BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team hosts a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference games this week at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings will be looking to continue their undefeated start to conference play with games against Saint Martin's on Thursday (7 pm) and Western Oregon on Saturday (2 pm) in Bellingham. WWU opened GNAC play last week defeating Simon Fraser 1-0 on the road and scoring a last-minute goal to tie Seattle Pacific 1-1.

 

Western is 2-2-3 overall and off to a 1-0-1 start to GNAC play. Following this week's two-game schedule of home games, the Vikings are back on the road next week traveling to play Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.

 

Saturday's game vs. Western Oregon will celebrate the Vikings national championship teams in 2016 and 2022 with a pregame sideline party and a halftime recognition of players from the title-winning teams. The 2016 and 2022 national champions will be inducted into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, opening the Year of the Viking where all 13 national championship winning teams will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

 

Western's season to date has been highlighted by a strong defensive effort ranking second in the conference with a 0.714 goals against average and three shutouts. Junior defender Asia Hardin has played all 630 minutes on the back line and senior goalkeeper Abigail Trengove has made 18 saves while starting six games.

 

Offensively, the Vikings are led by a pair of goals from senior midfielder Lydia Myers and a goal and assist from junior midfielder Morgan Manalili. 

 

 

WWU's national championship winning teams from 2016 and 2022 will be inducted into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend. The Vikings won the 2016 title with a 3-2 victory over Grand Valley State in Kansas City and claimed their second title in 2022 defeating West Chester 2-1 in Seattle. Both national championship wins came on December 3 of the respective year.

 

As part of the Year of the Vikings, WWU Athletics will induct all 13 of its national champion teams into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024-25. The two women's soccer national champion teams – 2016 and 2022 – will be honored first on Saturday, October 5 with a pregame gathering in Carver Gym and a Sideline Party for the GNAC contest vs. Western Oregon. To register for the event visit foundation.wwu.edu.

The Vikings opened conference play with an undefeated start going 1-0-1 following a 1-0 victory at Simon Fraser on a second-half goal from Lydia Myers and tied Seattle Pacific 1-1 on Saturday. In the tie vs. SPU, WWU held a 30-8 advantage in shots, but was held scoreless until the final minute of the game when senior Sophie Bearden Croft netted the equalizer with 37 seconds remaining.

 

Junior defender Asia Hardin was selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week following the Vikings undefeated start to conference play. Hardin played all 180 minutes in the Vikings 1-0-1 week to start GNAC play, contributing heavily on the back line in Thursday's 1-0 victory at Simon Fraser and played a key role in Saturday's 1-1 tie vs. rival Seattle Pacific. Since making her debut as a freshman during the 2022 national championship season, Hardin has started 52 of 53 possible games, logging the full 90 in 51 of those contests.

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 87-7-8 (.892) playing in front of the home crowd (1-1-2 in 2024, 7-1-1 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 135-31-23 (.775) at Harrington Field.

 

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

 

 

All home games feature a live webcast via Vikings TV and live statistical updates. Fans that choose to watch the games in the comfort of their home or on their devices, can point their browsers to the following links or by searching for "WWU Athletics" on YouTube. Away games will have links available at wwuvikings.com/Live.

 

·         Vikings TV – wwuvikings.com/VikingsTV

·         Webcast – wwuvikings.com/WS_Watch

·         Live Stats – wwuvikings.com/WS_Stats

 

The complete 2024 WWU Women's Soccer schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC and single-game tickets can also be purchased online via wwuvikings.com/Tickets. Current WWU students will gain free admission to all regular-season home events! Free parking is available for all fans during WWU Soccer games in the C Lots above Harrington Field.

 

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

 

·         Saint Martin's: The Vikings lead the all-time series vs. Saint Martin's 27-2-2 dating back to the first official meeting in 2007…WWU went 1-0-1 vs. the Saints last season, playing to a scoreless tie in Lacey on September 28 and earning a 2-0 victory in Bellingham on October 28…the Vikings have a current 23-game undefeated streak vs. the Saints dating back to 2011, going 22-0-1 during this stretch…WWU is 15-0-1 all-time vs. SMU in home games with a current 14-game winning streak (9-0-0 at Harrington Field).

·         Western Oregon: WWU leads the all-time series vs. WOU 42-8-2 dating back to the first meeting in 1997…the Vikings are 22-2-0 all-time in home games vs. the Wolves…WWU went 2-1-0 vs. WOU last season, falling 1-0 in the first game in Monmouth, then winning 1-0 at home and 2-1 in the GNAC Championships semifinal…over last six games the series is 3-2-1 in favor of the Vikings.

 

Here is a look at the overall records for the eight GNAC programs heading into the second week of conference play this week. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

Junior Morgan Manalili moved into the top 30 in program history with her game-winning goal in the opening moments of the win over No. 6 UCCS. Manalili now has 17 career goals to tie for 29th in program history. With three more goals will become the 22nd player to reach the 20-goal mark as a Viking. Her 11 game-winning goals are listed as No. 3 in program history behind 20 by Gabriela Pelogi (2015-18) and 17 by Catherine Miles (2012-15). Manalili is also listed just outside the program top 30 with 43 career points.

 

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:

 

 

Here is a look at the voting tally from the 2024 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll with the Vikings selected atop the rankings earning 59 points and three first-place votes. WWU opens the 2024 conference slate September 26 on the road against Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. 

 

 

The Vikings have appeared in the NCAA Division II Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons and made 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.

 

In addition to winning the national title in 2016 and 2022, the Vikings have played in seven of the last eight West Region championship matches and nine of the last 11. WWU has won the West Regional title five times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022).

 

WWU has won 135 of its last 177 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 135-23-19 (.816) during this stretch. The program has won eight of the last 11 GNAC regular-season titles (last in 2022), five of the last eight GNAC Tournaments (last in 2022) and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons. WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match nine times in the last 11 seasons and advanced to the NCAA II national semifinals five times (2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022). Western has a current streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons for one of the top-10 longest active streaks in NCAA II.

 

Travis Connell is in his 22nd season leading the women's program as head coach and 29th overall as a coach at WWU. Owns a 313-87-44 (.755) record leading the women's program to rank as the 6th-winningest active coach amongst NCAA Division II head coaches. Overall, Connell 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 at Biola, and including 125 wins as the head coach of the men's soccer program at WWU, Connell has amassed 438 career NCAA head coaching victories. He is assisted by former Viking standout goalkeeper and WWU Hall of Famer 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/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.