BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team has been picked to finish second in the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
WWU and rival Seattle Pacific University split the eight first-place votes from the GNAC's head coaches, with the Falcons edging the Vikings 60-59 in the final point total. WWU and SPU battled for the West Regional title last season in Dallas, Texas, a 2-1 Falcons victory. Western has won seven of the last nine GNAC regular-season titles and has advanced to the GNAC Tournament championship game in all nine years of the event.
Led by 20th-year head coach Travis Connell, the Vikings are coming off a 15-5-3 overall campaign in 2021 with a 10-3-1 mark in GNAC play. WWU also enters the season with the No. 10 national preseason ranking by United Soccer Coaches.
Following SPU and WWU in the top two spots, Northwest Nazarene is picked to finish third (43 pts.), with Western Oregon in fourth (36 pts.), Simon Fraser fifth (34 pts.), Montana State Billings sixth (25 pts.), Central Washington seventh (19 pts.) and Saint Martin's eighth (12 pts.). NNU will host the 2022 GNAC Championships November 3-5 in Nampa, Idaho.
The Vikings conclude their three-match preseason exhibition schedule Sunday hosting PLU at 2 pm at Harrington Field, and officially open the 2022 season on Thursday, August 25 at home against the University of Puget Sound (4 pm). The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_WSOC.
2022 GNAC WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Here is a look at the complete Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll for the 2022 season:
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2022 GNAC PRESEASON WOMEN'S SOCCER COACHES POLL
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Rank
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School (1st Place Votes)
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2021 Record (GNAC)
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Points
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1.
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Seattle Pacific (4)
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19-2-1, 12-1-1 (1st)
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60
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2.
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Western Washington (4)
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15-5-3, 10-3-1 (2nd)
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59
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3.
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Northwest Nazarene
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10-5-3, 8-4-2 (3rd)
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43
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4.
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Western Oregon
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5-10-3, 4-7-3 (5th)
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36
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5.
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Simon Fraser
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5-11-2, 6-7-1 (4th)
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34
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6.
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Montana St. Billings
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7-9-3, 4-8-2 (6th)
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25
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7.
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Central Washington
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5-13-0, 4-10-0 (7th)
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19
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8.
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Saint Martin's
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4-14-0, 3-11-0 (8th)
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12
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Votes awarded on 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
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WWU WOMEN'S SOCCER QUICK FACTS
Head Coach: Travis Connell (20th season, 280-78-33/.758)
Assistant Coaches: Claire Morgan, Jamie Arthurs
2021 Overall Record: 15-5-3 2021 GNAC Record (Finish): 10-3-1 (2nd)
2021 Final Ranking: No. 10 2021 Postseason: NCAA II West Regional Final (Sweet 16)
Letterwinners Returning: 16 Starters Returning/Lost: 7/6
Returning Starters: Tera Ziemer (Sr., MF, Second Team All-American in 2021, GNAC Newcomer of the Year, 6 G, 6 A in 2021) … Dayana Diaz (Sr., F, 22 G/19 GS in 2021, 15 career goals) … Katie Watt (Jr., D, Honorable Mention All-GNAC in 2021, 21 G/20 GS in 2021) … Ashley Nguyen (So., MF, 19 G, 11 GS in 2021 with 4 A) … Halle Noel (So., D, 22 G/17 GS with 1 G in 2021) … Jayden Nguyen (Jr., D, 15 G/10 GS in 2021) … Karina Provo (Sr., D, 22 G/14 GS with 2 A in 2021).
Key Returners: Estera Levinte (Jr., F, Limited to 7 G/4 GS in 2021 due to injury, 8 G/10 A in 40 career games) … Claire Henninger (Gr., GK, Projected starting goalkeeper) … Ellie Busik (Jr., F, 2 G/1 A in 15 G in 2021) … Payton Neal (Jr., MF, 17 G/5 GS in 2021) … Caylie Etherington (Sr., D) … Sophie Bearden Croft (So., F, 2 G in 22 G/2 GS in 2021) … Allison Lepp (So., MF, 12 G/1 GS with 1 G in 2021) … Zola Carbone (So., F) … Chloe Unflat (So., D) … Kaylin Gaiser (So., D).
Key Losses: Darby Doyle (MF, First Team All-GNAC in 2021) … Natalie Dierickx (GK, First Team All-GNAC in 2021) … Grace Eversaul (MF, All-GNAC during 90-game career) … Makenzie Burks (D, 2021 First Team All-GNAC) … Jenna Killman (F, 2021 First Team All-GNAC, 13 G in 2021 … Sophie Butterfield (D/F, 59 career games).
Key Newcomers: Morgan Manalili (Fr., MF, Shoreline, WA) … Claire Potter (Fr., F, Pasco, WA) … Quinn Kassing (Fr., MF, Phoenix, AZ) … Kascia Muscutt (Jr., D, Leavenworth, WA) … Abby Succi (Fr., D, San Clemente, CA).
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 19th season leading the program in 2021, and has led the Vikings to 11 trips to the NCAA Championships (9 straight) and 17 consecutive winning seasons. He picked up his 400th career victory October 16 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. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.
