BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team completed a nearly perfect October, extending its unbeaten streak to eight consecutive games during the month with a 2-0 victory over Saint Martin's University Saturday at a sun-drenched (and cold) Harrington Field.
 
WWU improved to 10-3-4 overall and 8-1-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with the victory, remaining at the top of the conference table heading into the final week of the regular season next week. WWU recorded a 7-0-1 record during the month of October to punch its ticket to the GNAC Championships.
 
The Vikings also continued its dominance at Harrington Field on the south edge of the WWU campus, improving to 6-0-1 this season on their home field. Since opening the facility in 2014, Western has built a 85-5-6 record for a .917 winning percentage.
 
Leading the way once again was sophomore midfielder Morgan Manalili, who scored her fifth goal in as many games, and junior midfielder Gracen Crosby with a pair of threaded assists.
 
For the third consecutive game Western got on the scoreboard with an opener from Manalili, who scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season in the 18th minute. Manalili was the beneficiary of two well-placed passes on the buildup, with Crosby sending a ball into space for sophomore forward Minji Rauch, who found Manalili on the top of the 18-yard box who finished with her left foot inside the far (right) post from 12-yards out.
 
With 55 seconds remaining in the half the Vikings played add-on with junior Myka Carr scoring her first career goal off a long through ball from Crosby, who tallied her second assist of the half. Carr corralled the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and trickled it home to put the Vikings up 2-0.
 
SMU's lone shot on goal was a dangerous one with just over two minutes left in the first half when Alyssa Twogood had a one-on-one situation the box and fired a shot on frame that Henninger made a kick save on to keep the Vikings ahead 1-0. Western would score the crucial insurance goal 80-seconds later to go up 2-0 at the half.
 
WWU's defense recorded its fourth consecutive shutout with Henninger notching her eighth of the season to maintain the lead in the GNAC. Sophomore defender Asia Hardin played the full 90 for the Vikings.
 
The Vikings held a lopsided 22-13 advantage in shots and an 8-1 edge in shots on goal. Saint Martin's (3-7-6, 1-6-5 GNAC) recorded seven corner kicks to the Vikings two.
  The Vikings (10-3-4, 8-1-3 GNAC) remains at home next week to close out the regular season, hosting rival Seattle Pacific on Thursday with kickoff at 7 pm at Harrington Field and then entertains Montana State Billings on Saturday for Senior Day with a 1 pm start. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.
  WWU has punched its ticket to the postseason securing one of the four spots in the GNAC Championships to be held November 9-11 in Ellensburg at Tomlinson Stadium. The Vikings have now advanced to play in all 11 GNAC Tournaments and are six-time champions of the postseason championships (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022).

W⚽️ | @WWU_WSoccer has officially punched its ticket to the GNAC Championships securing one of the four spots in the postseason tournament that will be held November 9-11 in Ellensburg! pic.twitter.com/g3uMJEVjBu

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) October 28, 2023

  WWU improved to 9-0-0 on the season when scoring first and 7-0-0 when leading at the half…Manalili has scored five of her team-leading six goals in the last five games and recorded the game-winning goal in each of the last three games…Myka Carr became the ninth Viking to score a goal this season…Claire Henninger recorded her 20^th career shutout to tie for 6th-most in program history…WWU has 10 shutouts on the season to lead the GNAC marking the 13th consecutive full season with double-digits in shutouts.
 

Western Washington 2, Saint Martin's 0
Date: October 28, 2023
Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 159

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot
--------------------------------------------
Saint Martin's................  0  0  -  0
Western Washington............  2  0  -  2

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.      17:33     WWU     Manalili (Crosby, Rauch)
2.      44:05     WWU     Carr (Crosby)

Shots: WWU 22, SMU 13
Shots on Goal: WWU 8, SMU 1
Saves: WWU 1 (Henninger – 1), SMU 6 (Burrell - 6)
Corners: SMU 7, WWU 2
Fouls: SMU 9, WWU 6
Offsides: WWU 4, SMU 3
Kits: WWU (Navy Blue), SMU (Red)
Records: WWU (10-3-4, 8-1-3), SMU (3-7-6, 1-6-5)

  WWU improved to 27-2-2 all-time vs. Saint Martin's and extended the unbeaten streak to 23 consecutive games (22-0-1). Western remains undefeated vs. SMU in home games at 15-0-1 and 9-0-0 at Harrington Field.