 3-0 victory on September 22 on the turf at Tomlinson Stadium. The Vikings are now unbeaten vs. the Wildcats in the last 23 games (20-0-3), but had an eight-game winning streak snapped Thursday. WWU leads the all-time series 48-10-9 with a 21-5-5 record in games played in Ellensburg.

 

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 Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 10-1-4 on the season and 9-0-2 in GNAC play to sit in first place in the conference standings. WWU has a current 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3):

 

 

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 four 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 133-17-12 (.857) record. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.