BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team played Western Oregon to a 1-1 tie Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at Harrington Field.

 

WWU remained undefeated in conference play at 2-0-2, moving to 3-2-4 overall on the season. Through the first two weeks of conference play the Vikings are in 3rd place with eight points. The four ties are tied for second-most in the 45 seasons of program history. WOU moved to 2-3-4 overall and 2-1-1 in GNAC play.

 

The Vikings got an early goal to go up 1-0 in the 13th minute. Seniors Ashley Nguyen and Halle Noel combined on a short corner, with Noel sending the ball into the box with a high left-footed cross. Senior forward Kyrsten McGuffey and sophomore midfielder Mie Cairns were on the finishing end of the cross with McGuffey placing it to the lower left side of the goal for her first goal as a Viking.

 

WWU's defense limited WOU's scoring chances, but the Wolves broke through in the 77th minute. Kameron Wimsatt drew a foul when McGuffey clipped her foot in the box, leading to a converted penalty kick by Ally Beavers. WWU senior goalkeeper Abigail Trengove got a touch on the shot while diving to her right, but the penalty found the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. 

 

The Vikings held a 16-11 lead in total shots, with a commanding 9-2 advantage in shots on goal. Western Oregon goalkeeper Sophia Pierce made eight saves to help the Wolves record the tie.

 

The Vikings (3-2-4, 2-0-2 GNAC) are back on the road next week with a pair of GNAC matches traveling to play Central Washington on Thursday in Ellensburg (7 pm) and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday in Nampa, Idaho (1 pm MT). The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC.

 

Western Washington 1, Western Oregon 1

Date: October 5, 2024

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 577

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Western Oregon................  0  1  -  1

Western Washington............  1  0  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      12:27     WWU       McGuffey (Nguyen, Noel)

2.      76:16     WOU       Beavers (PK)

 

Shots: WWU 16, WOU 11

Shots on Goal: WWU 9, WOU 2

Saves: WWU 1 (Trengove - 1), WOU 8 (Pierce – 8)

Corners: WWU 5, WOU 2

Fouls: WOU 15, WWU 13

Offsides: WWU 2, WOU 1

Kits: WWU (Black), WOU (Gray)

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

 

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 – were honored Saturday with a pregame gathering in Carver Gym and a Sideline Party for the GNAC contest vs. Western Oregon. All student-athletes, coaches and staff from the two teams are now part of the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame.
 

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 Saturday's games to close out the second week of conference play. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

WWU now leads the series 42-8-3 dating back to the first game in 1997…the Vikings are 22-2-1 all-time in home games vs. the Wolves…over the last seven meetings the Vikings are 3-2-2 vs. the Wolves.

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 88-7-9 (.889) playing in front of the home crowd (2-1-3 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 136-31-24 (.775) at Harrington Field.

 

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.