POMONA, Calif. – The Vikings scored early and scored late, and they are advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships following a 2-1 victory over Azusa Pacific Thursday at Kellogg Stadium.

 

Making its 13th appearance in the NCAA Championships – and 11th in last 12 season, the No. 5 seed Western Washington University women's soccer team scored in the opening three minutes and in the final 30 seconds to defeat the No. 4 seed Cougars to advance. WWU (14-3-5) will meet No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona (17-1-2) Saturday at 1 pm on the Broncos home field.

 

After allowing a late equalizer in the 86th minute, the Vikings found late-game magic when senior midfielder Halle Noel sent a long cross into the 18-yard box where junior midfielder Claire Potter connected on a header into the top left corner for the game-winning goal with just 32 seconds on the clock.

 

The late-game heroics were set up by a quick opening goal by the Vikings and a late equalizer by the Cougars with less than four minutes remaining.

 

The Vikings got off to an incredibly quick start opening the scoring just over two minutes into the match. Morgan Manalili saved a ball from going out of bounds near the midfield line and Mie Cairns pushed the ball forward into the 18-yard box. The APU defense wasn't quick to clear the ball and Kyrsten McGuffey intercepted the ball, got a touch around the goalkeeper and slotted a right-footed shot into the middle of the goal for her ninth goal of the season.

 

APU found the late equalizer in the 86th minute on a deflected shot that glanced off the hands of WWU goalkeeper Abigail Trengove. Natlie Kamper sent a ball into the box that caromed off the shoulder of teammate Jaci Maze (11th goal) at the 85:30 mark to tie the game 1-1.

 

With under a minute to play, Noel tracked the ball down on the sideline to keep the ball in play and sent a right-footed cross into the box with Potter elevating above a Cougar defender nodding home her second goal of the season.

 

"That was a big moment, and I am proud of our team for how they came down the field and believed they would get the opportunity for a championship moment," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "Halle sent a wonderful ball into an area where we could be dangerous, and Claire was in a great spot for the goal. We played a really good team today and we knew they would make a push in the second half. We are excited to get another chance to play together as a group."

WWU scored in the first 20 minutes of a game for the eighth time this season, and the third time within the first six minutes of a contest…the Vikings also scored in the final minute of a game for the second time this season, with Claire Potter's game-winning goal coming with 32 second left…Sophie Bearden Croft scored a late equalizer in the 90th minute (37 seconds remaining) in a 1-1 tie vs. Seattle Pacific on September 28 at Harrington Field…WWU held a slim 12-10 advantage in total shots, with both teams recording four shots on goal.

 

 

The Vikings (14-3-5) advances to the second round of the NCAA Championships facing No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona (17-1-2) Saturday at 1 pm at Kellogg Stadium. The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC with links to recaps, statistics and photo galleries.

 

#5 Western Washington 2, #4 Azusa Pacific 1

NCAA Championships First Round

Date: November 21, 2024

Field: Kellogg Stadium     Site: Pomona, CA

Attendance: 250

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Western Washington............  1  1  -  2

Azusa Pacific.................  0  1  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.       2:38      WWU       McGuffey

2.      85:30      APU       Maze (Kamper)

3.      89:28      WWU       Potter (Noel)

 

Shots: WWU 12, APU 10

Shots on Goal: WWU 4, APU 4

Saves: WWU 3 (Trengove – 3), APU 2 (Williams – 1, Team - 1)

Corners: WWU 8, APU 3

Fouls: APU 10, WWU 6

Offsides: WWU 5, APU 1

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), APU (White)

Updated Records: WWU (14-3-5), APU (12-4-1)

NCAA West Seeds: WWU (#5), APU (#4)

 

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

The second round of the NCAA II Championships in the West Region has been set with No. 1 Cal Poly Pomona facing No. 5 Western Washington in Pomona, California, and No. 2 Point Loma facing No. 3 Hawai'i Hilo in San Diego. 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 21-23, 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.

 

 

The Vikings are 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 29-9-1 record in NCAA Championships play, winning at least one game in 11 of 13 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.

Improved to 5-1 all-time vs. Azusa Pacific with Thursday's 2-1 victory in the first round of the NCAA Championships. Dropped the regular season meeting vs. the Cougars in Azusa on September 17, 1-0. 

 

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 following Thursday's 2-1 victory over Azusa Pacific in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championships:

 

 

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.