BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team was defeated by rival Seattle Pacific University 2-0 Thursday night at Harrington Field.
The Falcons scored a goal in each half to defeat the Vikings and claim the 2023 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title.
WWU had its eight-game undefeated streak snapped while enduring its first loss since September 30 and first home loss of the season at Harrington Field (6-1-1). The Vikings have clinched the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Championships to be held next week in Ellensburg. Western is 10-4-4 overall and 8-2-3 in GNAC play heading into Saturday's regular-season finale vs. Montana State Billings.
SPU improved to 12-2-4 overall and remain undefeated in GNAC play at 9-0-4 while claiming the regular-season title. Jacqueline Blakeley scored the opener in the 19th minute and Taylor Krueger added an insurance goal with just under 20 minutes remaining in the game.
The Vikings held a 13-11 advantage in shots and 7-5 lead in shots on goal, but SPU goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen was up for the challenge saving all seven shots on frame to record the shutout.
The Vikings (10-4-4, 8-2-3 GNAC) closes out the regular-season schedule Saturday hosting Montana State Billings for Senior Day with a 1 pm start. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.
#20 Seattle Pacific 2, Western Washington 0
Date: November 2, 2023
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 246
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
--------------------------------------------
#20 Seattle Pacific........... 1 1 - 2
Western Washington............ 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 18:39 SPU Blakeley
2. 71:01 SPU Krueger (Buckley)
Shots: WWU 13, SPU 11
Shots on Goal: WWU 7, SPU 5
Saves: WWU 3 (Henninger – 2), SPU 7 (Cullen - 7)
Corners: WWU 7, SPU 1
Fouls: SPU 8, WWU 8
Offsides: WWU 1, SPU 1
Kits: WWU (Light Blue), SPU (Black)
Records: WWU (10-4-4, 8-2-3), SPU (12-2-4, 9-0-4)
SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE PACIFIC
The Vikings finished 0-1-1 vs. SPU during the 2023 regular season with the two teams playing to a 1-1 tie September 23 in Seattle…SPU leads the all-time series 24-23-8, with Western going 19-6-4 vs. the Falcons in the last 30 meetings…WWU is now 8-3-1 all-time vs. SPU in games played at Harrington Field (since 2014).
Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games on Thursday. WWU clinched the No. 2 seed for the GNAC Championships with SPU winning the regular season title to earn the No. 1 seed.
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WOMEN'S SOCCER
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CONF
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PTS
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OVERALL
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PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
9-0-4
|
31
|
12-2-4
|
.778
|
4-1-3
|
8-1-1
|
0-0-0
|
W2
|
|
Western Washington GNAC
|
8-2-3
|
27
|
10-4-4
|
.667
|
6-1-1
|
4-3-3
|
0-0-0
|
L1
|
|
Western Oregon
|
5-4-4
|
19
|
8-4-5
|
.618
|
5-2-2
|
3-2-3
|
0-0-0
|
T1
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
5-5-3
|
18
|
6-5-4
|
.533
|
4-3-0
|
2-2-4
|
0-0-0
|
W1
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
4-5-4
|
16
|
6-5-6
|
.529
|
0-2-4
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5-3-1
|
1-0-1
|
W2
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
4-7-2
|
14
|
5-8-3
|
.406
|
2-4-2
|
3-3-1
|
0-1-0
|
L2
|
|
Central Washington
|
2-8-3
|
9
|
3-12-3
|
.250
|
1-4-2
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2-5-2
|
0-2-0
|
T1
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
1-6-5
|
8
|
3-7-6
|
.375
|
1-4-2
|
0-3-3
|
2-0-1
|
L4
|
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THIS WEEK'S GNAC SCHEDULE & RESULTS
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|
Monday, October 30:
at Northwest Nazarene 1, Montana State Billings 0 (Rexburg, ID)
Thursday, November 2:
Western Oregon 2, at Central Washington 2
Northwest Nazarene 4, at Saint Martin's 1
at Simon Fraser 1, Montana State Billings 0
Seattle Pacific 2, at Western Washington 0
Saturday, November 4:
Montana State Billings at Western Washington, 1 pm
Western Oregon at Northwest Nazarene, 1 pm MT
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 5 pm
Saint Martin's at Central Washington, 7 pm
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Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:
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2023 RECORD BREAKDOWN
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|
Overall Record
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10-4-4
|
|
Streak
|
L1
|
|
Home
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6-1-1
|
|
Away
|
4-3-3
|
|
Neutral
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0-0-0
|
|
GNAC Record
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8-2-3
|
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Non-Conference
|
2-2-1
|
|
Ranked Opponents
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1-3-0
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Scoring First
|
9-0-0
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Opponent Scores First
|
1-4-1
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Lead at the Half
|
7-0-0
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Tied at the Half
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3-2-4
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Trail at the Half
|
0-2-0
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Record by Kit
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|
White
|
0-1-1
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|
Navy Blue
|
1-1-2
|
|
Light Blue
|
5-2-0
|
|
Black
|
4-0-1
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2023 WWU WOMEN'S SOCCER RESULTS & SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the Vikings 2023 schedule and results:
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DATE
|
OPPONENT
|
LOCATION / VENUE
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KICKOFF
|
|
Aug. 31 (Thur.)
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@Biola
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La Mirada, CA (Al Barbour Field)
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W, 2-0
|
|
Sept. 4 (Mon.)
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@CUI (#17)
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Irvine, CA (Golden Eagles Field)
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L, 4-0
|
|
Sept. 9 (Sat.)
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Cal State LA (#22)
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Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
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W, 1-0
|
|
Sept. 14 (Thur.)
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@Colorado Mines (#2)
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Golden, CO (Stermole Soccer Stadium)
|
L, 2-0
|
|
Sept. 18 (Mon.)
|
Sonoma State
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
|
Sept. 21 (Thur.)
|
Simon Fraser GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 2-0
|
|
Sept. 23 (Sat.)
|
@Seattle Pacific GNAC
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Seattle, WA (Interbay Stadium)
|
T, 1-1
|
|
Sept. 28 (Thur.)
|
@Saint Martin's GNAC
|
Lacey, WA (SMU Soccer Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
|
Sept. 30 (Sat.)
|
@Western Oregon (RV) GNAC
|
Monmouth, OR (WOU Soccer Field)
|
L, 1-0
|
|
Oct. 5 (Thur.)
|
Central Washington GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 1-0
|
|
Oct. 7 (Sat.)
|
Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 2-1
|
|
Oct. 12 (Thur.)
|
@MSU Billings GNAC
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Billings, MT (Yellowjacket Field)
|
W, 3-1
|
|
Oct. 14 (Sat.)
|
@Simon Fraser GNAC
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Burnaby, BC (Terry Fox Field)
|
W, 2-1
|
|
Oct. 19 (Thur.)
|
@Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
Nampa, ID (NNU Soccer Field)
|
T, 0-0
|
|
Oct. 21 (Sat.)
|
@Central Washington GNAC
|
Ellensburg, WA (CWU Soccer Field)
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W, 4-0
|
|
Oct. 26 (Thur.)
|
Western Oregon GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 1-0
|
|
Oct. 28 (Sat.)
|
Saint Martin's GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
W, 2-0
|
|
Nov. 2 (Thur.)
|
Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
L, 2-0
|
|
Nov. 4 (Sat.)
|
MSU Billings GNAC
|
Bellingham, WA (Harrington Field)
|
1:00 pm
|
|
2023 POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
|
|
Nov. 9 (Thur.)
|
GNAC Championships
|
Ellensburg, WA (Tomlinson Stadium)
|
TBD
|
|
Nov. 11 (Sat.)
|
GNAC Championships
|
Ellensburg, WA (Tomlinson Stadium)
|
TBD
|
|
Nov. 16-18
|
NCAA First & Second Rounds
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
Nov. 30
|
NCAA Regional Final
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
Dec. 1
|
NCAA National Quarterfinal
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
Dec. 7-9
|
NCAA Championship Finals
|
Matthews, NC (Matthews Sportsplex)
|
TBD
|
Prior to the start of Saturday's regular-season finale vs. Montana State Billings (1 pm kickoff), the Vikings will recognize the seven-player senior class with an on-field ceremony. Katie Watt, Claire Henninger, Payton Neal, Jayden Nguyen, Abigail Trengove, Chloe Unflat and Ellie Busik will play their final regular-season game at Harrington Field. The group has combined for one of the best stretches in program history dating back to 2019, with the Vikings going 71-15-13 while playing in a pair of national championship games and winning the 2022 title.
POSTSEASON TICKET PUNCHED
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 GNAC Championships schedule will be announced this weekend. 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)
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 11 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.
