BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For just the second time this season the Western Washington University women's soccer team will get the chance to play consecutive home games at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings (3-3-3 overall, 1-1-2 GNAC) will host in-state rival Central Washington on Thursday at 4 pm and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday with kickoff at 7 pm.

 

A pair of special celebrations will highlight the mini two-game homestand. A WWU soccer doubleheader on Thursday will celebrate Latine Heritage Month and a national championship banner will be unveiled at Harrington Field on Saturday adding a second star to the championship crest.

 

WWU is coming off a 0-1-1 road trip at Saint Martin's (0-0 tie) and Western Oregon (1-0 loss) and are tied for fourth place in the early GNAC standings with five points. The Vikings are undefeated at 2-0-1 in three games at Harrington Field this season.

 

Western's defense has paved the way nine games into the season with the team allowing just 0.89 goals per game. The Vikings five shutouts are tied for the most in the conference this season. 

 

Following the home games vs. the Wildcats and Nighthawks, Western takes back to the road for four consecutive road games. WWU's unique schedule features four straight home games to complete the regular season.

 

The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC with direct links on how to follow the team on the road and how to purchase tickets online.

 

 

The Vikings (3-3-3) continue the early-season GNAC schedule with a pair of home matches hosting Central Washington on Thursday (4 pm) and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday (7 pm) at Harrington Field. Following the mini two-game homestand the Vikings return to the road for four consecutive games away from Bellingham. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.

 

WWU will celebrate its 2022 national championship prior to the October 7 game vs. Northwest Nazarene. A championship banner will be unveiled at Harrington Field to show both the 2016 and 2022 national titles and the first 350 fans will receive a special national championship crest sticker.

 

WWU will celebrate Latine Heritage Month during the October 5 doubleheader at Harrington Field. The women's team will host Central Washington at 4 pm and the men's game vs. rival Seattle Pacific follows at 7 pm. Free admission for all students with WWU ID and a limited number of complimentary tickets for community members are available. Enjoy fun activities and support fundraising efforts by Latine Student Union and Latinx Men in Higher Education.

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 81-5-6 (.913) playing in front of the home crowd (2-0-1 in 2023, 9-1-1 in 2022). The Vikings are 13-2-0 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), 2021 (1-0-0) and 2022 (3-0-0), and GNAC Championships games in 2016 (1-0-0) and 2021 (1-1-0). Including the men's program, WWU Soccer has a combined record of 125-27-18 (.788) at Harrington Field.

 

Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and upcoming opponents:

 

• Central Washington: The Vikings have a current 23-game unbeaten streak against CWU dating back to the 2011 season…during this stretch WWU is 20-0-3 against the Wildcats…in last meeting Oct. 20, 2022 two teams tied 1-1 in a game that was moved from Bellingham to Ellensburg due to air quality concerns…Vikings are 48-10-9 all-time vs. Central with a 22-5-4 mark in games played in Bellingham (7-0-1 at Harrington Field).
• Northwest Nazarene: WWU is 40-2-2 all-time vs. NNU with the series dating back to the first meeting in 1997…Western has a current four-game unbeaten streak vs. NNU (3-0-1), which includes a 1-0 victory over the Nighthawks in the GNAC Championship game last November…the Vikings had an 18-game winning streak vs. NNU from 2010-2021.

 

Western is looking to break out offensively as the team has scored six goals in the first nine games of the season. The Vikings have been held off the scoreboard five times this season, including a pair of back-to-back games with zero goals scored. 

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:

 

 

News and notes on the 2023 WWU Women's Soccer team:

 

• The Record – Off to a 3-3-3 start to the 2023 season with three of seven matches vs. top-25 teams.
• GNAC Table – Tied for 4th in the early-season GNAC standings with five points (1-1-2).
• Spreading the Wealth – Viking goals this season have come from five different players – Mie Cairns, Gracen Crosby, Minji Rauch, Sophie Bearden Croft and Morgan Manalili…also one own goal.
• Full Time Asia – Sophomore defender Asia Hardin has played in all 795 out of a possible 810 minutes this season (8 games of FT action)…appeared in 33 career games (out of 34 possible), playing the full 90 in all 32 games appeared.
• National Champions – 2016 and 2022 NCAA II National Champions and national runner-up in 2019.
• GNAC Title – Won 9th GNAC regular-season title in 2022, which includes eight in last 10 seasons…also won sixth GNAC Tournament title.
• Estera Suffers Injury – Senior Estera Levinte has tallied 48 career points, with 15 goals and 18 assists (tie for 24th in WWU history)…ranks tied for 12th in WWU history with 18 assists…senior suffered early-season knee injury and is out for an undetermined amount of time.
• Leading Goal Scorer – Sophomore Morgan Manalili led the Vikings with 10 goals and 25 total points last season while being selected as the GNAC Freshman of the Year and All-American…has one goal this season.
• Henninger's Clean Sheets – Senior goalkeeper Claire Henninger recorded 11 shutouts last season to rank 5th in NCAA Division II…entered WWU single-season record books tying for 4th-most shutouts…15 career shutouts to rank 10th in program history.
• Harrington Success – Owns all-time 81-5-6 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.913).
• Always Dancing – Advanced to each of the last 10 NCAA Division II Championships and played in seven consecutive West Regional title matches (9 in last 10 seasons)…all-time record of 44-11-3 in the postseason (GNAC + NCAA).
• Roster Breakdown – The 2023 roster features 28 players, with 19 from Washington, six from Oregon, two from California and one from Arizona…eligibility wise, the roster has five freshmen, eight sophomores, seven juniors and eight seniors.
• The Gaffer – Travis Connell is in his 21st season leading the WWU Women's program (28th at WWU)…owns an all-time 302-83-40 (.758) as the Western women's head coach…owns 427 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer…selected as 2022 GNAC Coach of the Year (his 7th award).

 

In addition to winning the national title in 2016 and 2022, the Vikings have played in seven consecutive West Regional Championship matches and nine of the last 10. WWU has won the West Regional title five times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022).

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings heading into the third week of conference play:

 

 

The complete 2023 WWU Women's Soccer schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC and single-game tickets can also be purchased online via wwuvikings.com/Tickets. New for the 2023-24 season for all intercollegiate sports will be FREE STUDENT TICKETS at all regular-season home events!

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2023 schedule and results:

 

 

The Vikings have made 10 consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Championships and 12 overall appearances in the NCAA postseason in program history. WWU is the two-time NCAA II National Champion, winning titles in 2016 and 2022, while also playing in the national championship game in 2019. Western is 5-0 all-time in national quarterfinal games and 3-2 in national semifinal contests. The program owns an all-time 28-9-1 record in NCAA Championships play, 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 earned a second star with a 2-1 win over West Chester to cap the 2022 season in Seattle.

 

Advanced to play in its fifth NCAA Division II Championships Final Four in 2022 with all coming in the last nine seasons (since 2013). WWU appeared in the national semifinal round in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2022 (no championships in 2020). Additionally, the Vikings have played in the West Regional championship game in seven consecutive seasons and nine of the last 10 seasons. Here is a look at the most appearances in the NCAA D2 Final Four since the Vikings made their first appearance in 2013, with WWU trailing only Grand Valley State:

 

• Grand Valley State - 7
• Western Washington - 5
• Columbus State - 3
• Bridgeport & Saint Rose - 2

 

WWU has won 124 of its last 158 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 124-19-15 (.832) during this stretch. The program has won eight of the last 10 GNAC regular-season titles (last in 2022), five of the last seven GNAC Tournaments (last in 2022) and advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last 10 seasons. During the 10-year stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match nine times and advanced to the NCAA II national semifinals five times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022). Western has a current streak of 19 consecutive winning seasons for one of the top-10 longest active streaks in NCAA II.

 

WWU head coach Travis Connell recorded his milestone 300th victory while leading the women's program with the 2-0 season-opening victory over Biola, a span that includes 21 seasons. Connell has combined to go 302-83-40 since taking over the program in 2003, and also has another 125 wins for 427 total WWU head coaching wins including his time spent as the head men's soccer coach at Western.

 

Travis Connell is in his 21st season leading the women's program as head coach and 28th overall as a coach at WWU. Owns a 302-83-40 (.758) record leading the women's program to rank as the 7th-winningest active coach amongst NCAA Division II head coaches. Overall, he is 10th 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 300th win leading the women's program on August 31, 2023 in a 2-0 victory over Biola, and including 125 wins as the head coach of the men's soccer program at WWU, Connell has amassed 427 career NCAA head coaching victories. He is assisted by former Viking standout goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs, Johann Lahud-Zahner and Alex McBeath.

 

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 won the 2022 title with a 2-1 win over No. 1 nationally-ranked West Chester, 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. 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 21st season leading the program in 2023 (28th overall at WWU) and has led the Vikings to 12 trips to the NCAA Championships (10 straight) and 19 consecutive winning seasons. Over the last nine seasons (since 2015), the Vikings have combined for a 145-21-16 record (.844 winning pct.).