BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior forward Sophie Bearden Croft scored the game-tying goal with 37 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Vikings to a 1-1 tie vs. rival Seattle Pacific University Saturday night in front of 601 fans at Harrington Field.

 

The Vikings had taken 29 shots – 13 on goal – in the first 89 minutes of the contest before Bearden Croft found the back of the net on a right-footed volley into the upper part of the goal. SPU goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen gave a heroic effort in the game setting a school record with 13 saves.

 

WWU out-shot the Falcons 30-8, including 17-2 in the first half, and 13-6 in the second 45-minute period. The Vikings finished with 30 total shots compared to eight by the Falcons. 

 

But it was the Falcons that struck first in the 21st minute when Taylor Krueger weaved through the Viking defense to score her third goal of the season at the 20:03 mark. 

 

WWU looked to equalize several times in the second half, with shots by Halle Noel hitting the crossbar in the 73rd minute and Kyrsten McGuffey hitting the post in the 83rd minute.

 

With the clock winding down, junior defender Asia Hardin lofted a ball from near midfield into the box, where McGuffey chested the fall to the feat of Bearden Croft, who volleyed home the game-tying goal with just 37 seconds remaining. The goal was the seventh of Bearden Croft's career, who recorded a brace in Western's national semifinal victory over Columbus State in 2022 on the way to winning the national title.

 

The Vikings concluded an undefeated opening week of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play going 1-0-1 following Thursday's 1-0 victory at Simon Fraser. WWU is now 2-2-3 on the season overall.

 

"Our team is full of belief and tonight they showed that with the way they persevered to get the result in a rivalry game," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "It is exciting to coach teams like this that believe in themselves. We have had some tough games where they have played well enough to win, so this was an exciting end to the first week of conference play. I thought we had great contributions from a number of players this week and that is part of that belief system. Sophie Bearden Croft and Myka Carr gave us a boost tonight as reserves and made an impact in the game."

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The Vikings (2-2-3, 1-0-1 GNAC) remain at home next week with a pair of games at Harrington Field, hosting Saint Martin's on Thursday (7 pm) and Western Oregon on Saturday (2 pm). The complete 2024 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/24_WSOC.

 

Western Washington 1, Seattle Pacific 1

Date: September 28, 2024

Field: Harrington Field   Site: Bellingham, WA

Attendance: 601

 

Goals by period                 1  2    Tot

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

Seattle Pacific...............  1  0  -  1

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

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.      20:03     SPU       Krueger

2.      89:23     WWU       Bearden Croft (Hardin, McGuffey)

 

Shots: WWU 30, SPU 8

Shots on Goal: WWU 14, SPU 5

Saves: WWU 4 (Trengove - 4), SPU 13 (Cullen – 13)

Corners: WWU 8, SPU 4

Fouls: SPU 13, WWU 9

Offsides: WWU 3, SPU 2

Kits: WWU (Black), SPU (White)

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

 

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 – 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.

 

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 the opening week of conference play. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.

 

 

The rivalry series between the Vikings and Falcons has become one of the strongest in the Northwest in recent years. WWU is 23-24-8 all-time vs. the Falcons but are 19-6-6 in the last 31 meetings dating back to October 2013. WWU had a 21-game unbeaten streak vs. the Falcons from 2013-21. Western is now 8-3-2 all-time vs. SPU in games played at Harrington field (since 2014).

 

Since Harrington Field debuted on the south edge of the WWU campus in 2014, the Vikings are 87-7-8 (.892) playing in front of the home crowd (1-1-2 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 135-31-23 (.775) at Harrington Field.

 

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.

 

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.