BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 3-0 shutout victory over Simon Fraser University Thursday evening at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings improved to 2-1-2 on the season and got off to a 1-0-0 start in GNAC play with the help of goals from three true freshman players. 

 

Freshmen Claire Potter (24'), Emily Rice (39') and Morgan Manalili (47') all found the back of the net for the Vikings to lead WWU to its 21st consecutive victory over Simon Fraser.

 

"It was fitting that on move-in weekend that we received three goals from three different freshmen," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "But we got great contributions from a ton of players on the roster and showed a lot of depth in this win. We took another step forward in the way we defended and got a good result to open conference play."

 

The Vikings opened the scoring early in the 24th minute when freshman forward Claire Potter followed up a shot from Halle Noel for her second goal of the season. Noel took a shot from distance that was corralled by the SFU goalkeeper, but Potter simultaneously got to the ball and finished from close quarters with a left-footed shot into the middle of the goal.

 

WWU made it a 2-0 contest with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. Freshman Morgan Manalili intercepted a ball in Viking territory and made a run to the top of the D, feeding a touch pass to freshman Emily Rice who slotted a left-footed shot from 12-yards out inside the far (left) post for her first collegiate goal.

 

The Vikings wasted little time adding to their total scoring their third goal just over a minute into the second half. Sophie Bearden Croft played a cross into the box where Ellie Busik one-touched a volley to Manalili, who got behind the SFU defense. Manalili controlled the ball off her chest and fired a low right-footed shot into the back of the net for her second goal of the season.

 

Junior goalkeeper Claire Henninger made four saves while recording her second career shutout.

 

SFU dropped to 1-2-2 overall and 0-1-0 in GNAC play. Goalkeeper Sarah Loewen made eight saves while facing 21 shots in the contest.

 

The Vikings controlled the tempo of the game with 54-percent possession and out-shot the Red Leafs 21-9 (11-4 on target). 

 

WWU continues the opening weekend of GNAC play traveling to play at No. 19 Western Oregon (4-0-1, 1-0-0 GNAC) on Saturday in Monmouth. Fans can watch the game live on YouTube with a direct link available at wwuvikings.com/WS_Watch.

W⚽️ | A look at the three goals scored by Viks in their 3-0 win over Simon Fraser. The goals were scored by Claire Potter (asst. Halle Noel), Emily Rice ( asst. Morgan Manalili) and Morgan Manalili (asst. Ellie Busik and Sophie Bearden Croft)

🎥 | Sol Sanchez#GoViks pic.twitter.com/oOrc2bLm9o
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) September 16, 2022

Western Washington 3, Simon Fraser 0

Date: September 15, 2022

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 283

 

Goals by period              1  2    Tot

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

Simon Fraser...............  0  0  -  0

Western Washington.........  2  1  -  3

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      23:03     WWU     Potter (Noel)

2.      38:51     WWU     Rice (Manalili)

3.      46:25     WWU     Manalili (Bearden Croft, Busik)

 

Shots: WWU 21, SFU 9

Shots on Goal: WWU 11, SFU 4

Saves: WWU 4 (Henninger – 4), SFU 8 (Loewen – 8)

Corners: SFU 4, WWU 3

Fouls: WWU 11, SFU 11

Offsides: WWU 1, SFU 1

Kits: WWU (White), SFU (Red)

Records: WWU (2-1-2), SFU (1-2-2)

 

WWU improved to 17-4-0 all-time in 21 Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers since the league debuted in 2001. The Vikings have combined to go 183-49-21 all-time in GNAC contests.

 

WWU improved to 33-17-3 all-time vs. SFU and has recorded 21 consecutive wins against the Red Leafs. The Vikings also have a 25-game unbeaten streak (23-0-2) vs. SFU dating back to the 2008 season. WWU has allowed only three goals in the last 24 meetings in the series.

 

The Vikings (2-1-2) head back to the road to face No. 19 Western Oregon University (4-0-1, 1-0-0 GNAC) on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 2 pm in Monmouth. The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_WSOC.

 

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 72-4-5 (.920) playing in front of the home crowd. 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).

 

Here is a look at the updated records of the eight GNAC programs following the first day of conference play:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 2-1-2 on the season and 1-0-0 in GNAC play:

 

 

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 single-season record for ties is five set in 1981, and most recently four in 2009, 2010 and 2014.

 

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 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 125-17-11 (.853) record. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.