BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A goal by freshman midfielder Morgan Manalili less than four minutes into the game stood up as Western Washington University blanked Concordia University Irvine, 1-0, in the West Regional Final of the NCAA Division II National Women's Soccer Championships on Thursday afternoon at Harrington Field on the WWU campus.

The Vikings, ranked No. 10 nationally and the West Region No. 2 seed, improved to 16-2-4. It was their fifth straight victory, all shutouts. 

The win advances WWU to the national quarterfinals on Saturday (1 p.m.) where they host South Central Region champion Colorado Mines, a 1-0 winner over Dallas Baptist in the day's first game. Dallas Baptist, the South Central's No.1 seed, finished 17-2-1, and Colorado Mines, the region's No. 2 seed, is 18-1-3.

CUI, the West Region No.5 seed, ended its season 14-5-2. The Golden Eagles had reached the West regional final with a 2-1 overtime road victory last week over previously unbeaten No. 1 seed University of Hawaii Hilo.

Western scored just 3:42 into the game when Manalili intercepted a pass back to the CUI goalkeeper near the top of the box, beat her to the right side and deposited the ball into an open net.

The goal was the team-leading ninth of the season for Manalili.

In the national quarterfinal WWU's Morgan Manalili will face her identical twin sister, Kaitlyn, a midfielder for Colorado Mines.

The regional title is the fifth for Western, the others coming in 2013, 2015, 2016 (went on to win national title) and 2019. The Vikings have reached the regional final for the last seven seasons and ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

The national quarterfinal winner earns a trip to the Final Four in Seattle December 1-3 at Interbay Stadium.

 

The Vikings advance to the Elite Eight and national quarterfinal, matching up against Colorado School of Mines Saturday with kickoff at 1 pm at Harrington Field. This marks WWU's fifth trip to the national quarterfinals, sporting a perfect 4-0 record heading into Saturday's game vs. the Orediggers. The winner of Saturday's game advances to the NCAA National Championships (Final Four) in Seattle, Washington as part of the Fall Sports Festival.

 

2022 NCAA Championships West Regional Final

Western Washington 1, Concordia 0

Date: November 17, 2022

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 275           Weather: 47-degrees (Clear & Sunny)

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

#5 Concordia...............  0  0  -  0

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

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.       3:42     WWU     Manalili

 

Shots: WWU 12, CUI 6

Shots on Goal: WWU 5, CUI 1

Saves: WWU 1 (Henninger – 1), CUI 4 (Urquiza – 4)

Corners: WWU 6, CUI 1

Fouls: WWU 7, CUI 7

Offsides: WWU 5, CUI 2

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

Records: WWU (16-2-4), CUI (14-5-2)

West Region Seeds: WWU (#2), CUI (#5)

National Ranking: WWU (#10), CUI (RV)

 

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 78-5-5 (.915) playing in front of the home crowd (8-1-1 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 12-2-0 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 (2-0-0), 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 119-26-17 (.787) 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 25-9-1 record in NCAA Championships play (5-1 in 2019, 1-1 in 2021, 2-0 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.

 

WWU is 25-9-1 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 (2-0):

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0

Defeated Concordia Irvine, 1-0 – West Region Final 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results following Saturday's NCAA West Regional Championship game victory:

 

 

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 139-18-13 (.856) record.