BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team battled West Region rival Sonoma State to a scoreless draw Monday to wrap up non-conference play at Harrington Field.

The Vikings (2-2-1) had a 13-6 advantage in shots and 3-0 in corner kicks, but was unable to find the back of the net to record the first tie of the season.

Both sides tallied just three shots in a stalemate of a first half, but the Vikings turned up the pressure over the final 45 minutes. 

Freshman Claire Potter missed just left on a shot from close quarters in the 74th minute and junior Gracen Crosby had her shot square up the right post just over three minutes later. Five games into the 2023 season the Vikings have scored just three goals, including a current string of 185 consecutive scoreless minutes.

WWU displayed another strong defensive effort to record its third shutout of the season, with sophomore Asia Hardin and senior Katie Watt both logging full 90-minute efforts. Senior goalkeeper Claire Henninger had three saves against six total shots to notch her second shutout of the season and 14th of her career.

"We are still learning and trying to get better with each match we play," said WWU head coach Travis Connell, who started three freshmen in Monday's game. "It was a better second half where we created chances and executed our gameplan. This is a tough stretch of four games in 10 days, so it has been important to get contributions from so many players and that really shows to the depth of this team. We have still not played our best yet and have another chance to do that Thursday opening GNAC play against Simon Fraser."

The Vikings (2-2-1) remain at home hosting Simon Fraser on Thursday to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. WWU's busy stretch of four matches in 10 days concludes Saturday with a road match against rival Seattle Pacific University at Interbay Stadium (5:00 pm). The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.

Western Washington 0, Sonoma State 0

Date: September 18, 2023

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 417

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

--------------------------------------------

Sonoma State..................  0  0  -  0

Western Washington............  0  0  -  0

Shots: WWU 13, SSU 6

Shots on Goal: WWU 3, SSU 3

Saves: WWU 3 (Henninger – 3), SSU 3 (Janese - 2)

Corners: WWU 2, SSU 0

Fouls: WWU 9, SSU 9

Offsides: WWU 2, SSU 2

Kits: WWU (Navy), SSU (White)

Records: WWU (2-2-1), SSU (2-1-2)

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

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

The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC. Single-game tickets for the 2023 season are currently on sale via wwuvikings.com/Tickets. New for the 2023-24 season is FREE tickets for current WWU students to all regular-season home sporting events.

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 144-20-14 record (.848 winning pct.).