BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team closes out the home portion of the regular-season schedule this week hosting a pair of games at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings take their first-place GNAC record into Thursday's 4 pm game vs. Northwest Nazarene and celebrate the eight-player senior class Saturday taking on Central Washington in a 2 pm game.

 

WWU carries a four-game winning streak into this week's schedule and is in first place in the GNAC with an undefeated 6-0-2 league mark. The Vikings hold a 2-point lead over Seattle Pacific in the conference table. Western is 7-2-4 overall on the season and just outside the national top 25 receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

 

Western closes out a four-game homestand this week and plays its final regular-season home game Saturday vs. CWU on Senior Day. The Vikings will celebrate the eight-player senior class that includes Abigail Trengove, Sophie Bearden Croft, Halle Noel, Ashley Nguyen, Grace Wales, Myka Carr, Kyrsten McGuffey and Lydia Myers in a pregame ceremony.

 

Over the last two weeks the Vikings have surged to the top of the GNAC table with an offensive outburst that has accounted for 12 of the team's 19 goals on the season over the last four games. WWU defeated Montana State Billings (2-1) and Simon Fraser (1-0) in home games last week.

 

In addition to the strong recent offensive performance, the Western defense has been steady all season ranking 2nd in the GNAC and tied for 32nd in the nation with a 0.615 goals against average. WWU is tied for 2nd in the conference with six shutouts.

 

Senior midfielder Lydia Myers leads the conference with four goals and junior midfielder Morgan Manalili and senior forward Kyrsten McGuffey are tied for 2nd with five assists. Senior goalkeeper Abigail Trengove paces the league with a 0.514 goals against average and six shutouts.

 

Following games this week at Harrington Field, the Vikings conclude the 2024 regular season with four consecutive road games beginning next week on the road at Western Oregon (Oct. 31, 2:30 pm) and at Saint Martin's (Nov. 2, 2 pm). 

 

 

Junior midfielder Morgan Manalili is the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after playing a part in all three goals last week (goal, 2 assists). Manalili is tied for 2nd in the GNAC this season with five assists and continues to move up the charts in the WWU career record book. She ranks 24th in career points with 49 (18 G, 13 A), tied for 25th with 18 goals, tied for 23rd with 13 assists and listed 3rd with 12 game-winning goals.

 

The Vikings will celebrate the eight-player senior class prior to Saturday's regular-season home finale with Abigail Trengove, Sophie Bearden Croft, Halle Noel, Ashley Nguyen, Grace Wales, Myka Carr, Kyrsten McGuffeyand Lydia Myers recognized during a pregame ceremony.

 

News and notes on the 2024 WWU Women's Soccer team:

 

·         The Record – 7-2-4 overall record, 6-0-2 in GNAC play (1st place).

·         Strong Defense – WWU ranks 2nd in the GNAC and tied for 32nd nationally with a 0.615 goals against average.

·         National Ranking – Receiving votes in the current United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.

·         GNAC Table – Top of the GNAC table with 20 points (6-0-2).

·         Four Straight at Harrington – Closes out four-game homestand this week at Harrington Field.

·         Spreading the Wealth – Viking goals this season have come from seven different players – Lydia Myers (6), Kyrsten McGuffey (3), Sophie Bearden Croft (2), Morgan Manalili (2), Ashley Nguyen (2), Jane Hmura (1), Emily Holdridge (1), Audrey Holdridge (1)…also one own goal.

·         Tie Games – Have recorded four draws this season, tied for 2nd-most in a single season in program history.

·         National Champions – 2016 and 2022 NCAA II National Champions and national runner-up in 2019.

·         Trengove Clean Sheets – Senior Abigail Trengove has recorded six shutouts this season to lead the GNAC.

·         Harrington Success – Owns all-time 90-7-9 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.892).

·         Always Dancing – Advanced to play in 10 of the last 11 NCAA Championships and played in seven of the last eight West Regional title matches (9 of last 11 seasons)…all-time record of 45-12-3 in the postseason (GNAC + NCAA).

·         Roster Breakdown – The 2024 roster features 28 players, with 21 from Washington, 5 from Oregon and 2 from California…eligibility wise, the roster has eight freshmen, four sophomores, eight juniors and eight seniors.

·         The Gaffer – Travis Connell is in his 22nd season leading the WWU Women's program (29th at WWU)…owns an all-time 318-87-45 (.757) as the Western women's head coach…owns 443 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer…selected as 2022 GNAC Coach of the Year (his 7th award).

 

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

 

 

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

 

·         Northwest Nazarene: Defeated NNU 2-0 on the road on October 12 in Nampa…Vikings lead the all-time series 42-2-3 dating back to first meeting in the series in 1997…WWU has a current 7-game unbeaten streak vs. NNU (5-0-2) since 2021…Western is 23-0-1 all-time vs. NNU in home games including a 9-0-0 mark at Harrington Field (since 2014).

·         Central Washington: Defeated CWU 7-1 in the first meeting this season on October 10 in Ellensburg…WWU leads the all-time series 51-10-9 with a current 26-game unbeaten streak (23-0-3). Vikings leads the series 23-5-4 in home games with a current 8-game winning streak.

 

Senior Lydia Myers joined the WWU Hat Trick list with her four-goal performance at Central Washington, 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. She earned the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award by becoming the third player in GNAC history to score four goals in a match and first since former Viking Zoe Milburn in 2019.

 

Senior Kyrsten McGuffey tied WWU's single-game assist record with three in the 7-1 win over Central Washington. She became the 10th player in program history to record three assists in a game and first since Tera Ziemer in 2021. McGuffey completed a seven-point week adding a goal in each game last week.

 

Led by three student-athletes with a perfect 4.00 GPA and three that earned their third Academic All-Star award, the Vikings placed 16 players on the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team, presented by Barnes & Noble College. WWU led all GNAC programs with the 16 selections, beating out 15 by Central Washington and Seattle Pacific. Juniors Morgan Manalili (Math & Computer Science), Claire Potter(Biochemistry) and Kascia Muscutt (Kinesiology & Spanish) were part of group of seven GNAC student-athletes that all carry a perfect 4.00 GPA. Seniors Ashley Nguyen (3.35, Finance), Sophie Bearden Croft (3.82, Business & Sustainability) and Grace Wales (3.47, Anthropology) led the Vikings becoming three-time award winners. WWU's 16 selections were part of a group of 97 student-athletes across the conference to earn All-GNAC Academic honors.

 

Through the first four weeks of conference play, the Vikings are undefeated with a 6-0-2 record, placing them 1st in the GNAC table with 20 points. Seattle Pacific (18 points), Western Oregon (15 points) and Simon Fraser (13 points) form a tight top of the standings. The top four teams in the standings at the conclusion of the 14-game conference slate qualify for the GNAC Championships held November 14-16 at Interbay Stadium with SPU serving as the postseason tournament host.

 

Junior defender and co-captain Asia Hardin has started 58 of 59 possible games during her three-year career as a Viking. Not only has she been a mainstay in the starting lineup, but in the 58 games played, Hardin has appeared in all but 30 minutes of those games, logging the full 90 minutes 56 times during her career. The only game she missed was the 2022 GNAC Semifinal when she was not available for the game.

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 90-7-9 (.892) playing in front of the home crowd (4-1-3 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 139-32-24 (.774) at Harrington Field.

 

Here is a statistical comparison for the Vikings and opponents this week:

 

 

Beginning with the 2022 season, NCAA soccer adopted a new rule where there is no overtime for regular-season games, meaning the game ends after the conclusion of 90 minutes. Since that rule was adopted, the Vikings have recorded 12 ties – four each season – one short of the school record of five ties set in 1981. In the eight seasons prior to the new rule going into effect (2014-2021) WWU combined for 13 total ties.

 

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

 

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

 

 

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 and in the 19G Diagonal parking on College Way.

 

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.

 

 

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 140 of its last 183 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 140-23-20 (.820) 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 318-87-45 (.757) 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 443 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.