BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's soccer team closed out a two-win start to the home schedule defeating Cal State East Bay 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Harrington Field.
The Vikings improved to 2-1-2 overall and 2-0-0 at home with the victory, scoring a pair of first-half goals to defeat the Pioneers.
"This was a big win for us today. East Bay caused us a lot of problems, but our players found a way through it," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "We got off to a good start and then defended our tails off the remainder of the game. Sometimes that is what you need to do to get a victory."
Sophomore forward Emily Holdridge combined with senior Morgan Manalili and junior Reese Walker on a trio of tight passes before connecting on a right-footed finish to the upper part of the goal in the 20th minute.
WWU went up 2-0 in the 29th minute on an own goal by CSUEB. Manalili crossed a ball towards the box that was redirected by an East Bay defender into the goal.
Leading 2-0 at the half, the Vikings fended off the Pioneers in the second half to record the victory. CSUEB found the back of the net in the 55th minute cutting its deficit in half on a goal by Mika Sayfurahman.
The Vikings and Pioneers were equal in both total shots (8-8) and shots on goal (3-3).
Freshman goalkeeper Ellie McGowan made a pair of saves in her second collegiate start to help preserve the victory.
The Vikings (2-1-2) are on the road next week to open GNAC play with games at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday in Nampa, Idaho (7 pm MT) and Saturday at Central Washington in Ellensburg (11 am). The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online via wwuvikings.com/25_WSOC.
Western Washington 2, Cal State East Bay 1
Date: September 20, 2025
Field: Harrington Field Site: Bellingham, WA
Attendance: 227
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
--------------------------------------------
Cal St. East Bay.............. 0 1 - 1
Western Washington............ 2 0 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 19:42 WWU E. Holdridge (Manalili, Walker)
2. 28:55 WWU Own Goal by EB
3. 54:10 CSUEB Sayfurahman (Folkerts)
Shots: WWU 8, CSUEB 8
Shots on Goal: WWU 3, CSUEB 3
Saves: WWU 2 (McGowan - 2), CSUEB 2 (Levi - 2)
Corners: WWU 4, CSUEB 2
Fouls: WWU 14, CSUEB 13
Offsides: WWU 2, CSUEB 2
Kits: WWU (Light Blue), CSUEB (White)
Updated Records: WWU (2-1-2), CSUEB (2-3-1)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2025 season:
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2025 RECORD BREAKDOWN
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|
Overall Record
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2-1-2
|
|
Streak
|
W2
|
|
Home
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2-0-0
|
|
Away
|
0-1-2
|
|
Neutral
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0-0-0
|
|
GNAC Record
|
0-0-0
|
|
Non-Conference
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2-1-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
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0-1-0
|
|
Scoring First
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2-1-0
|
|
Opponent Scores First
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0-0-2
|
|
Lead at the Half
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2-0-0
|
|
Tied at the Half
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0-1-1
|
|
Trail at the Half
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0-0-1
|
|
Record by Kit
|
|
White
|
0-0-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
0-0-0
|
|
Light Blue
|
1-1-0
|
|
Black
|
1-0-2
|
The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, appearing in the NCAA Championships in 11 of the last 12 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 11 seasons and played for the West Region championship in nine of the last 12 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 nine of the last 13 Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles (2024 Champions) and won five of the last eight GNAC Tournament titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022). Head coach Travis Connell is in his 23rd season leading the program in 2025 (30th overall at WWU) and has led the Vikings to 12 trips to the NCAA Championships and 19 consecutive winning seasons.
