BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team is riding a seven-game unbeaten streak, has risen to the top of the GNAC table and is back in the national top 25.

 

After opening the season with a 1-1-2 record in the first four games of the 2022 season, the Vikings have caught fire to go 5-0-1 in the last six games improving to 6-1-3 overall and off to a 5-0-1 start in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. 

 

WWU is coming off a 2-0-0 week with home wins against Montana State Billings (2-0) and Seattle Pacific (1-0) to solidify its spot on top of the conference standings with 16 points.

 

The Vikings begin a string of four consecutive road games this week traveling to play at Saint Martin's in Lacey on Thursday (12:30 pm) and crosses the border Saturday to face Simon Fraser (2 pm). The road trip continues next week with away games at SPU (10/13, 7 pm) and MSUB (10/15, 12 pm MT) before returning home for the final four games of the regular season.

 

In six GNAC contests the Vikings have scored 12 goals to lead the conference in scoring (2.0 goals/game) and rank second with a 0.33 goals against average. In all competitions, WWU is tied with Northwest Nazarene averaging 1.70 goals per game and leads the conference with a 0.600 goals against average (tied for 27th in NCAA II) and with six shutouts.

 

WWU is led by the freshman tandem of Claire Potter and Morgan Manalili, who have each scored three goals. Manalili leads the team and tied for second in the GNAC with eight points also serving up a pair of assists. Junior Ellie Busik, freshman Emily Rice and senior Tera Ziemer each have two goals apiece. Two of Potter's three goals have been game-winners to tie for the conference lead.

 

Junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger (also a graduate student) is second in the GNAC with a 0.667 goals against average and fourth with three shutouts. Freshman defender Asia Hardin has logged every minute of the Vikings 10 games (900 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 defeating Montana State Billings 2-0 and Seattle Pacific University 1-0. The win over the Falcons was highlighted by a game-winning goal from senior Dayana Diaz in the 79th minute off a free kick assist by freshman Morgan Manalili. WWU out-shot SPU 17-14 with a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal.

 

WWU opens a stretch of four consecutive road games with stops in Lacey (Saint Martin's), Burnaby, B.C. (Simon Fraser) this week and Seattle (SPU) and Billings, Montana (MSU Billings) next week. With only eight regular-season contests remaining, this four-game stretch will conclude the road schedule with four consecutive home games at Harrington Field concluding the regular season. Western is next back at home October 20 (Thursday) hosting Northwest Nazarene at 7 pm at Harrington Field.

 

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

 

• Saint Martin's: WWU leads the all-time series 24-2-1 with a current 19-game winning streak…recorded a shutout in each of the last seven games out-scoring the Saints 23-0…last three victories have been by 1-0 scores…11-2-0 all-time in games played in Lacey…two teams meet again October 29 in the regular-season finale at Harrington Field.
• Simon Fraser: Defeated SFU 3-0 in the GNAC opener for both schools Sept. 15 at Harrington Field…33-17-3 all-time vs. the Red Leafs with a current 21-game winning streak…current 25-game unbeaten streak (23-0-2) dating back to 2008…Vikings have allowed only three goals in the last 24 meetings in the series…current 10-game winning streak on Burnaby Mountain.

 

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

 

 

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

 

• The Record – 6-1-3 overall, 5-0-1 GNAC, 4-0-1 Home, 2-1-2 Away.
• Top of the Table – Leads the GNAC with 16 points at 5-0-1 in conference games.
• Undefeated Streak – Current seven-game undefeated streak going 5-0-2.
• Fleury of Goals – WWU has scored 12 goals in the last six 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 17 goals this season – by nine different players…freshmen Claire Potter and Morgan Manalili lead the team with three goals each.
• The Full 90 – Freshman Asia Hardin has played all 900 minutes anchoring the Vikings defensive back line.
• Freshman Goals – Of the Vikings 17 goals this season, eight have been scored by true freshmen players.
• Diaz Goals – Senior Dayana Diaz is WWU's active career leader with 17 goals scored (in 86 games/44 starts)…tied for 28th-most goals in program history…tied for 12th in career games played in WWU history.
• Trio of Goalkeepers – WWU has played three goalkeepers in the first eight games of the season…junior Claire Henninger has made eight 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 286-79-36 (.758) as the Western women's head coach…owns 411 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 four programs with both its women's and men's soccer teams ranked in the NCAA Division II national top 25. The Viking women moved back into the national rankings this week at No. 14 and the WWU men are listed No. 20. WWU joins Adelphi (M: 17, W: 23), Catawba (M: 25, W: 8) and Mercy College (M: 24, W: 15) as the four programs with both soccer teams ranked nationally.

 

Here is a look at the current United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll (released 10/4). WWU moved back into the national top 25 at No. 14 after being ranked No. 10 in the preseason and receiving votes last week:

 

 

WWU is listed No. 2 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:

 

 

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

 

 

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 113-24-17 (.789) at Harrington Field.

 

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 to sit in first place in the conference standings. WWU has a current seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2):

 

 

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 returned to the national top 25 ranked No. 14 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll. WWU was the preseason No. 10 team in the nation and was receiving votes until re-appearing in the poll this week. Had a string of appearing in 101 consecutive polls (including receiving votes) dating back to the sixth week of the 2012 season prior to the first regular-season poll in 2022. WWU has advanced to play in the NCAA postseason in each of the last nine seasons (since 2012). WWU is coming off a 15-5-3 campaign in 2021, finishing second in the GNAC with a 10-3-1 record, and played in its sixth consecutive West Regional title game.

W⚽️ | Making a big jump from receiving votes to #️⃣1️⃣4️⃣, @WWU_WSoccer crashes the @UnitedCoaches national NCAA II coaches poll this week! GO VIKS!🤘 pic.twitter.com/ekvmhebdOX
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) October 4, 2022

Freshman forward Claire Potter was selected as the GNAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for games played September 12-18. Potter scored both game-winning goals in the Vikings 2-0-0 start to the GNAC season, tallying the opening goal in a 3-0 victory at home over Simon Fraser and the final goal in a 3-2 road triumph at Western Oregon. Potter's game-winner at WOU came in the 77th minute with a majestic strike from outside the 18-yard box. The freshman forward leads the Vikings and tied for second in the GNAC with three goals in her first six collegiate games. Potter is the first WWU true freshman to earn a GNAC Player of the Week honor since Estera Levinte in October 2019.

 

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. 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 108 of its last 134 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 108-15-11 (.847) 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 286-79-36 (.758) 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 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.