In 2022, four players were part of a recruiting class that joined Western Washington University's women's soccer team. In that same year, they won the NCAA DII National Championship. Now, those same girls are entering their fourth year as seniors, aiming to make their last season something special.
 
Having grown together both on and off the pitch, seniors Asia Hardin (Captain), Claire Potter, Kascia Muscutt, and Morgan Manalili have all become confident and powerful leaders for their team, and in a recent interview, discuss their thoughts and feelings coming into their senior season.
 
Q. What has your journey been like at Western going from assisting on that goal in the National title game to now being a senior in 2025?
 
Kascia: Winning a national title was an insane way to complete your first year –that's not something that many people think is even an option coming into your freshman year and the amount of minutes that all of us got to put into that year was also really incredible. For me, my story is a little bit different than these guys, just because after that season I didn't get to play for two years.
 
After having to medically redshirt her sophomore year, Kascia came back halfway through her junior season to return to playing alongside her teammates.
 
Kascia: It kind of all culminates into a unique energy this season where we have one more go, and we've all learned a lot. I think for me it's about really getting to appreciate this season and put everything that we can to make it as far as we possibly can together.  It feels really special to get to do it with these guys.
 
Q. How have you grown as a leader from Asia as a freshman from West Linn Oregon to Asia as a senior in your last year of collegiate soccer?
 
Asia: On the field my game has grown so much since freshman year because we lost key players, and I have had to step into that role to be that stronger upperclassmen and help the younger players get integrated. I love to lead and communicate on the field, so that's amazing. Obviously, I am captain but I feel like I would be the same exact player even if I wasn't captain.
 
That's just how I play soccer and I feel like my role as captain, and Travis (Connell) and I talk about this in our meetings a lot, but my goal is to make as many people on the team feel like leaders as possible. I feel like that is what makes our team so special is the shared leadership, especially of this big senior class that we have that has made such a huge impact.
 
Asia Hardin, on top of earning First-team All-GNAC the last two years, has played in all but one game during her WWU career setting the all-time minutes played record.
 
Q. If you were to pick out a few key words about your time in this program and with your teammates, what is Western soccer?
 
Morgan: I think that word I would pick out is family. I think that we have just built incredible friendships. At our retreat, I was talking about how Asia and I roomed together as freshman and it is crazy to think about how far we've come just as roommates, we're living together now and we've lived together for four years.
 
I think there is just so much love that we all share for the game, for each other, for every single little moment we've shared together, and it's just very bittersweet that this is the last few months that we're really able to do that together. I think that just speaks to how close our team is.
 
Claire: I feel like its empowerment. We're surrounded by 30-plus players and coaches that would do anything for you, that would drop anything and be there for you, and that's such a special experience that in college like nobody else has except athletes. For me it's been so special to have that many people in my corner supporting me and helping me grow.
I'm way more confident now and that's because I'm surrounded by people who love me and accept me and want me to the be the best possible version of myself, and I feel like whether it's on the field or off the field we're just constantly all empowering each other and trying to reach all of our goals.
 
This group of seniors have grown into pillars of the Western soccer community, and each shared how it all started with that 2022 freshman season.
 
"Our freshman year, I think it kind of changed us, in the fact that now we know how hard it is to do what we did and before we didn't," said Claire Potter. "A lot of people on our team haven't experienced what we did, so to some people it seems almost unattainable, but for us, if you really believe you can do it then you definitely can."
 
The growth, maturity, and overall determination of this group to give themselves and their teammates an amazing last season together is clear. With their final collegiate season winding down, these student-athletes are using all they have learned these last four seasons to make another national title run.