BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team begins its quest for a third national title with the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Division II Championships this week in Southern California.

 

The Vikings are making their 11th trip to the NCAA Championships in the last 12 seasons as the No. 5 seed in the West Region. WWU takes on No. 4 seed Azusa Pacific at 1 pm on Thursday in first round action at Kellogg Stadium on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona. The game will stream live (and free) online via FloCollege with a direct link available at WWUVikings.com.

 

WWU heads into the NCAA postseason with a 13-3-5 overall record and boasts a 12-1-3 record of its last 16 games. The Vikings won their 10th GNAC regular-season title with an undefeated 11-0-3 record and advanced to the championship game of the GNAC Championships last week in Seattle.

 

Sub-regional host Cal Poly Pomona is the No. 1 seed with a 17-1-2 overall record after winning the CCAA regular-season and postseason titles. The winner of Thursday's APU/WWU first-round game meet CPP on Saturday at 1 pm, with a trip to the NCAA West Regional Championship game on the line. The other half of the West Region bracket features No. 2 Point Loma (host), No. 3 Hawai'i Hilo, No. 6 Concordia Irvine and No. 7 Simon Fraser. The complete 56-team tournament bracket can be viewed online at NCAA.com. 

 

The Vikings (13-3-5, 11-0-3 GNAC) advance to the NCAA Championships as the No. 5 seed in the West Region and will face No. 4 Azusa Pacific (12-3-1, 8-3-0 PacWest) on Thursday at 1 pm in Pomona, California. The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC.

 

 

If you don't read anything past this portion of the preview, you should find out everything you need to know on the Vikings in the following bullet points:

 

·         The Record – 13-3-5 overall record, 11-0-3 in GNAC play (1st place).

·         Recently – Only one loss since late September going 12-1-3 in last 16 games.

·         GNAC Champions – Claimed GNAC regular-season title for 10th team title in program history.

·         Always Dancing – Advanced to play in 11 of the last 12 NCAA Championships and played in seven of the last eight West Regional title matches (9 of last 11 seasons)…all-time record of 46-13-3 in the postseason (GNAC + NCAA).

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

·         Strong Defense – Tied for 17th in NCAA II and 2nd in West Region with 0.524 goals against average.

·         Offensive Surge – Scored 36 goals on the season, with 29 in the last 12 games (7 in first 9 games).

·         Shutouts – Recorded 11 shutouts on the season to tie for 24th in NCAA II (Tied for 4th in West Region).

·         Double-Digit Wins – Reached double-digit wins (13-3-5) for the 18th consecutive season…averaged over 16 wins during span since 2006 and has a string of 21 consecutive winning seasons.

·         Spreading the Wealth – Viking goals this season have come from 12 different players – Kyrsten McGuffey (8), Lydia Myers (6), Ashley Nguyen (4), Emily Holdridge (3), Sophie Bearden Croft (3), Morgan Manalili (2), Jane Hmura (2), Myka Carr (2), Olivia Connell (2), Audrey Holdridge (1), Halle Noel (1), Claire Potter (1)…also one own goal.

·         Big Helper – Morgan Manalili leads GNAC and is 2nd in the West Region with eight assists, the most assists in a season by a Viking since Estera Levinte had eight during the 2022 national championship season…Manalili has 18 goals and 16 assists in 67 career games to rank 21st in program history with 52 points.

·         Master of Minutes – Asia Hardin has played the full 90 in 64 of 66 career games played (5,910 minutes).

·         Tie Games – Have recorded five draws this season, tied for the most in a single season in program history.

·         Trengove Clean Sheets – Senior Abigail Trengove has recorded 10 shutouts to tie for 18th in NCAA II and rank 3rd in the West Region.

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

·         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 324-88-46 (.758) as the Western women's head coach…owns 449 career wins including time with WWU men's soccer…selected as 2024 GNAC Coach of the Year (his 8th award).

 

Fans can watch the Vikings in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship live online via the FloCollege network. Thursday's game vs. Azusa Pacific will be free of charge, but you may need to register for an account with FloSports. 

 

·         Webcast – wwuvikings.com/WS_Watch

·         Live Stats – wwuvikings.com/WS_Stats

·         NCAA Bracket – ncaa.com/brackets/soccer-women/d2/2024

 

The West Region grew from six teams last year to seven this season, with the No. 1 seed (CPP) receiving a first-round bye. The tournament format shifted a little this year with the first and second rounds held November 21-21, the regional final November 30-December 1 and the national quarterfinal against the winner of the South Central Region on December 7 at the site of the highest-seeded remaining West Regional team. The NCAA Division II National Championships (Final Four) will be held in conjunction with the men's soccer championship December 13-15 at the Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, North Carolina. The last two national champions have come from the West Region with WWU winning in 2022 and Point Loma in 2023.

 

 

Here is a look at the West Regional bracket, with a link to the Field of 56 NCAA II Championships Bracket by clicking on the image.

The Vikings will be on the road to open the postseason, a rarity in the program's 13 trips to the NCAA Championships. In 12 previous appearances the Vikings have hosted opening-round games in Bellingham eight times. In 38 career NCAA Championship matches, WWU has played 16 in Bellingham between Orca Field at Whatcom Community College (4 games) and Harrington Field (12 games).

 

Thursday's first-round game vs. APU is a re-match of the regular-season contest won 1-0 by the Cougars on September 17 in Azusa, California. The Cougars finished the regular season with a 12-3-1 overall record and 5th in the PacWest standings with an 8-3-0 mark. APU is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2016. The Vikings lead the all-time series vs. APU 4-1, including a 1-0 victory in the 2015 West Regional Championship game in Bellingham.

 

The Vikings will be making their 13th appearance in the NCAA Division II Championships and 11th in the last 12 seasons. 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.

After a one-year hiatus from the tournament field, the Vikings return to familiar territory with their 13th NCAA Championship appearance in program history. WWU is one full season removed from winning the 2022 national championship adding a second star after also winning the title in 2016. Western has an all-time 28-9-1 record in NCAA Championships play, winning at least one game in 10 of 12 previous trips to the NCAA postseason. Here is a game-by-game look at WWU in the NCAA postseason:

 

2006 (0-1):

Lost to UC San Diego, 4-0 (La Jolla, CA)

 

2008 (1-1):

Defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 1-0 (Bellingham, WA / Orca Field)

Lost to Seattle Pacific, 1-0 (OT) - West Region Final (Kirksville, MO)

 

2012 (2-1):

Defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 2-1 (OT) (Rohnert Park, CA)

Defeated Sonoma State, 2-1 (OT) (Rohnert Park, CA)

Lost to UC San Diego, 2-1 (OT) – West Region Final (Denver, CO)

 

2013 (3-1):

Defeated Seattle Pacific, 2-0 (Bellingham, WA / Orca Field)

Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 1-0 – West Region Final (Bellingham, WA / Orca Field)

Defeated St. Edward's 2-0 - National Quarterfinal (Bellingham, WA / Orca Field)

Lost to West Florida, 2-1 (OT) – National Semifinal (Evans, GA)

 

2014 (0-1):

Lost to Stanislaus State, 1-0 (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

 

2015 (3-1):

Defeated Seattle Pacific, 1-0 (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 1-0 – West Region Final (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated Dallas Baptist, 3-1 - National Quarterfinal (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Lost to Grand Valley State, 3-2 – National Semifinal (Pensacola, FL)

 

2016 (5-0):

Defeated Central Washington, 2-0 (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated UC San Diego, 2-1 (OT) – West Region Final (Golden, CO)

Defeated Colorado Mines, 5-1 - National Quarterfinal (Golden, CO)

Defeated Kutztown, 3-0 - National Semifinal (Kansas City, MO)

Defeated Grand Valley State, 3-2 – National Championship Game (Kansas City, MO)

 

2017 (1-1):

Defeated Sonoma State, 2-0 (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Lost to UC San Diego, 2-0 – West Region Final (La Jolla, CA)

 

2018 (2-0-1):

Defeated Sonoma State, 1-0 (Portland, OR)

Defeated Concordia, 3-2 (OT) (Portland, OR)

Tied UC San Diego, 0-0 (2OT) – lost 4-1 on PK – West Region Final (Canyon, TX)

 

2019 (5-1):

Defeated Stanislaus State, 1-0 (Rohnert Park, CA)

Defeated Cal State LA, 1-0 (2OT) (Rohnert Park, CA)

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0 – West Region Final (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated Dixie State, 3-0 – National Quarterfinal (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated Flagler, 2-0 – National Semifinals (Pittsburgh, PA)

Lost to Grand Valley State, 1-0 (2OT) – National Championship Game (Pittsburgh, PA)

 

2021 (1-1):

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0 (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Lost to Seattle Pacific, 2-1 – West Region Final (Dallas, TX)

 

2022 (5-0):

Defeated Point Loma, 1-0 (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated Concordia Irvine, 1-0 – West Region Final (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated Colorado School of Mines, 3-1 – National Quarterfinal (Bellingham, WA / Harrington Field)

Defeated Columbus State, 2-1 – National Semifinal (Seattle, WA)

Defeated West Chester, 2-1 – National Championship Game (Seattle, WA)

 

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

 

 

The Vikings had eight players selected to the 2024 GNAC All-Conference team, with the award winners highlighted by three players earning First Team All-GNAC honors. Junior midfielder Morgan Manalili became a three-time first-team all-conference award winner and was joined by junior defender Asia Hardin and sophomore midfielder Mie Cairns. GNAC leading scorer Kyrsten McGuffey was voted the GNAC Newcomer of the Year and a Second Team All-GNAC selection. Senior defender Halle Noel joined McGuffey as a second-team selection. Senior goalkeeper Abigail Trengove, sophomore defender Olivia Connell and senior midfielder Lydia Myers all earned honorable mention honors on the All-GNAC team. WWU's eight selections were second-most among conference member schools trailing the nine by Simon Fraser.

Here is a look at the Vikings 2024 schedule and game-by-game results heading into the NCAA West Regional Championship:

 

 

The Vikings won their 10th GNAC regular-season title to earn the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships. WWU added to titles won in 2022, 2018-19, 2012-16 and 2008 to tie Seattle Pacific for the most GNAC titles in conference history (regular season). The Vikings have finished first or second in the final GNAC table in each of the last 12 seasons dating back to 2012.

Here is a look at the final standings for the GNAC with the Vikings securing its 10th title. WWU and Simon Fraser advanced to the West Regional bracket of the 56-team NCAA Division II Championships. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

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.

 

 

The Vikings had a 15-game unbeaten streak (12-0-3) snapped in the GNAC Championships final with the 1-0 loss to Simon Fraser. It marked the 7th-longest unbeaten streak in program history. WWU also had an eight-game winning streak snapped during the final week of the regular season with a 1-1 tie at Seattle Pacific. Here is a look at the longest winning and unbeaten streaks in program history:

 

 

The Vikings had six different players earn GNAC Player of the Week honors during the 2024 season, with four offensive selections and two on defense. Lydia Myers, Morgan Manalili, Halle Noel and Kyrsten McGuffey won four consecutive Offensive Player of the Week awards, with Asia Hardin and Olivia Connell earning defensive awards during the campaign. 

 

 

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 144-32-24 (.780) at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings celebrated the eight-player senior class prior to the October 26 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.

 

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 66 of 67 possible games during her three-year career as a Viking. Not only has she been a mainstay in the starting lineup, but in the 66 games played, Hardin has appeared in all but 30 minutes of those games, logging the full 90 minutes 64 times during her career. The only game she missed was the 2022 GNAC Semifinal when she was not available for the game. Hardin earned First Team All-GNAC honors for the second consecutive season.

 

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 146 of its last 191 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 146-24-21 (.819) during this stretch. The program has won nine of the last 12 GNAC regular-season titles (including 2024), five of the last nine GNAC Tournaments (last in 2022) and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 11 of the last 23 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 21 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. Selected as the 2024 GNAC Coach of the Year. Owns a 324-88-46 (.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 449 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.

 

The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, appearing in the NCAA Championships in 11 of the last 12 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 13 trips to the NCAA Championships and 19 consecutive winning seasons.