SEATTLE, Wash. – The No. 1 seed Western Washington University women's soccer team dropped a tight 1-0 decision to No. 3 Simon Fraser University Saturday in the GNAC Championships Final at Interbay Stadium.

 

Both teams were held scoreless in the first half before SFU broke through in the 50th minute when tournament MVP Kiera Scott scored her third goal of the postseason to put the Red Leafs up 1-0. SFU held the Vikings off the remaining 40 minutes to claim their second consecutive GNAC Championships title to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championships in the West Region.

 

WWU had its 15-game unbeaten streak (12-0-3) snapped while recording its first loss since September 22 against current No. 1 Colorado School of Mines. The GNAC regular-season champions will now wait for Monday's 4 pm NCAA Selection Show to see if they receive one of four at-large bids to the West Regional Championships. The Vikings season body of work includes having one of the top RPIs in the region and entered the postseason with the No. 6 ranking in the West Region.

 

Saturday's championship game extended an impressive streak with Western appearing in all 12 title games of the GNAC Championships, but the Vikings fell short of a seventh postseason GNAC title. SFU joined Seattle Pacific (2013-14) and WWU (2015-17) as the only conference teams to win consecutive GNAC tournament titles.

 

WWU held a 16-8 advantage in total shots over SFU and fired eight shots on goal, but Red Leafs goalkeeper Sarah Loewen was up for the challenge making all eight saves and combined for 15 in the postseason tournament. 

 

The Red Leafs managed only two shots on goal in the 90-minute contest, but Scott connected with Alyssa Clark on a long through ball in the 50th minute to find the back of the net. After scoring a pair of goals in Thursday's 2-0 semifinal win over tournament host SPU, Scott fired a left-footed shot at a tough angle to beat WWU goalkeeper Abigail Trengove with the eventual game-winning goal.

 

WWU managed the final five shots of the game, but only one was on target as the Red Leafs claimed their 12th shutout of the season.

The Vikings (13-3-5) will wait for Monday's 4 pm NCAA Selection Show to see if their season body of work is enough to qualify for one of the four at-large berths to the seven-team NCAA West Regional Championships. The selection show can be viewed online via NCAA.com. The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC with links to recaps, statistics and photo galleries.

 

Simon Fraser 1, Western Washington 0

GNAC Championships Final

Date: November 16, 2024

Field: Interbay Stadium     Site: Seattle, WA

Attendance: 462

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Simon Fraser..................  0  1  -  1

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

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      49:26      SFU       Scott (Clark)

 

Shots: WWU 16, SFU 8

Shots on Goal: WWU 8, SFU 2

Saves: WWU 1 (Trengove – 1), SFU 8 (Loewen – 8)

Corners: WWU 4, SFU 1

Fouls: WWU 9, SFU 9

Offsides: WWU 6, SFU 0

Kits: WWU (Black), SFU (White/Red)

Updated Records: WWU (13-3-5), SFU (14-3-3)

 

The Vikings and Red Leafs combined for 17 shots in the opening 45 minutes, but nearly team found the back of the net in the scoreless first half. WWU had 10 shots with seven on frame, which SFU's first-team all-conference goalkeeper Sarah Loewen saved each one. Western had a two-shot sequence in the 26th minute by Kyrsten McGuffey and a rebound shot by Sophie Bearden Croft, but each were denied. Junior midfielder Morgan Manalili snuck behind the SFU defense in the 34th minute getting off a shot with Loewen off her line, but the shot went wide left. WWU goalkeeper Abigail Trengove made a big stop of her own in the 40th minute to keep SFU off the scoreboard.

 

For the first time in the 12-year history of the GNAC Women's Soccer Championships the conference selected an all-tournament team in addition to the normal MVP award. WWU had three selections to the team with sophomore defender Olivia Connell (1 goal), senior midfielder/forward Myka Carr (2 goals) and freshman forward Emily Holdridge (2 assists):

 

 

The Vikings fell in the GNAC Championships final 1-0 to Simon Fraser earning runner-up honors for the second year in a row and sixth time in the 12-year history of the tournament. WWU leads all member schools with six GNAC Championship trophies. The Vikings made their 12th appearance in the GNAC Women's Soccer Championships, advancing to play in the four-team tournament every season the tournament has been in existence since it debuted in 2012. WWU has also won all 12 semifinal games to advance to the championship game each time and is six-time champions in the tournament (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022). WWU is now 18-4-2 all-time in the GNAC Championships.

 

 

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

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings 2024 schedule and game-by-game results:

 

 

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 nine of the last 13 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles (2024 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.