MONMOUTH, Ore. – Senior forward Kyrsten McGuffey scored a first-half brace to lead the Western Washington University women's soccer team to a 2-0 road victory at Western Oregon University on Thursday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

 

The Vikings extended their winning streak to seven consecutive games and unbeaten streak to 11 straight with their fourth consecutive shutout. WWU improved to 10-2-4 overall and inched closer winning its 10th GNAC regular-season title at 9-0-2 in conference play (29 points). WOU dropped to 4-4-8 overall and 4-2-5 in GNAC play while having its string of six consecutive shutouts snapped. The Wolves had not allowed a goal in over 628 consecutive minutes prior to McGuffey's early first-half goal.  

 

The Vikings opened the scoring in the 12th minute with McGuffey scoring her fifth goal of the season. Sophomore midfielder Mie Cairns intercepted a pass in the Vikings half of the field and fed freshman forward Emily Holdridge near the top of the box. McGuffey corralled the pass with a good touch and one-timed it across the face of the goal into the left corner.

 

McGuffey recorded the first-half brace early in the 32nd minute receiving a pass 25-yards out from junior midfielder Morgan Manalili, driving up the field and unleashing a shot from the top of the box that tucked under the crossbar to extend WWU's lead to 2-0.

 

WWU's defense limited the Wolves to just four shots (one on goal) while recording its GNAC leading ninth shutout of the season. Senior goalkeeper Abigail Trengove made one save for her eighth clean sheet of the season. Defenders Asia Hardin and Olivia Connell, and midfielder Mie Cairns all played the full 90.

 

"Today was a great win on the road. We received contributions from a lot of players," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We have really been enjoying each other and the chemistry that has been built and we can't wait to play again."

 

The Vikings (10-2-4, 9-0-2 GNAC) are back in action Saturday at Saint Martin's in Lacey with a 2 pm kickoff at SMU Soccer Field. The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC.

 

Western Washington 2, Western Oregon 0

Date: October 31, 2024

Field: WOU Turf Field     Site: Monmouth, OR

Attendance: 68

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington............  2  0  -  2

Western Oregon................  0  0  -  0

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      11:16      WWU       McGuffey (E. Holdridge, Cairns)

2.      31:01      WWU       McGuffey (Manalili, Hmura)

 

Shots: WWU 10, WOU 4

Shots on Goal: WWU 7, WOU 1

Saves: WWU 1 (Trengove – 1), WOU 5 (Pierce - 5)

Corners: WOU 5, WWU 0

Fouls: WWU 8, WOU 5

Offsides: WWU 1, WOU 0

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), WOU (Red)

Updated Records: WWU (10-2-4, 9-0-2 GNAC), WOU (4-4-8, 4-2-5 GNAC)

 

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 sixth week of conference play. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

The Vikings extended their winning streak to seven consecutive games and unbeaten streak to 11 in a row with Thursday's shutout victory at WOU. Here is a look at the longest winning and unbeaten streaks in program history:

 

 

WWU won the regular-season series over WOU 1-0-1 after the two Western's played to a 1-1 tie in Bellingham on October 5. The Vikings lead the all-time series 43-8-3 dating back to the first meeting in 1997. Over the last eight meetings WWU is 4-2-2 vs. the Wolves. The Vikings improved to 17-6-2 all-time in away games vs. WOU.

 

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.