PORTLAND, Ore. – The GNAC coaches voted the Western Washington Vikings to finish first in the 2014 GNAC pre-season coaches poll.

The No. 3 nationally ranked Vikings, coming off their best season in school history with a 20-2-1 record, look to improve upon last year’s overtime loss in the NCAA semifinals.

Western Washington, which tallied 62 points and six first-place votes, returns 13 letter winners from 2013, directed by GNAC Coach of the Year Travis Connell.

The reigning GNAC regular-season champions have team points and goals leader Catherine Miles coming back as well as GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and Daktronics first team All-American Brianna Jones.

Seattle Pacific comes in right behind Western Washington in the coaches poll, having totaled 56 points and receiving two first place votes.

After its own trip to the NCAA tournament last year, head coach Chuck Sekyra and the Falcons look to repeat as GNAC tournament champions.

The Falcons knocked off the regular-season champs, WWU, in a penalty kick shootout 2-1 in the GNAC conference tournament last year.

This is the seventh year in a row that SPU and Western Washington has topped the pre-season poll.

The only other team to reach double digit wins in 2013 was Central Washington, coming in third in this year’s poll.

First team GNAC midfielder Danielle Brandi returns to improve upon her nine goal performance from 2013.

Newcomer of the Year and first team GNAC goalkeeper Amanda Rose Johnson leads Western Oregon to the fourth spot with 40 points.

The Wolves finished 11^th in the nation in goals against average and ninth in save percentage last year.

Tying fifth in the poll are Montana State Billings and Saint Martins, each with 29 points.

Montana State Billings finished the 2013 GNAC season in fifth place with 5-8-1 conference record.

MSUB returns the most starters of any team in the conference with 10 led by senior midfielder and second team GNAC member Chelsea Shuman.

Saint Martin’s is looking to break through the top four of the conference as it returns 18 letter winners to the team. The Saints will look to flip the results of last year as the team lost six games by one goal.

Second year coach Mary Trigg will look to improve a Northwest Nazarene team that finished seventh in conference play last year.

The Crusaders return their top two scorers in second team GNAC forward Kelsey Martin and junior forward Lexi Fresenbek.

Placing eighth in the coaches poll is Simon Fraser where there is a new face in the head coaching position for the first time in 25 years as Annie Hamel takes over for longtime coach Shelley Howieson.