BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team returns home to Harrington Field with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches this week.

 

After playing three consecutive road GNAC games, WWU is back in Bellingham hosting Montana State Billings on Thursday (7 pm) and rival Seattle Pacific on Saturday (4 pm.

 

WWU is 4-1-3 overall and off to an undefeated 3-0-1 start to conference play. The Vikings are tied for first place in the GNAC table with Northwest Nazarene.

 

In four GNAC games, the Vikings have scored nine goals and recorded three shutouts. WWU leads the GNAC and ranks in the top 50 in the nation with a .750 goals against average.

 

The Vikings are undefeated at Harrington Field this season with a 3-0-1 record and own an all-time record of 72-4-5 (.920) playing at the on-campus facility since it opened in 2014.

 

Following the two-game homestand vs. MSUB and SPU, the Vikings are back on the road with four consecutive road games at Saint Martin's (Oct. 6), Simon Fraser (Oct. 8), Seattle Pacific (Oct. 13) and Montana State Billings (Oct. 15). WWU completes the 14-game GNAC slate with four consecutive home games.

 

Freshman forward Claire Potter and Morgan Manalili lead the team with three goals each, and junior forward Ellie Busik has a pair of goals. Seven of the Vikings 14 goals have been scored by freshman players. Senior midfielder Tera Ziemer is coming off a one-goal, one-assist game in the 3-0 victory last Thursday at Central Washington.

 

The complete 2022 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/22_WSOC.

 

 

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 series history between the Vikings and upcoming opponents:

 

• MSU Billings: WWU leads the all-time series vs. MSUB 25-3-2 with a current 17-game winning streak and 18-game unbeaten streak…17-0-1 since last loss against the Yellowjackets in 2011…12-1-2 all-time vs. MSUB in home games including 6-0-0 in games played at Harrington Field…WWU has outscored MSUB 15-0 in the last three meetings.
• Seattle Pacific: WWU is 21-23-7 all-time vs. SPU…Vikings dropped all four games vs. the Falcons last season, including the GNAC Championship Final and the West Regional Final…WWU had a 21-game unbeaten streak vs. SPU from 2013-21, but SPU has a current six-game unbeaten run vs. WWU (5-0-1).

 

One of the great rivalries in college soccer, WWU (2016) and Seattle Pacific (2008) each have claimed an NCAA Division II national championship. WWU has advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last nine seasons, while SPU has appeared in 16 of the last 18 seasons. SPU (9) and WWU (8) have combined to capture 17 of the 20 GNAC regular-season titles.

 

WWU head coach Travis Connell was a four-year letterman for the SPU men's soccer team from 1991-95, helping lead the Falcons to 1993 national championship.

 

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 this week's home games:

 

• The Record – 4-1-3 overall, 3-0-1 GNAC, 2-0-1 Home, 2-1-2 Away.
• Fleury of Goals – WWU has scored nine goals in the last four games, after scoring five in the first four games.
• Tie Games – Vikings have three ties, two off the school single-season record of five.
• Balanced Scoring – WWU has scored 14 goals this season – by nine different players…freshmen Claire Potter and Morgan Manalili lead the team with three goals each.
• Freshman Goals – Of the Vikings 14 goals this season, seven have been scored by true freshmen players.
• Diaz Goals – Senior Dayana Diaz is WWU's active career leader with 16 goals scored (in 85 games)…with one more goal will tie for 28th-most in program history.
• Trio of Goalkeepers – WWU has played three goalkeepers in the first eight games of the season…junior Claire Henninger has made six starts and junior Abigail Trengove has made pair of starts, with sophomore Grace Wales appearing in one game in reserve duty.
• Harrington Success – Owns all-time 72-4-5 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.920).
• GNAC Champions – Won both the GNAC regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2019, the 8th regular-season title and 5th tournament title in program history…WWU placed 2nd in the 2021 GNAC standings.
• 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), and owns an all-time 284-79-36 (.757) as the Western women's head coach…owns 409 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer.
• 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.

 

All WWU home games will stream live online via Vikings TV, with the direct links available at WWUVikings.com/Live, with any updates published to that website. All WWU home games at Harrington Field will feature an HD webcast on WWU's YouTube channel. For easy access, each WWU Women's Soccer game will feature a URL redirect that will send you right to the current game, so bookmark the following links:

 

• Webcast – wwuvikings.com/WS_Watch
• Live Stats – wwuvikings.com/WS_Stats

 

Here is a look at the updated records of the eight GNAC programs following entering the third week of conference play:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2022 season schedule and results. WWU is 4-1-3 on the season and 3-0-1 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 (WWU has three this season).

WWU held the No. 10 national ranking in the NCAA Division II United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, extending a streak of appearing in the last 76 national polls. Dropped out of the rankings after going 1-1-1 to open the season, snapping a string of appearing in 101 consecutive polls (including receiving votes) dating back to the sixth week of the 2012 season. Currently receiving votes in the latest national poll (No. 29) and listed No. 4 in the West Region Poll. WWU has advanced to play in the NCAA postseason in each of the last nine seasons (since 2012). WWU is coming off a 15-5-3 campaign in 2021, finishing second in the GNAC with a 10-3-1 record, and played in its sixth consecutive West Regional title game.

 

Freshman forward Claire Potter was selected as the GNAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for games played September 12-18. Potter scored both game-winning goals in the Vikings 2-0-0 start to the GNAC season, tallying the opening goal in a 3-0 victory at home over Simon Fraser and the final goal in a 3-2 road triumph at Western Oregon. Potter's game-winner at WOU came in the 77th minute with a majestic strike from outside the 18-yard box. The freshman forward leads the Vikings and tied for second in the GNAC with three goals in her first six collegiate games. Potter is the first WWU true freshman to earn a GNAC Player of the Week honor since Estera Levinte in October 2019.

 

The Vikings earned the GNAC Team of the Week Award after opening GNAC play with a 2-0-0 record, scoring a trio of goals in each game. WWU opened conference play with a 3-0 home shutout vs. Simon Fraser and going on the road to defeat No. 19 Western Oregon 3-2. Freshman Claire Potter scored the game-winning goal in each contest, with Payton Neal (2nd career goal), Ashley Nguyen (first career goal), Morgan Manalili (2nd goal this season) and Emily Rice (first career goal) also adding goals.

 

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.

 

WWU has won 106 of its last 132 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 106-16-10 (.845) during this stretch. The program has won seven of the last nine GNAC regular-season titles (last in 2019), 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 757 leading the women's program as head coach and 27th overall as a coach at WWU. Owns a 284-79-36 (.757) 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 409 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 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 126-17-11 (.854) record. WWU's 179 wins during the 2010s decade were the 6^th-most out of 1,043 NCAA women's soccer programs.