BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team heads into the final week of the 2022 regular season looking to claim its ninth Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title.

 

After playing six of the last seven games on the road, the No. 5 nationally-ranked Vikings will close out the regular-season schedule with a pair of 4 pm home games at Harrington Field hosting Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin's on Saturday. WWU's seven-player senior class will be honored in a pregame celebration on Saturday.

 

The Vikings carry a 13-game unbeaten streak (10-0-3) into the final week of the regular season and are on top of the GNAC table with 32 points and an undefeated 10-0-2 conference record. WWU needs one point to secure at least a share of the conference title, which would land the top seed for the GNAC Championships held November 3-5 in Nampa, Idaho.

 

WWU is 11-1-4 overall and ranked No. 2 in the West Region according to the second edition of the NCAA regional rankings (trailing Point Loma). The Vikings hold the top spot on the United Soccer Coaches West Region Poll, in addition to moving into the national top five at No. 5. 

 

Western is coming off a 1-0-1 week, tying Central Washington on the road 1-1 and netting a 1-0 victory over No. 25 Northwest Nazarene on a goal by sixth-year senior Karina Provo in the 74th minute.

 

The Vikings rank second in the conference averaging 1.81 goals per game and have the top defense in the GNAC with a 0.50 goals against average and 10 shutouts. WWU has now recorded double-digits in shutouts in each of the last 12 full seasons dating back to 2010.

 

Individually junior forward Estera Levinte and freshman midfielder Morgan Manalili are tied for the team lead with five goals and tied for fourth in the GNAC with 13 points each. Freshman forward Claire Potter and senior midfielder Tera Ziemer each have four goals.

 

Junior Claire Henninger has started 14 of 16 games in net and leads the GNAC with a 0.533 goals against average (21st in NCAA II) and is second in the conference with six clean sheets. Freshman defender Asia Hardin has started all 16 games and logged every minute of the season (1,440) during her first collegiate season. Senior center back Katie Watt has also been a strong piece of the Vikings defense starting all 16 games.

 

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

 

 

The Vikings can clinch their ninth GNAC regular season title this week, needing one point in the standings to secure at least a share of the top spot in the table. Heading into the last week of the regular season, WWU has 32 points (10-0-2), five better than second-place Northwest Nazarene. Won five consecutive titles from 2012-16 and raised the trophy in back-to-to-back seasons in 2018-19. Has finished first or second in the GNAC regular season in each of the last nine seasons.

 

WWU will play its last 2022 regular-season game at Harrington Field on Saturday, hosting Saint Martin's in a 4 pm game. Prior to kickoff, the Vikings seven-player senior class will be celebrated in a pregame ceremony. The Senior Class of 2022 includes the following players:

 

·         Zola Carbone (Bellingham, WA)

·         Dayana Diaz (Granite Falls, WA)

·         Caylie Etherington (Oak Harbor, WA)

·         Allison Lepp (Minot, ND)

·         Karina Provo (Federal Way, WA)

·         Gracie Sturdevant (Kirkland, WA)

·         Tera Ziemer (Santa Rosa, CA)

 

The Vikings have a current 13-game unbeaten streak, going 10-0-3 dating back to the only loss of the season September 3 at No. 20 Sonoma State. The 13-game stretch without a loss is tied for the 8th-longest in program history:

 

 

The Vikings have officially punched their ticket to the postseason 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 final week of the 2022 regular season. WWU, NNU and SPU have 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:

 

·         Western Oregon: Defeated WOU 3-2 on the road in Monmouth on September 17 when the Wolves were ranked No. 19 in the nation…Vikings have a current 14-game unbeaten streak vs. WOU (12-0-2)…21-1-0 all-time vs. the Wolves in home games, including a 5-0-0 mark at Harrington Field…WWU leads the all-time series 40-6-2 dating back to the first meeting in 1997.

·         Saint Martin's: Defeated SMU 2-1 on the road in Lacey on Oct. 6…current 20-game winning streak vs. the Saints dating back to the 2011 season…WWU leads the all-time series 25-2-1 with an undefeated 13-0-1 mark in home games (7-0 at Harrington Field)…last two home wins over the Saints have been 1-0 victories.

 

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 75-4-5 (.923) playing in front of the home crowd, with an undefeated 5-0-1 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 116-25-17 (.788) at Harrington Field.

 

Karina Provo and Claire Henninger swept the GNAC Player of the Week awards for games played October 17-23. Provo earned the offensive honor with her game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory over No. 25 Northwest Nazarene and Henninger earned the defensive award after recording her sixth shutout of the season making a pair of saves against the Nighthawks. Playing in her 43rd career game, the sixth-year senior Provo scored her first career goal in the 74th minute to lift the Vikings to the 1-0 victory over NNU in a battle of nationally-ranked teams. In two games total during the week, Provo played 120 minutes. Henninger combined to make four saves during WWU's 1-0-1 week to remain undefeated in GNAC play, including two against NNU. None were bigger than her stop in the 67th minute punching a looping shot from Alejandra Jaramillo over the crossbar to keep the game scoreless. In 14 starts this season Henninger leads the GNAC and ranks 21st in NCAA Division II with a 0.533 goals against average. She is also second in the conference with six shutouts.

 

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

 

·         The Record – 11-1-4 overall, 10-0-2 GNAC, 5-0-1 Home, 6-1-3 Away.

·         Top of the Table – Leads the GNAC with 32 points at 10-0-2 in conference games.

·         Clinching Scenario – Needs one more point to clinch at least a share of the GNAC regular-season title…would be the ninth GNAC regular-season title for the Vikings.

·         Undefeated Streak – Current 13-game undefeated streak going 10-0-3 to tie for 8th-best in program history.

·         Fleury of Goals – WWU has scored 24 goals in the last 12 games, after scoring five in the first four games.

·         Tie Games – Vikings have four ties, one off the school single-season record of five.

·         Road Warriors – Played five consecutive road games Oct. 6-20 with a 4-0-1 record…first time to play five consecutive road games since Sept. 2-15, 2004.

·         Balanced Scoring – WWU has scored 29 goals this season – by 12 different players…junior Estera Levite and freshman Morgan Manalili lead the team with five goals each, followed by four goals by senior Tera Ziemer and freshman and Claire Potter.

·         The Full 1440 – Freshman Asia Hardin has played all 1440 minutes anchoring the Vikings defensive back line.

·         Freshman Goals – Of the Vikings 29 goals this season, 12 have been scored by true freshmen players.

·         Diaz Goals – Senior Dayana Diaz is WWU's active career leader with 17 goals scored (in 92 games/50 starts)…tied for 28th-most goals in program history…tied for 3rd in career games played in WWU history.

·         Levinte's Points – Junior Estera Levinte has tallied 39 career points, with 13 goals and 13 assists…ranks tied for 22nd in WWU history with 13 assists.

·         Trio of Goalkeepers – WWU has played three goalkeepers in the first 16 games of the season…junior Claire Henninger has made 14 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 75-4-5 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.923).

·         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 291-79-37 (.760) as the Western women's head coach…owns 416 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 10/25). WWU jumped up two spots to No. 5 and has been in the top 10 each of the last three weeks:

 

 

The second edition of the NCAA Division II West Regional rankings debuted this week with the Vikings listed No. 2 behind Point Loma. 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, with Hawaii Hilo No. 2 and Point Loma No. 3. Here is a look at the NCAA West Regional Rankings (records through Oct. 24):

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 11-1-4 on the season and 10-0-2 in GNAC play to sit in first place in the conference standings. WWU has a current 13-game unbeaten streak (10-0-3):

 

 

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 has four ties this season, one off the single-season record of five set in 1981, and most recently four in 2009, 2010 and 2014.

The Vikings moved up two spots to No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week, moving up from No. 7 the previous two weeks and No. 14 prior to that. WWU was the preseason No. 10 team in the nation and has appeared in 106 of the last 109 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 113 of its last 140 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 113-15-12 (.850) 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 291-79-37 (.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 416 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 134-17-13 (.857) record. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.