BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the seventh consecutive season, the Western Washington University women's soccer team will play for the West Regional Championship.

 

The No. 2 seed Vikings opened its quest to play for the national championship right down the road in Seattle with a 1-0 shutout victory over No. 3 Point Loma on Saturday at Harrington Field, with junior forward Estera Levinte scoring the game-winning goal less than four minutes after the halftime break in the 49th minute.

 

With No. 4 seed Concordia earning a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 1 Hawai'i Hilo, the Vikings will serve as the host for the West and South Central Regional Championship games (Sweet 16) and the national quarterfinal (Elite 8) at Harrington Field.

 

The tightly-contested battle between the Vikings and Sea Lions featured both teams taking 11 shots and six shots on goal. 

 

The defining moment came less than five minutes into the second half at the 48:35 mark. Junior defender Jayden Nguyen juked a PLNU defender and sent a looping cross into the box. Freshman forward Claire Potter flicked a header towards the far post, where Levinte got her left foot to the ball poking it home for her seventh goal of the season. 

 

WWU's defense held off PLNU down the stretch to record the 14th shutout of the season. Junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger made four saves for her 10th clean sheet of the season, and the Vikings defense also had a pair of team saves. None were more important than the block by Nguyen on a shot by Lauren O'Malley in the 80th minute that prevented the equalizing goal.

 

The Vikings improved to 15-2-4 on the season and extended its string of playing for the West Regional title for the seventh consecutive season (2015-champions, 2016-champions, 2017, 2018, 2019-champions, 2021, 2022) and ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

 

Point Loma concluded its season with a 13-3-4 record while being knocked out of the postseason by the Vikings for the third consecutive season. The goal conceded early in the second half broke a string of 400 consecutive scoreless minutes for the Sea Lion defense.

 

The West Regional and South Central Regional Finals will likely be played on Thursday (times TBD) with the national quarterfinal on Saturday (time TBD) at Harrington Field. Updated information will be posted on wwuvikings.com when it becomes available.

2022 NCAA Championships West Regional – Second Round

Western Washington 1, Point Loma 0

Date: November 12, 2022

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 575           Weather: 45-degrees (Clear & Sunny)

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

#3 Point Loma..............  0  0  -  0

#2 Western Washington......  0  1  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      48:35     WWU     Levinte (J. Nguyen, Potter)

 

Shots: WWU 11, PLNU 11

Shots on Goal: WWU 6, PLNU 6

Saves: WWU 6 (Henninger – 4, Team - 2), PLNU 5 (Pinnell - 5)

Corners: PLNU 5, WWU 4

Fouls: WWU 10, PLNU 9

Offsides: PLNU 3, WWU 0

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), PLNU (Green)

Records: WWU (15-2-4), PLNU (13-3-4)

West Region Seeds: WWU (#2), PLNU (#3)

National Ranking: WWU (#10), PLNU (#18)

 

WWU remained undefeated against Point Loma at 4-0-2 and 3-0-0 in the postseason. The Vikings and Sea Lions have played in four of the last five seasons, with WWU winning postseason match-ups in 2019 (1-0 in West Regional Final), 2021 (1-0 in Second Round) and Saturday's 1-0 victory. WWU and PLNU played to a 1-1 tie earlier this season in San Diego (9/6).

 

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 77-5-5 (.914) playing in front of the home crowd (7-1-1 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 11-2-0 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), 2021 (1-0-0) and 2022 (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 118-26-17 (.786) at Harrington Field.

The Vikings extended their streak of consecutive seasons appearing in the NCAA Division II Championships to 10 consecutive seasons. WWU is appearing in its 12th overall 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 24-9-1 record in NCAA Championships play (5-1 in 2019, 1-1 in 2021, 1-0 in 2022), winning at least one game in 10 of 12 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.

 

The NCAA Division II Tournament is a single-elimination playoff starting with a 56-team field. Eight regional champions will be determined during third-round games, with the reginal winners paired in quarterfinal games at every site. The winner of the national quarterfinals (fourth round) advance to the championship finals, where the national semifinals and championship game will be played December 1 and 3 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. Grand Valley State is the defending national champion, defeating Saint Rose 3-2 in double overtime last year in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

No. 2 seed WWU will play No. 4 Concordia in the West Regional Final next week at Harrington Field in Bellingham (likely Thursday). CUI defeated No. 1 Hawaii Hilo Saturday 2-1 in overtime to advance to play the Vikings in the West Regional Championship match. Bellingham will also serve as the host for the South Central Regional Final and the National Quarterfinal next week at Harrington Field. The NCAA II Championships Final Four that will be held December 1-3 as part of the Fall Sports Festival in Seattle. The women's and men's soccer championships will be played at Interbay Stadium. The complete bracket for the 56-team NCAA II Women's Soccer Championships is available online at NCAA.com.

 

WWU is 24-9-1 all-time its 12 trips to the NCAA Championships, recording at least one win in 10 of 12 appearances. Here is a game-by-game rundown of the Vikings in the NCAA Championships:

 

2006 (0-1):

Lost to UC San Diego, 4-0

 

2008 (1-1):

Defeated Cal State Dom. Hills, 1-0

Lost to Seattle Pacific, 1-0 (OT) - West Region Final

 

2012 (2-1):

Defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 2-1 (OT)

Defeated Sonoma State, 2-1 (OT)

Lost to UC San Diego, 2-1 (OT) – West Region Final

 

2013 (3-1):

Defeated Seattle Pacific, 2-0

Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 1-0 – West Region Final

Defeated St. Edward's 2-0 - National Quarterfinal

Lost to West Florida, 2-1 (OT) – National Semifinal 

 

2014 (0-1):

Lost to Stanislaus State, 1-0

 

2015 (3-1):

Defeated Seattle Pacific, 1-0

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 1-0 – West Region Final

Defeated Dallas Baptist, 3-1 - National Quarterfinal

Lost to Grand Valley State, 3-2 – National Semifinal

 

2016 (5-0):

Defeated Central Washington, 2-0

Defeated UC San Diego, 2-1 (OT) – West Region Final

Defeated Colorado Mines, 5-1 - National Quarterfinal

Defeated Kutztown, 3-0 - National Semifinal

Defeated Grand Valley State, 3-2 – National Championship Game

 

2017 (1-1):

Defeated Sonoma State, 2-0

Lost to UC San Diego, 2-0 – West Region Final

 

2018 (2-0-1):

Defeated Sonoma State, 1-0

Defeated Concordia, 3-2 (OT)

Tied UC San Diego, 0-0 (2OT) – lost 4-1 on PK – West Region Final

 

2019 (5-1):

Defeated Stanislaus State, 1-0

Defeated Cal State LA, 1-0 (2OT)

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0 – West Region Final

Defeated Dixie State, 3-0 – National Quarterfinal

Defeated Flagler, 2-0 – National Semifinals

Lost to Grand Valley State, 1-0 (2OT) - National Championship Game

 

2021 (1-1):

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0

Lost to Seattle Pacific, 2-1 – West Region Final

 

2022 (1-0):

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results following Saturday's NCAA Second Round victory over Point Loma:

 

 

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 10 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 nine of the last 10 seasons (seven consecutive including 2022). 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 eight of the last 10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles (2022 Champions) and won five of the last seven GNAC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 20th season leading the program in 2022 (27th overall at WWU) and has led the Vikings to 12 trips to the NCAA Championships (10 straight) and 19 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 138-18-13 (.855) record.