BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The calendar has flipped to November and that means its postseason time for the Western Washington University women's soccer team.

 

The Vikings are the No. 1 seed for the GNAC Championships and ranked No. 3 in the West Region, poised for a 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. WWU enters the postseason ranked No. 10 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches.

 

Before waiting for Monday's NCAA Selection Show (4 pm PT), the Vikings have some business to take care of in Nampa, Idaho. WWU opens play in the four-team GNAC Tournament Thursday taking on No. 4 seed Simon Fraser University at 4 pm MT/3 pm PT. No. 2 and tournament host Northwest Nazarene faces No. 3 seed and defending champion Seattle Pacific in the second semifinal at 7 pm MT/6 pm PT at NNU Soccer Field.

 

WWU earned the No. 1 seed by winning its ninth GNAC regular-season title, which includes eight in a span of the last 10 seasons. The Vikings head into the postseason with a 12-2-4 overall record and finished at the top of the GNAC table with a 11-1-2 mark (35 points).

 

The Vikings are led by eight players that earned All-GNAC honors for the 2022 season, including first-team selections Tera Ziemer, Estera Levinte, Karina Provo and Morgan Manalili. In his 20th season guiding the Vikings, Travis Connell earned his seventh GNAC Coach of the Year honor.

 

WWU features a well-rounded team that is tied for the conference lead averaging 1.83 goals per game and has the top defense with a .556 goals against average and 11 shutouts. Levinte and Manalili lead the team and are tied for fourth in the GNAC with six goals each. Junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger paces the conference with a 0.59 goals against average and is second with seven shutouts.

 

Western has qualified for the GNAC Championships in all 10 years the event has been held since debuting in 2012 (no tournament in 2020). WWU has advanced to the title game every year and are five-time champions of the event, winning in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. The Vikings are 14-2-2 all-time in the GNAC Championships. WWU and SPU are the only teams to qualify for every GNAC Tournament and have combined for eight of the nine titles (WWU 5, SPU 3, Concordia 1).

 

 

WWU heads into the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships, facing No. 4 seed Simon Fraser in the first semifinal game on Thursday, November 3 at 4 pm MT/3 pm PT at the NNU Soccer Field in Nampa, Idaho. No. 2 Northwest Nazarene (tournament host) and No. 3 Seattle Pacific will match-up in the evening semifinal with kickoff at 7 pm MT/6 pm PT. The final will be held at 12 pm MT/11 am PT on Saturday, with the winner of the GNAC Championships receiving conference's automatic berth to the NCAA West Regional. All GNAC Championship games will stream live on YouTube via GNAC.tv and tickets are available at GNACTickets.com.

 

The Vikings clinched their ninth regular-season title, adding to conference regular-season championships in 2008, 2012-16 and 2018-19. WWU has finished first or second in the final GNAC table in each of the last 10 seasons dating back to 2012.

The Vikings are the No. 1 seed 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. WWU and SPU are the only teams to qualify for every GNAC Tournament and have combined for eight of the nine titles (WWU 5, SPU 3, Concordia 1).

 

 

The tournament will feature a live webcast on YouTube on GNAC.tv (search gnacsports on YouTube). Leonard Barry will serve as the play-by-play voice for the 2022 GNAC Championships.

 

Led by four first-team selections, the Freshman of the Year and the Coach of the Year, the Vikings were well-represented on the 2022 GNAC All-Conference Team. Western's four first-team selections include junior forward Estera Levinte, senior midfielder Tera Ziemer, freshman midfielder Morgan Manalili and senior midfielder/defender Karina Provo. Manalili was selected as the GNAC Freshman of the Year and head coach Travis Connell earned his seventh GNAC Coach of the Year award. Junior defender Katie Watt and junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger were voted Second Team All-GNAC and senior midfielder Dayana Diaz and freshman defender Asia Hardin were honorable mention award winners.

 

Here is a look at the updated records of the eight GNAC programs play on Thursday. WWU holds a two-point lead in the standings heading into the final day of conference play on Saturday. WWU, NNU and Seattle Pacific have all 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 three teams in the GNAC Championships Field:

• Simon Fraser: Swept the season series vs. SFU winning 3-0 at home and 2-0 on the road…WWU leads the all-time series vs. the Red Leafs 34-17-3 with a current 22-game winning streak (since 2011) and 26-game unbeaten streak (24-0-2)…2-0-0 vs. SFU in GNAC Championships play.
• Northwest Nazarene: WWU went 1-0-1 vs. NNU during the 2022 regular season, winning 1-0 at Harrington Field and drawing 0-0 in Nampa…Vikings lead the all-time series 39-2-2, which includes a 3-1 win in the GNAC semifinals last season in Bellingham...WWU is 17-2-1 all-time vs. NNU in games played in Nampa.
• Seattle Pacific: WWU swept the season series vs. SPU winning 1-0 at home and 3-0 in Seattle…pair of wins snapped a five-game losing streak to SPU, including going 0-4-0 last season with losses in the GNAC Championship Final and the West Regional Final…WWU had a 21-game unbeaten streak vs. the Falcons from 2013-21 (17-0-4)…all-time series is even at 23-23-7.

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 the GNAC Championships:

 

·         The Record – 12-3-4 overall with 6-1-1 record in home games and 6-1-3 away from Bellingham.

·         Top of the Table – Finished first in the GNAC with 35 points at 11-1-2 in conference games.

·         League Title – Won 9th GNAC regular-season title, which includes eight in last 10 seasons…going for sixth GNAC Championships title this weekend.

·         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 33 goals this season – by 12 different players…junior Estera Levite and freshman Morgan Manalili lead the team with six goals each, followed by four goals by senior Tera Ziemer and freshman and Claire Potter.

·         Quick Starters – 21 of 33 goals (63.6%) have been scored in the first half.

·         The Full 1620 – Freshman Asia Hardin has played all 1620 minutes anchoring the Vikings defensive back line.

·         Freshman Goals – Of the Vikings 33 goals this season, 13 have been scored by true freshmen players.

·         Diaz Goals – Senior Dayana Diaz is WWU's active career leader with 18 goals scored (in 94 games/52 starts)…tied for 25th-most goals in program history…2nd in career games played in WWU history.

·         Levinte's Points – Junior Estera Levinte has tallied 42 career points, with 14 goals and 14 assists…ranks tied for 18th in WWU history with 14 assists.

·         Henninger's Clean Sheets – Claire Henninger is 2nd in the GNAC with seven shutouts and leads the conference with a 0.59 goals against average.

·         Harrington Success – Owns all-time 76-5-5 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.913).

·         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 292-80-37 (.759) as the Western women's head coach…owns 417 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer…selected as 2022 GNAC Coach of the Year (his 7th award).

·         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.

 

The third and final edition of the NCAA Division II West Regional rankings debuted this week with the Vikings listed No. 3 behind Hawai'i Hilo and 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:

 

The Vikings head into the postseason holding the No. 10 national ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, slipping from the No. 5 ranking last week. WWU was the preseason No. 10 team in the nation and has appeared in 107 of the last 110 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).

 

Senior Dayana Diaz ranks second in program history in career games played with 94, making 52 starts since her freshman season in 2018. Diaz is tied for 25th in program history with 18 goals and tied for 8th with nine game-winning goals. Here is a look at the WWU all-time top-10 for career games played:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results heading into the GNAC Championships. WWU is the No. 1 seed after winning the regular season title and features an overall 12-2-4 record:

 

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 76-5-5 (.913) playing in front of the home crowd (6-1-1 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 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 117-26-17 (.784) at Harrington Field.

 

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.

WWU played its last 2022 regular-season game at Harrington Field last Saturday, defeating Saint Martin's 3-0. 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 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 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.

 

The Vikings recorded a 13-game unbeaten streak from September 6-October 22, going 10-0-3 during the stretch of games. The 13-game stretch without a loss entered the record books as tied for 8th-longest in program history:

 

 

WWU has won 114 of its last 142 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 114-16-12 (.845) during this stretch. The program has won eight of the last 10 GNAC regular-season titles (including 2022), 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 292-80-37 (.759) 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 417 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 eight of the last 10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles (2022 Champions) 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 135-18-13 (.852) record.