BELLINGHAM, Wash. – With two weeks to go in the regular season, the Western Washington University women's soccer team looks to continue its winning ways going on the road for a pair of GNAC matches.

 

The Vikings carry a six-game winning streak into road matches at Western Oregon (Thursday, 2:30 pm) and Saint Martin's (Saturday, 2 pm) and are unbeaten in 10 conference matches with an 8-0-2 record. WWU is in first place in the GNAC standings with 26 points and has a chance to clinch its 10th regular-season title this week with a pair of wins. The Vikings have 26 points through the first 10 conference games and hold a seven-point lead ahead of second-place Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser heading into this week's action.

 

WWU will have its hands full with a Western Oregon squad that is in 4th place in the standings (4-1-5 in GNAC play) and in good position to qualify for the four-team conference tournament. WWU and WOU tied 1-1 earlier this season and has a current string of six consecutive shutouts not allowing a goal over its last 617 minutes, 33 seconds. SMU is coming off one of its biggest wins in a program history, a 2-1 victory at Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

 

The Vikings are the first team in the conference to clinch a spot in the four-team GNAC Championships that will be held November 14-16 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. WWU has qualified for all 12 editions of the tournament and won six postseason GNAC titles.

 

Western's final four regular-season games will come on the road after going 4-0-0 during its recent four-game homestand to close out the home portion of the schedule. The Vikings went 6-1-3 at Harrington Field this season with a 5-0-2 mark in GNAC play.

 

WWU has enjoyed a recent offensive surge scoring at least two goals in five of its last six games, tallying 18 total goals over this stretch. Prior to the seven-goal outburst at Central Washington on October 10, the Vikings scored just seven goals in the first nine games of the season.

 

While the offense has been clicking of late, the defense has been stellar from the start leading the GNAC and ranking 19th in NCAA II with a 0.533 goals against average. WWU has a string of three consecutive shutouts and heads into the Western Oregon game with a string of 333:59 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. The Vikings also lead the GNAC with eight shutouts.

 

 

With one more victory the Vikings will reach the 10-win mark for the season, entering the week with a 9-2-4 overall record. With a win, WWU will feature a double-digits in victories for the 18th consecutive full season, a streak that dates back to the 2006 season. During this stretch Western has averaged over 16 wins per season and has a string of 20 consecutive winning seasons.

 

The Vikings close out the 2024 regular season with four road games, covering the GNAC footprint by playing in three different stats. WWU opens the road trip Thursday in Monmouth, Oregon (Western Oregon) and closes out the week at Saint Martin's in Lacey. The final week of the regular season features a rivalry game at Seattle Pacific and a plane trip to Billings, Montana to face MSUB.

 

WWU has punched its ticket to the postseason as the first team to earn one of the four spots in the GNAC Championships held November 14-16 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. WWU has qualified for all 12 editions of the tournament, winning six postseason GNAC titles, and reached the championship final at each tournament. 

 

The Vikings carry a 6-game winning streak and 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2) into this week's action. Here is a look at the longest winning and unbeaten streaks in program history:

 

 

The NCAA distributed its first regional rankings of the season this week, with 10 teams from each of NCAA Division II's eight regions listed alphabetically. WWU and Seattle Pacific represent the GNAC on the list, with the Vikings holding the No. 5 RPI (.587) and No. 7 PI (17.467) according to Inkblotsports.com. Seven teams from the West Region will qualify for the NCAA Championships, with automatic bids from the GNAC, CCAA and PacWest and four at-large spots. The NCAA Championships field will be announced at 4 pm on November 18 on NCAA.com.

 

Senior Halle Noel earned the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award following standout performance in the Vikings pair of wins last week. Noel helped the Vikings push their unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive matches and winning streak to six straight playing a big offensive and defensive role in a pair of victories last week. The senior defender scored her first goal of the season (second of her career) in Thursday's win over NNU and provided a pair of assists in the 4-0 blanking of CWU. Noel becomes the fourth Viking to earn GNAC Player of the Week honors this season, and the third consecutive week a WWU player has earned the offensive honor.

 

 

The Vikings celebrated the eight-player senior class prior to last Saturday's regular-season home finale, a 4-0 win over Central Washington, with Abigail Trengove, Sophie Bearden Croft, Halle Noel, Ashley Nguyen, Grace Wales, Myka Carr, Kyrsten McGuffey and Lydia Myers recognized during a pregame ceremony.

 

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

 

·         The Record – 9-2-4 overall record, 8-0-2 in GNAC play (1st place).

·         Strong Defense – WWU leads the GNAC and tied for 19th nationally with a 0.533 goals against average.

·         Offensive Surge – Scored 25 goals on the season, with 18 in the last six games (7 in first 9 games).

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

·         Top of the Table – Leads the GNAC with 26 points (8-0-2) and clinched a spot in the GNAC Championships.

·         Four Straight on the Road – Closes out regular season with a four-game road trip (WOU, SMU, SPU, MSUB).

·         Spreading the Wealth – Viking goals this season have come from 11 different players – Lydia Myers (6), Kyrsten McGuffey (4), Ashley Nguyen (3), Sophie Bearden Croft (2), Morgan Manalili (2), Jane Hmura (2), Emily Holdridge (1), Audrey Holdridge (1), Halle Noel (1), Olivia Connell (1), Claire Potter (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 seven shutouts to tie for the GNAC lead.

·         Harrington Success – Owns all-time 92-7-9 all-time playing at the on-campus facility that debuted in 2014 (.894).

·         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 320-87-45 (.758) as the Western women's head coach…owns 445 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer…selected as 2022 GNAC Coach of the Year (his 7th award).

 

Through the first five weeks of conference play, the Vikings are undefeated with an 8-0-2 record, placing them 1st in the GNAC table with 26 points. WWU has clinched the first of four sports for the GNAC Championships. Seattle Pacific (19 points), Simon Fraser (19 points) and Western Oregon (17 points) have a beat on the remaining three spots. 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.

 

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:

 

·         Western Oregon: WWU leads the all-time series vs. WOU 42-8-3 dating back to the first meeting in 1997…two teams tied 1-1 on October 5 in Bellingham…over the last seven meetings the Vikings are 3-2-2 vs. the Wolves…WWU is 16-6-2 all-time in away games vs. WOU.

·         Saint Martin's: WWU is 28-2-2 all-time vs. Saint Martin's with the series dating back to the 2007 season…WWU defeated SMU 1-0 on October 3 in Bellingham…Vikings have a 24-game unbeaten streak vs. SMU (since 2011), going 23-0-1 during this stretch…two teams played to a scoreless draw in Lacey last season.

 

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

 

 

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.

 

Junior defender and co-captain Asia Hardin has started 60 of 61 possible games during her three-year career as a Viking. Not only has she been a mainstay in the starting lineup, but in the 60 games played, Hardin has appeared in all but 30 minutes of those games, logging the full 90 minutes 58 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 92-7-9 (.894) playing in front of the home crowd (6-1-3 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 142-32-24 (.778) 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

 

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:

 

 

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.

 

The Vikings have qualified for one of the four spots in the GNAC Championships. WWU has advanced to play in each of the 12 versions of the postseason GNAC Tournament, and has played in the championship game in each of the 11 tournaments to date. Western is 11-0-0 all-time in GNAC Semifinal games, winning six tournament titles (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022) and is 17-3-2 all-time in the GNAC Championships.

 

 

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 142 of its last 185 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 142-23-20 (.822) 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 320-87-45 (.758) 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 445 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.