BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Coming off a national championship performance in 2022, the Western Washington University women's soccer program will open the 2023 season with the No. 1 national ranking in NCAA Division II.
 
The Vikings are listed No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Coaches Poll after going 19-2-4 last season and winning the program's second national championship in the last six seasons.
 
WWU is listed just ahead of 2022 national runner-up West Chester, which the Vikings defeated 2-1 in the national championship game on December 3 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. National semifinalist Columbus State is ranked third, Colorado School of Mines fourth and West Florida rounds out the national top five.
 
The Vikings 2023 schedule features eight games against teams listed in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, with three top 25 opponents and five games against schools listed as receiving votes in the ranking.
 
Western has now earned a national preseason ranking in each of the last 10 seasons and has appeared in the national top 25 nearly every week dating back to the middle of the 2012 season. 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 is one of five West Region programs to earn a preseason national ranking, joining No. 14 Hawai'i Hilo, No. 17 Concordia Irvine, No. 18 Point Loma and No. 24 Cal State LA. Sonoma State, Northwest Nazarene, Seattle Pacific and Chico State also received votes in the preseason poll.
 
The Vikings return 22 players and nine starters from last year's squad that captured the GNAC regular-season and postseason titles, a fifth West Regional championship trophy and the national title.
 
WWU officially opens the 2023 season August 31 at Biola and hosts No. 24 Cal State LA on September 9 at Harrington Field for the first home game. The team reports to campus on August 13 and opens the preseason August 16 with an exhibition match at the University of Victoria.
 
The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.
  Here is a look at the 2023 NCAA Division II United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll (records shown are final from 2022 season):
 

Rk	School	W-L-T
1.	Western Washington	19-2-4
2.	West Chester	23-1-1
3.	Columbus State	19-3-2
4.	Colorado School of Mines	18-2-3
5.	West Florida	18-4-1
6.	Ferris State	12-6-7
7.	Dallas Baptist	17-2-1
8.	Grand Valley State	16-2-5
9.	Bemidji State	16-3-6
10.	Embry-Riddle (FL)	14-1-5
11.	Saint Rose	19-1-3
12.	Franklin Pierce	16-4-3
13.	Central Missouri	19-2-2
14.	Hawai'i Hilo	13-1-3
15.	Flagler	14-3-4
16.	Emporia State	13-6-5
17.	Concordia Irvine	14-5-2
18.	Point Loma	13-3-4
19.	Kutztown	11-6-4
20.	Catawba	16-3-3
21.	Minnesota State Mankato	14-2-6
22.	Colorado-Colorado Springs	14-4-4
23.	Cedarville	17-4-1
24.	Cal State Los Angeles	11-4-6
25.	Nova Southeastern	9-3-4

  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 enters 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 eight seasons (since 2015), the Vikings have combined for a 142-18-13 record (.858 winning pct.).