SEATTLE, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team won its second NCAA Division II National Championship with a 2-1 victory over West Chester University in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,013 mainly WWU fans at Interbay Stadium.

 

The Vikings finished the season with a 19-2-4 record and added a second star to its championship crest also winning the national title in 2016. The Vikings have established themselves as one of the premier soccer programs in the country advancing to 10 consecutive NCAA Division II Championships, seven consecutive West Region championship matches and played in the national title game in three of the last six seasons.

 

"When you talk about doing something big, like winning a national title, what we discovered this year is that you've got to break it down into small things," WWU head coach Travis Connell said. "We really wanted to - not win a title - we wanted to win the next play, and we wanted to win the next half and we wanted to win the next game. And if we stacked all those things on top of each other…we get to win this game."

 

Freshman Claire Potter scored the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute tucking a tough-angled shot from the edge of the right side of the 18-yard box that was perfectly placed into the side netting. Potter raced down the right side of the box after taking a pass from junior defender Kascia Muscutt placing the Vikings 25th shot of the game just over the reach of the West Chester All-American goalkeeper.

 

"My goal in that moment was just to create another chance," Potter said. "I sprinted after it and tried to chip the keeper - whether somebody else was going to get on the other end of it or not - and it ended up in the back of the net." 

WWU out-shot the No. 1 nationally-ranked Golden Rams 25-3, with an 11-2 edge in shots on goal.

 

After controlling possession from the opening kickoff, the Vikings broke through on their eighth shot of the game when senior Tera Ziemer found the back of the net in the 15th minute. Payton Neal took a short free kick laying it off to Katie Watt, who sent a ball into the box from distance. Claire Potter flicked a header into the middle of the box where Ziemer got a boot to the ball near the six-year box eluding the WCU goalkeeper.

 

"We had an incredible blend of experienced returners that laid the foundation, created space and encouraged the new players and the less experienced players to grow into what they could be," Connell added. "Then we had hungry new players that just went after it. I would say confidently that this team improved more over the last four months than any team that I've coached before."

 

The Golden Rams found the equalizer in the 25th minute off a long free kick by Kiley Kergides, following a tough foul called on a slide tackle by Muscutt. Alyson Cutter timed her leap on the free kick, connecting on a looping header from 12-yards out into the upper left quadrant of the goal.

 

West Chester allowed two goals in a game for the first time this season while having its undefeated season come to an end at 23-1-1. Golden Rams First Team All-American Hayley McGee kept the game close making nine saves.

 

The Vikings had four players selected to the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships All-Tournament Team, led by Most Outstanding Player Estera Levinte. Junior defender Katie Watt, senior midfielder Tera Ziemer and junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger were also selected to the all-tournament team.

 

WWU won its second national championship exactly six years after winning its first. The Vikings won the 2016 national title on December 3, 2016 with a 3-2 victory over Grand Valley State University in Kansas City, Missouri. Bellingham native Emily Webster scored the game-winning goal on a long-distance free kick in the 76th minute.

 

The national championship marked the 12th team title in Western Washington University Athletics history, with 11 at the NCAA level (Women's Rowing-8, Men's Basketball-2012, Women's Soccer-2016, 2022) and one at the NAIA level (Softball-1998 NAIA).

2022 NCAA Championships National Championship

Western Washington 2, West Chester 1

Date: December 3, 2022

Field: Interbay Stadium   Site: Seattle, WA

Attendance: 1013          Kickoff Time: 3:15 pm

 

Goals by period             1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington........  1  1  -  2

West Chester..............  1  0  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      14:17     WWU     Ziemer (Potter, Watt)

2.      24:53     WCU     Cutter (Kergides)

3.      82:38     WWU     Potter (Muscutt)

 

Shots: WWU 25, WCU 3

Shots on Goal: WWU 11, WCU 2

Saves: WWU 1 (Henninger – 1), WCU 9 (McGee - 9)

Corners: WWU 6, WCU 2

Fouls: WWU 11, WCU 7

Offsides: WWU 0, WCU 0

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), WCU (Yellow)

Records: WWU (19-2-4), WCU (23-1-1)

National Ranking: WWU (#10), WCU (#1)

National Seeds: WWU (#3), WCU (#1)
 

 

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

 

 

The Vikings have won two of the last six national championships, claiming titles in 2016 and 2022. WWU made its 10th consecutive NCAA Division II Championships appearance in 2022 and 12th overall trip to the NCAA postseason in program history. WWU has played in three national championship games in the last six seasons (2016, 2019, 2022), are 5-0 all-time in national quarterfinal games, 3-2 in national semifinal contests and 2-1 in national championship games. The program owns an all-time 28-9-1 record in NCAA Championships play (5-1 in 2019, 1-1 in 2021, 5-0 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 and again in 2022 with a 2-1 win over West Chester University.

 

WWU is 28-9-1 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 (5-0):

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0

Defeated Concordia Irvine, 1-0 – West Region Final

Defeated Colorado School of Mines, 3-1 – National Quarterfinal

Defeated Columbus State, 2-1 – National Semifinal

Defeated West Chester, 2-1 – National Championship Game

 

Here is a look at the Vikings final 2022 season schedule and results following Saturday's NCAA II National Championship 2-1 victory over West Chester at Interbay Stadium in Seattle:

 

 

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 and a pair of national championships in 2016 and 2022. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in five of the last nine seasons and played for the West Region championship in nine of the last 10 seasons (seven 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 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. Over the last eight seasons (since 2015), the Vikings have combined for a 142-18-13 record.