ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team had an offensive explosion in Thursday's 7-1 road victory at Central Washington, doubling its season goal total in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at Tomlinson Stadium.

 

The Vikings remained unbeaten in GNAC play improving to 3-0-2 in conference games and 4-2-4 overall. WWU entered the game with seven goals in the first nine games, but surged for seven goals in the decisive victory over the Wildcats.

 

Senior midfielder Lydia Myers scored four goals to become the 22nd player in program history with a hat trick and the ninth instance with four-or-more goals in a game. Senior forward Kyrsten McGuffey scored a goal and tied WWU's single-game record with three assists.

 

WWU scored five unanswered goals to open the game, building a 4-0 lead in the first 25 minutes of the contest. Myers and McGuffey scored just over a minute apart in the 15th and 16th minutes, with two more goals coming before halftime. 

 

The seven goals scored are the most by the Vikings since a 6-0 victory over CWU in 2021.

 

Senior forward Sophie Bearden Croft (26') and freshman forward Audrey Holdridge (80') also scored goals for the Vikings. Senior forward Ashley Nguyen added a pair of assists.

 

"We got off to a good start tonight and that helped us get into a rhythm offensively," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We had great contributions from every player. Lydia (Myers) and Kyrsten (McGuffey) showed their quality tonight."

 

WWU held a decisive 31-9 advantage in total shots and recorded 22 shots on goal.

 

Central Washington (1-5-2, 0-4-1) broke up the shutout in the 52nd minute on a goal by Carmen Anderson.

 

The Vikings (4-2-4, 3-0-2 GNAC) remains on the road Saturday taking on Northwest Nazarene University at 1 pm MT/12 pm PT in Nampa, Idaho. The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC.

 

Senior Lydia Myers joined the WWU Hat Trick list, becoming the 22nd player in program history to record three-or-more goals in a game and the ninth time a player has scored 4+ goals in a single contest. Myers' four-goal performance was the first by a Viking since Zoe Milburn vs. Montana State Billings on October 5, 2019.

 

Senior Kyrsten McGuffey tied WWU's single-game assist record with three in the 7-1 win over Central Washington. Became the 10th player in program history to record three assists in a game and first since Tera Ziemer in 2021. McGuffey also scored a goal for five total points.

 

Western Washington 7, Central Washington 1

Date: October 10, 2024

Field: Tomlinson Stadium   Site: Ellensburg, WA

Attendance: 276

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington............  4  3  -  7

Central Washington............  0  1  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      14:21     WWU       Myers (McGuffey)

2.      15:27     WWU       McGuffey (Noel)

3.      19:15     WWU       Myers (McGuffey)

4.      25:07     WWU       Bearden Croft (Manalili)

5.      49:16     WWU       Myers (E. Holdridge)

6.      51:19     CWU       Anderson (Derry)

7.      61:24     WWU       Myers (McGuffey, Nguyen)

8.      79:36     WWU       A. Holdridge (Nguyen)

 

Shots: WWU 31, CWU 9

Shots on Goal: WWU 22, CWU 5

Saves: WWU 4 (Trengove – 3, Wales - 1), CWU 15 (Galbraith – 7, Menge – 7, Jaggard - 1)

Corners: WWU 9, CWU 2

Fouls: WWU 13, CWU 10

Offsides: WWU 2, CWU 0

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), CWU (Black)

Updated Records: WWU (4-2-4, 3-0-2), CWU (1-5-2, 0-4-1)

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2024 season:

 

 

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings and weekly schedule following Thursday's games to open the third week of conference play. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

The Vikings improved to 51-10-9 all-time vs. the Wildcats and extended its unbeaten streak vs. CWU to 26 consecutive games (23-0-3). WWU is now 23-5-5 all-time in games played at CWU and has out-scored the Wildcats 11-1 in the last two meetings at Tomlinson Stadium.

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2024 regular-season schedule. The GNAC Championships will be held November 14-16 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle, and the NCAA Division II Championships open with the first and second rounds November 21-24:

 

 

Fans can follow WWU women's soccer online at WWUVikings.com/WSOC, and via social media on Twitter/X (@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, appearing in the NCAA Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons and winning a pair of national championships in 2016 and 2022. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in five of the last 10 seasons and played for the West Region championship in nine of the last 11 seasons (seven consecutive from 2015-22). The Vikings won the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship 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 12 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles (2022 Champions) and won five of the last eight GNAC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 22nd season leading the program in 2024 (29th overall at WWU) and has led the Vikings to 12 trips to the NCAA Championships and 19 consecutive winning seasons.