BURNABY, B.C. – Morgan Manalili has had a flare for the dramatics throughout her illustrious four-year career, but even Thursday's last-second magic is hard to top as her best moment as a Viking.

 

With the No. 1 seed Vikings trailing 1-0 to No. 4 seed Seattle Pacific in the waning seconds, Manalili connected on a header inside the 6-yard box off a free kick from Emily Rice for the equalizer with five seconds on the clock (89:55) to force overtime.

 

Just over three minutes into the second overtime period, Manalili was again part of a magic moment delivering a cross into the box where Reese Walkercut in front of her defender and headed home the game-winning golden goal at the 102:44 mark.

 

WWU improved to 14-1-5 overall while extending its unbeaten streak to 17 consecutive games. The Vikings will play in their 14th consecutive GNAC Championships Final on Saturday at 2 pm against No. 2 seed and tournament host Simon Fraser. Western is undefeated at 13-0-0 all-time in conference tournament semifinals and will be meeting SFU in the championship final for the third consecutive season.

 

SPU got on the scoreboard first in the 35th minute putting the Vikings in a rare trailing situation. Grace Coston took a short corner from Ashlyn Valdovinos off a well-designed set piece, and fired a right-footed shot just outside the 18-yard box that slid under the crossbar for her first collegiate goal.

 

The Vikings nearly put the equalizer in the back of the next in the final seconds prior to halftime when midfielder Mie Cairns volleyed a shot towards the right corner, but SPU goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen made a leaping save.

 

Both teams had threatening moments in the second half with WWU holding an 8-3 shots advantage over the final 45 minutes. Western freshman goalkeeper Ellie McGowan made a diving save fully extended in the 73rd minute to keep the deficit at 1-0. SPU's second-half goalkeeper Landry Schoennauer made a pair of saves, including an 88th-minute stop on a shot by Manalili.

 

WWU held a 16-10 advantage in total shots and 8-5 in shots on goal…the Vikings also took nine corner kicks in the contest…Western is 13-0-0 all-time in GNAC semifinal games…Morgan Manalili scored her 17th goal of the season, tying the GNAC single-season record to match Seattle Pacific's Shannon Lovejoy (2003),  Leah Wymer (2007) and Sarah Martinez (2007)…the 17 goals are 4th-most in a season by a Viking and most since Shonna Hall totaled 18 in 1995…Asia Hardin made her 89th career start, matching the all-time WWU and GNAC record by Catherine Miles (2012-15)…head coach Travis Connell improved his all-time record at the helm of the program to 339-90-51 (.759)…recent last minute goals for the Vikings included a game-winning goal at 89:28 in the NCAA West Regional in 2024 defeating Azusa Pacific 2-1 (Claire Potter from Halle Noel) and 89:23 in a 1-1 tie vs. Seattle Pacific during the 2024 regular season (Sophie Bearden Croft from Asia Hardin and Kyrsten McGuffey). 

 

The No. 1 seed and No. 12 nationally ranked Vikings (14-1-5) move on to the GNAC Championship game for the 14th consecutive season, meeting No. 2 seed and tournament host Simon Fraser on Saturday with kickoff set for 2 pm on Terry Fox Field at SFU Stadium. More information on the 2025 GNAC Soccer Championships can be viewed online at GNACSports.com. The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/25_WSOC.

 

Western Washington 2, Seattle Pacific 1

Date: November 13, 2025

Field: Terry Fox Field     Site: Burnaby, BC

Attendance: 567

 

Goals by period                 1  2  OT1  OT2   Tot

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

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

Western Washington............  0  1   0    1  -  2

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.       34:09      SPU        Coston (Valdovinos)

2.       89:55      WWU        Manalili (Rice)

3.      102:44      WWU        Walker (Manalili)

 

Shots: WWU 16, SPU 10

Shots on Goal: WWU 8, SPU 5

Saves: WWU 4 (McGowan – 4), SPU 6 (Cullen – 3, Schoennauer - 2)

Corners: WWU 9, SPU 3

Fouls: SPU 17, WWU 13

Offsides: WWU 9, SPU 2

Kits: WWU (Light Blue), SPU (Black)

Updated Records: WWU (14-1-5), SPU (8-5-7)

 

The Vikings are making their 13th 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 13 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 heads into Saturday's 2 pm final with a 19-4-2 all-time record in the GNAC Championships.

 

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2025 season:

 

 

The Vikings extended their unbeaten streak to 17 consecutive games with the 2-1 double-overtime victory over Seattle Pacific, the 6th-longest undefeated streak in program history. WWU is 14-0-3 during the unbeaten streak dating back to a victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on September 18. Here is a look at the longest unbeaten streaks in program history:

 

 

The Vikings went 3-0 vs. Seattle Pacific during the 2025 season, winning 3-0 on October 4 at Interbay Stadium and 2-0 on October 30 at Harrington Field. WWU leads the all-time series vs. the Falcons 26-24-10 with a 22-6-7 record in the last 35 meetings since October 2013.

 

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 (11) and SPU (10) have combined to capture 21 of the 24 GNAC regular-season titles and nine of 12 conference postseason 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 339-90-51 (.759).