BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team starts a new season this week with the opening of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

 

WWU (1-2-2) opens the 14-game GNAC slate with tough match-ups against defending conference tournament champion Simon Fraser (4-0-0) on the road Thursday in Burnaby, BC (6 pm) and hosts defending regular-season champion Seattle Pacific (2-1-1) on Saturday at Harrington Field (7 pm).

 

The Vikings have dropped their last two games and are looking to break a three-game winless streak. Saturday's game vs. the Falcons begins a stretch of three consecutive home games, and six of eight at Harrington Field.

 

Saturday's match vs. SPU will be a Blue Out welcoming WWU students back to campus during the first week of the fall quarter. All Western fans are encouraged to wear blue to support the Vikings in the first home conference game of the season.

 

 

With the start of conference play this week, let's throw out an incredible fact on the Vikings in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. WWU has qualified for all 11 of the GNAC Championship tournaments (top 4 in regular-season standings) and advanced to the championship game all 11 times. The Vikings are six-time GNAC postseason champions and 16-2-2 all-time in the postseason tournament. WWU has won nine regular-season GNAC titles (last in 2022).

 

The Vikings played a pair of games last week, completing a California road trip with a 1-0 loss at Azusa Pacific and falling to No. 3 Colorado School of Mines 2-0 on Sunday at Harrington Field.

 

WWU and Simon Fraser square off in the GNAC opener Thursday night on Burnaby Mountain at Terry Fox Field at SFU Stadium. The opener is a re-match of the 2023 GNAC Championships Final in Ellenburg, a 2-1 victory for SFU to win the tournament title earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. WWU was 2-0 vs. the Red Leafs during the regular season with the postseason victory snapping a 29-game unbeaten streak (27-0-2) for the Vikings in the series dating back to the 2008 season.

 

WWU has not scored a goal over the last two games and the offense has been held without a goal over the last three games (own goal at Sonoma State). The Vikings last goal in the run of play came in the second half of a 2-0 victory over then No. 6 nationally-ranked UC Colorado Springs on September 8 at Harrington Field. 

 

Western has allowed just four goals through the first five games of the season for a 0.80 goals against average. 

 

Here is a look at the series history between the Vikings and its upcoming opponents:

 

·         Simon Fraser: WWU went 2-1-0 vs. SFU last season, winning both regular-season match-ups, and falling 2-1 in the GNAC Championships Final in Ellensburg…that loss snapped a 25-game winning streak and 29-game unbeaten streak for the Vikings vs. SFU…WWU leads the all-time series 37-18-3 and is 17-8-1 vs. the Red Leafs in home games (8-0-0 at Harrington Field).

·         Seattle Pacific: WWU went 0-1-1 vs. SPU last season, drawing 1-1 in Seattle and falling 0-2 in Bellingham…the all-time series stands at 23-24-8 with WWU holding a 19-6-5 record in the last 29 meetings dating back to October 2013…the Vikings had a 21-game unbeaten streak vs. the Falcons from 2013-21…WWU is 8-3-1 all-time vs. SPU in games played at Harrington Field (since 2014).

 

One of the great rivalries in college soccer, WWU (2016, 2022) and Seattle Pacific (2008) each have claimed an NCAA Division II national championship. WWU has advanced to the NCAA Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons, while SPU has appeared in 17 of the last 20 seasons. WWU (9) and SPU (10) have combined to capture 19 of the 22 GNAC regular-season titles.

 

WWU head coach Travis Connell was a four-year letterman for the SPU men's soccer team from 1991-95, helping lead the Falcons to 1993 national championship.

 

WWU opens the 14-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference slate this week traveling across the border to take on Simon Fraser University at Terry Fox Field at SFU Stadium on Thursday (6 pm) and returning to Harrington Field on Saturday to host rival Seattle Pacific. 

 

Here is a look at the overall records for the eight GNAC programs heading into the start of conference play this week. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

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 – will be honored first on Saturday, October 5 with a pregame gathering in Carver Gym and a Sideline Party for the GNAC contest vs. Western Oregon. To register for the event visit foundation.wwu.edu.

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 87-7-7 (.896) playing in front of the home crowd (1-1-1 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 135-31-22 (.777) at Harrington Field.

 

All home games feature a live webcast via Vikings TV and live statistical updates. Fans that choose to watch the games in the comfort of their home or on their devices, can point their browsers to the following links or by searching for "WWU Athletics" on YouTube. Away games will have links available at wwuvikings.com/Live.

 

·         Vikings TV – wwuvikings.com/VikingsTV

·         Webcast – wwuvikings.com/WS_Watch

·         Live Stats – wwuvikings.com/WS_Stats

 

Junior Morgan Manalili moved into the top 30 in program history with her game-winning goal in the opening moments of the win over No. 6 UCCS. Manalili now has 17 career goals to tie for 29th in program history. With three more goals will become the 22nd player to reach the 20-goal mark as a Viking. Her 11 game-winning goals are listed as No. 3 in program history behind 20 by Gabriela Pelogi (2015-18) and 17 by Catherine Miles (2012-15).

 

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

 

 

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:

 

 

The complete 2024 WWU Women's Soccer schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC and single-game tickets can also be purchased online via wwuvikings.com/Tickets. Current WWU students will gain free admission to all regular-season home events! Free parking is available for all fans during WWU Soccer games in the C Lots above Harrington Field.

 

Here is a look at the voting tally from the 2024 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll with the Vikings selected atop the rankings earning 59 points and three first-place votes. WWU opens the 2024 conference slate September 26 on the road against Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. 

 

 

The Vikings have appeared in the NCAA Division II Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons and made 12 overall appearances in the NCAA postseason in program history. 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 start with a 2-1 win over West Chester to cap the 2022 season in Seattle.

 

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 134 of its last 175 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 134-23-18 (.817) during this stretch. The program has won eight of the last 11 GNAC regular-season titles (last in 2022), five of the last eight GNAC Tournaments (last in 2022) and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 10 of the last 11 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 20 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. Owns a 312-87-43 (.755) 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 437 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.

 

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.