BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team is back on the road this week with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matches.

 

WWU is 3-2-2 on the season and off to an undefeated 1-0-1 start to conference play. The Vikings travel to play at Saint Martin's on Thursday (3 pm) in Lacey and continue south to take on Western Oregon on Saturday in Monmouth (2 pm).

 

The Vikings are coming off a 1-0-2 week that concluded a busy stretch of four games in 10 days, drawing West Region rival Sonoma State 0-0, defeating Simon Fraser 2-0 in the GNAC opener at Harrington Field and tying Seattle Pacific 1-1 at Interbay Stadium.

 

Western has scored six total goals this season, with five different players finding the back of the net. WWU's defense has recorded four shutouts for a 1.00 goals against average. Senior goalkeeper Claire Henninger is the reigning GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after making 11 saves in three games and sophomore defender Asia Hardin has played every minute on the back line this season.

 

Following the road trip down I-5, the Vikings return home for a brief two-game homestand at Harrington Field hosting Central Washington (Thursday, Oct. 5, 4 pm) and Northwest Nazarene (Saturday, Oct. 7, 7 pm).

 

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 online tickets.

 

 

The Vikings (3-2-2) continue the early-season GNAC schedule this week with a pair of road matches, traveling to play at Saint Martin's in Lacey on Thursday (3 pm) and Western Oregon in Monmouth on Saturday (2 pm). The Vikings next home game is scheduled for Thursday, October 5 hosting Central Washington University with a 4 pm kickoff at Harrington Field. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.

 

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

 

 

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.

 

The Vikings are at the start of a tough stretch of playing seven of nine games on the road, a stretch that began last Saturday at Seattle Pacific (1-1 tie) and concludes following a four-game road trip October 21 at Central Washington. WWU will play four consecutive games at Harrington Field to complete the 2023 regular season. The complete 2023 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/23_WSOC.

 

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

 

·         Saint Martin's: Western leads the all-time series 26-2-1 with a current 21-game winning streak dating back to the 2011 season…12-2-0 all-time in games played vs. the Saints on the road…swept SMU last season winning 2-1 on the road and 3-0 at home…recorded a shutout victory in eight of last nine meetings.

·         Western Oregon: Vikings lead the all-time series 40-7-2 dating back to the first meeting in 1997…in last three meetings WWU and WOU are 1-1-1…the Wolves defeated the Vikings 2-1 in Bellingham, while WWU won 3-2 in Monmouth.

 

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 3-2-2 start to the 2023 season with three of seven matches vs. top-25 teams.

·         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.

·         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.

·         Full Time Asia – Sophomore defender Asia Hardin has played in all 630 minutes this season (7 games of FT action)…appeared in 31 career games (out of 32 possible), playing the full 90 in all 31 games appeared.

·         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…14 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 302-82-39 (.760) 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).

 

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 125-26-18 (.793) at Harrington Field.

 

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).

 

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:

 

 

Coming off a winning the ninth conference title in program history (and the national championship), WWU earned the top spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Vikings received 63 total points in a vote of the eight conference head coaches and hauled in seven of the eight first-place votes. WWU was listed 11 points ahead of second-place Seattle Pacific.

 

 

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 156 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 124-18-14 (.840) 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 302-82-39 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 302-82-39 (.760) 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 145-20-15 record (.847 winning pct.).