SEATTLE, Wash. – A great Northwest Soccer Rivalry went the way of Western Washington University Saturday evening at Interbay Stadium, with the Vikings defeating the Falcons 3-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
WWU remained unbeaten in GNAC play at 3-0-1 through the first two weeks of the conference season, improving to 5-1-3 overall with the shutout victory over the No. 18 nationally ranked Falcons. Western has scored 12 goals through the first four GNAC games (all played on the road), capping a 2-0-0 week after defeating Montana State Billings 4-0 on Thursday.
Returning to the site where a large group of seniors won the national championship in 2022, the Vikings extended their unbeaten streak in GNAC play to 19 consecutive games (15-0-4) dating to the end of the 2023 season.
"We were tough as nails today and capitalized on our chances," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "The team is excited to get home to Harrington Field and continuing to improve. Our best soccer is still ahead of us."
The Vikings struck first in the 17th minute when Morgan Manalili one-time her shot on a cross from Emily Holdridge into the upper left corner to put the Vikings up 1-0.
WWU doubled its first-half lead with Manalili recording the brace converting a penalty kick with a right-footed shot to the lower left of the goal for her GNAC leading eighth goal of the season. Midfielder Bayla Abraham drew the foul in the box when she was clipped from behind after intercepting a pass and weaving towards the goal.
Under five minutes after the PK by Manalili the Vikings added another to go up 3-0 over the Falcons. Senior Emily Rice delivered a perfect corner into the box that Mie Cairns headed home for her second goal of the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Ellie McGowan recorded the shutout making seven saves, with senior captain defender Asia Hardin and junior Olivia Connell both logging the full 90 on the backline. Cairns also played the entire game while finding the scoresheet with the header goal.
WWU is 24-24-10 all-time vs. SPU with a 20-6-7 advantage in the series over the last 33 meetings since October 2013.
The Vikings (5-1-3, 3-0-1 GNAC) return to Harrington Field following their four-game road trip to open GNAC play, hosting Western Oregon on Thursday (7 pm) and Saint Martin's on Saturday (3 pm). The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/25_WSOC.
Western Washington 3, #18 Seattle Pacific 0
Date: October 4, 2025
Field: Interbay Stadium Site: Seattle, WA
Attendance: 136
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
--------------------------------------------
Western Washington............ 3 0 - 3
Seattle Pacific............... 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 16:39 WWU Manalili (E. Holdridge)
2. 32:36 WWU Manalili (PK)
3. 37:10 WWU Cairns (Rice)
Shots: WWU 11, SPU 9
Shots on Goal: SPU 7, WWU 6
Saves: WWU 7 (McGowan – 7), SPU 3 (Cullen – 2, Schoennauer - 1)
Corners: WWU 2, SPU 2
Fouls: WWU 14, SPU 8
Offsides: WWU 3, SPU 0
Kits: WWU (Light Blue), SPU (Black)
Updated Records: WWU (5-1-3, 3-0-1), SPU (3-3-3, 1-2-1)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2025 season:
|
2025 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
5-1-3
|
|
Streak
|
W2
|
|
Home
|
2-0-0
|
|
Away
|
3-1-3
|
|
Neutral
|
0-0-0
|
|
GNAC Record
|
3-0-1
|
|
Non-Conference
|
2-1-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
1-1-0
|
|
Scoring First
|
5-1-0
|
|
Opponent Scores First
|
0-0-2
|
|
Lead at the Half
|
5-0-0
|
|
Tied at the Half
|
0-1-2
|
|
Trail at the Half
|
0-0-1
|
|
Record by Kit
|
|
White
|
1-0-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
0-0-0
|
|
Light Blue
|
3-1-0
|
|
Black
|
1-0-3
|
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 11 of the last 12 seasons, while SPU has appeared in 17 of the last 21 seasons. WWU (10) and SPU (10) have combined to capture 20 of the 23 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. In his 23rd season as the head coach of the Vikings, Connell has as career record of 330-90-49.
GNAC STANDINGS & SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the GNAC Women's Soccer standings following Saturday's games to close out the second week of the conference slate. WWU won its 10th regular-season title in 2024 going undefeated at 11-0-3 in GNAC play. The top four teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Championships held November 13-15 in Burnaby, BC hosted by Simon Fraser University. Updated conference standings, schedules, results and statistics can be found online at GNACsports.com.
|
|
School
|
Points
|
GNAC
|
Pct.
|
Overall
|
Pct.
|
Home
|
Away
|
Neutral
|
Streak
|
Last 10
|
|
1.
|
Western Oregon
|
12
|
4-0-0
|
1.000
|
7-1-1
|
.833
|
5-1-0
|
2-0-1
|
0-0-0
|
W6
|
7-1-1
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
10
|
3-0-1
|
.875
|
5-1-3
|
.722
|
2-0-0
|
3-1-3
|
0-0-0
|
W2
|
5-1-3
|
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
10
|
3-0-1
|
.875
|
6-0-2
|
.875
|
0-0-0
|
6-0-2
|
0-0-0
|
W1
|
6-0-2
|
|
4.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
4
|
1-2-1
|
.375
|
3-3-3
|
.500
|
3-1-2
|
0-2-1
|
0-0-0
|
L1
|
3-3-3
|
|
5.
|
Montana State Billings
|
3
|
1-3-0
|
.250
|
2-6-0
|
.250
|
2-3-0
|
0-3-0
|
0-0-0
|
L2
|
2-6-0
|
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
3
|
1-3-0
|
.250
|
2-6-0
|
.250
|
0-2-0
|
1-4-0
|
1-0-0
|
L1
|
2-6-0
|
|
7.
|
Central Washington
|
2
|
0-2-2
|
.250
|
2-2-3
|
.500
|
1-1-1
|
0-1-1
|
1-0-1
|
T1
|
2-2-3
|
|
8.
|
Saint Martin's
|
1
|
0-3-1
|
.125
|
1-6-1
|
.188
|
0-1-1
|
1-5-0
|
0-0-0
|
T1
|
1-6-1
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, October 2:
Northwest Nazarene 1, at Saint Martin's 0
at Western Oregon 3, Central Washington 0
Simon Fraser 0, at Seattle Pacific 0
Western Washington 4, at Montana State Billings 0
Saturday, October 4:
at Western Oregon 1, Northwest Nazarene 0
Simon Fraser 2, at Montana State Billings 0
Central Washington 1, at Saint Martin's 1
Western Washington 3, at Seattle Pacific 0
|
