BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team opens its home schedule this weekend hosting No. 22 nationally ranked Cal State LA on Saturday at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings remain ranked No. 1 in the nation after opening the season with a 1-1-0 record, defeating Biola and falling to No. 17 Concordia Irvine on the road.

 

WWU is the defending national champion after going 19-2-4 last season.

 

Following Saturday's match-up of nationally-ranked programs, WWU continues it's tough early-season slate traveling to play at current No. 7 Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado on Thursday, September 14, in re-match of the 2022 NCAA II National Quarterfinal won by the Vikings 3-1 at Harrington Field last November. 

 

WWU completes non-conference play hosting Sonoma State University on Monday, September 18 and then opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday, September 21 vs. Simon Fraser at Harrington Field. 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.

 

 

All fans in attendance at Saturday's home opener will have the chance to pick up a free 2023 WWU Women's Soccer Team Poster. If you see a player after the game, feel free to ask for their autograph as well. The team poster features the 2023 home schedule with a handy QR code to access the complete schedule online.

The Vikings opened the season with a 1-1-0 trip to Southern California last week, defeating Biola 2-0 in the lid lifter and falling to No. 17 Concordia 4-0. The loss at CUI snapped a nine-game winning streak dating back to the end of the 2022 national championship season. Against Biola the Vikings received goals from junior midfielder Gracen Crosby and sophomore forward Minji Rauch, while senior goalkeeper Abigail Trengove recorded the shutout.

 

Following Saturday's home opener vs. No. 22 Cal State LA, WWU heads back on the road to take on No. 7 nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines on Thursday, September 14 in Golden, Colorado. The game vs. the Orediggers will be a re-match of the 2022 NCAA National Quarterfinal won by WWU 3-1 to punch the ticket to the NCAA Championships Final Four in Seattle. The Vikings next home game will be Monday, September 18 vs. Sonoma State University at Harrington Field (7 pm kickoff).

 

Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and opponent this week:

 

·         Cal State LA: Saturday's early-season match marks the fifth meeting between the two programs dating back to the first head-to-head game in 2006…WWU leads the all-time series 3-1-0…Vikings won the last meeting 1-0 in double overtime in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Championships in Rohnert Park, California…marks the Eagles first trip to Harrington Field having played in Bellingham in 2008 when the home field was at Orca Field at Whatcom Community College.

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 79-5-5 (.916) playing in front of the home crowd (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 121-26-17 (.790) at Harrington Field.

 

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

 

 

News and notes on the 2023 WWU Women's Soccer team heading into Saturday's contest vs. Cal State LA:

 

·         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.

·         Freshman Goals – Of the Vikings 46 goals last season, 19 were scored by true freshmen players.

·         Levinte's Points – 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.

·         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.

·         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.

·         Harrington Success – Owns all-time 79-5-5 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.916).

·         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 300-81-37 (.762) as the Western women's head coach…owns 425 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer…selected as 2022 GNAC Coach of the Year (his 7th award).

 

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 300-81-37 since taking over the program in 2003, and also has another 125 wins for 425 total WWU head coaching wins including his time spent as the head men's soccer coach at Western.

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.

 

 

WWU remains in the No. 1 spot in the first regular-season edition of the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll. The Vikings finished the 2022 season as the national champions and with the final No. 1 national 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.

 

 

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 122 of its last 151 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 122-17-12 (.848) 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.

 

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 300-81-37 (.762) 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 425 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 eight seasons (since 2015), the Vikings have combined for a 143-19-13 record (.854 winning pct.).