By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – With two weeks remaining in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer regular season, the top four teams in the standings have achieved notable separation.
 
Unbeaten in its last 10 matches, Western Washington (9-2-4, 8-0-2, 26 points) became the first team to clinch its spot in the 2024 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships. The Vikings are in the driver’s seat as they look to clinch their 10th GNAC regular-season championship, holding a seven-point lead over a pair of teams tied for second place. Two wins this week would secure the title for the Vikings.
 
Simon Fraser (10-3-1, 6-3-1, 19 points) and Seattle Pacific (7-2-5, 5-1-4, 19 points) sit in a tie for second place with four matches to go. Each can clinch their spot in the tournament with one win across the final two weeks of the season. Amid a historic shutout streak, Western Oregon (4-3-8, 4-1-5, 17 points) occupies the fourth spot in the standings after not conceding a goal in its last six matches. The Wolves are five points away from wrapping up a GNAC Championships berth as well.
 
It will take a landslide of points in short order for Montana State Billings (5-6-3, 2-5-3, 9 points), Northwest Nazarene (3-11, 3-7, 9 points) or Saint Martin’s (2-11-2, 2-6-2, 8 points) to jump back into contention for a tournament berth. While control is not entirely in their hands, what the three chasers do know is they must start racking up wins to have a chance for their seasons to extend.
 

This Week’s GNAC Women’s Soccer Schedule
Date	Away	Home	Time
Thursday, Oct. 31	RV Simon Fraser	Saint Martin's	2 p.m. PT
Thursday, Oct. 31	RV Western Washington	Western Oregon	2:30 p.m. PT
Thursday, Oct. 31	Montana State Billings	Northwest Nazarene	7 p.m. MT
Thursday, Oct. 31	Seattle Pacific	Central Washington	7 p.m. PT
Saturday, Nov. 2	RV Simon Fraser	Western Oregon	10 a.m. PT
Saturday, Nov. 2	Montana State Billings	Central Washington	12 p.m. PT
Saturday, Nov. 2	Seattle Pacific	Northwest Nazarene	1 p.m. MT
Saturday, Nov. 2	RV Western Washington	Saint Martin's	2 p.m. PT

 

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2024 GNAC Women's Soccer Championships

The 2024 GNAC Women's Soccer Championships will be held Nov. 14-16 at Interbay Stadium on the campus of Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Wash. The top four teams in the final GNAC regular-season standings will advance to the single-elimination tournament. The winner of the event will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.

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This Week’s Storylines

VIKINGS PULLING AWAY: The regular-season trophy is within reach, but the Vikings have a grueling stretch of four straight road matches to wrap up their regular-season schedule. WWU travels to Western Oregon on Thursday (2:30 p.m. PT) for a match between two of the top defenses in the league. While the Wolves haven’t allowed a goal in upwards of 617 minutes, the Vikings have posted three consecutive shutouts during their current six-match winning streak. WWU leads the GNAC and ranks 20th nationally with a goals-against average of 0.53, while the Wolves rank third in the league at 0.67. WWU will then play at Saint Martin’s on Saturday (2 p.m.).
 
Kyrsten McGuffey of WWU scored her fourth goal of the season last time out against Central Washington, upping her point total to 13 which ranks her third in the GNAC. The senior transfer from Saint Rose is third in the GNAC in assists (5), fourth in goals (4) and her three game-winners are the most of any GNAC player this fall. Fellow newcomer Lydia Myers (Kansas State) leads the conference with six goals on the season. Junior veteran Morgan Manalili ranks second in the league with five assists, while adding a pair of goals. She is the GNAC’s active career leader with 18 goals since her career began in 2022.
 
Defensively the Vikings are headed up by senior captain Halle Noel, who picked up GNAC Player of the Week honors after scoring and providing two assists all while helping the team record two shutouts. Noel’s nine-career assists rank her fourth among active GNAC players. Junior captain Asia Hardin and sophomore Olivia Connell have each also started all 15 matches on a back line that has conceded just four goals in league play this fall. Abigail Trengove leads the GNAC in goals-against average (0.45), save percentage (.870) and shutouts (seven).
 
Read More: Vikings Celebrate Senior Day with 4-0 Victory (WWU Recap)
 
 

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WOLVES EAGER TO SECURE PLAYOFF SPOT: Looking to wrap up its second straight GNAC Championships berth, Western Oregon will have the benefit of playing on its home turf the last four matches of the season. The Wolves face a tough test this week, hosting the Vikings on Halloween and Simon Fraser, the other GNAC team receiving votes in the national poll, on Saturday (10 a.m. PT). WOU tied Seattle Pacific 0-0 and Montana State Billings 0-0 in a pair of road matches last week, extending the shutout streak to six matches and the minute total to 617:33. The last time WOU conceded a goal was on Oct. 5 in its 1-1 draw against the Vikings, and the last time the Wolves were beaten was on Oct. 3 in a 2-1 loss to Simon Fraser.
 
Sophia Pierce has been at the crux of the string of shutouts, entering the week having not allowed a goal in 572:33 minutes and playing all but one half during the current shutout streak. Pierce is tied with Trengove for the most shutouts in the league (seven), while ranking second in save percentage (.861) and third in goals-against average (.714). Leah Heugly and Lulu Sadler have started all 15 matches while fellow defenders Haley King and Lilly Nowatzke have been equally instrumental in the string of recent success. Offensively WOU is led by newcomer Ciara Garcia (UC Colorado Springs) who has scored four goals and added an assist for nine points. Olivia Fothergill ranks second on the team with three goals.
 
Read More: Wolves Record 6th Shutout In A Row (WOU Recap)
 
 

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RED LEAFS RESPOND WITH WINS: After enduring its first back-to-back losses of the season two weeks ago, Simon Fraser stormed back to outscore its opposition 9-2 last week and claim a pair of victories. The defending tournament champions will look to ink their trip to Seattle this week, needing just three more points to officially clinch a spot in this year’s event. SFU opens up at Saint Martin’s on Thursday afternoon (2 p.m.) before heading down I5 to face the Wolves on Saturday morning. The Red Leafs raced past Central Washington 3-1 and Northwest Nazarene 6-1 on their home turf in last week’s games, upping their GNAC-leading goal count to 31 on the season. SFU’s goal differential of plus-22 also leads the conference.
 
While SFU boasts perhaps the most robust offense as a whole, senior Isabella Muzzolini tops the list with team bests of five goals, four assists and 14 points. The forward had a pair of assists in the win over CWU before finding the back of the net against the Nighthawks, moving into the No. 2 spot in the GNAC in total points this fall. Reigning GNAC Newcomer of the Year Mikayla Tupper scored her first two goals of the campaign last week and moved into a tie for the team lead in assists with four. Dariella Lopez continued to make her case as a GNAC Freshman of the Year candidate, increasing her numbers to four goals and four assists for 12 points. Lopez’s 1.20 points per game are the most of any player in the conference. GNAC Championships MVP Raegan Mackenzie and Kiera Scott have each scored four goals this season, and nearly half of SFU’s roster has produced a goal with 13 different scorers this fall. Katie Richardson, Kate Smith and Elyse Beaudry have held down the back line for SFU, while Sarah Loewen ranks second in the conference with a goals-against average of 0.69.
 
 

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FALCONS SNAP UNBEATEN STREAK AT 26: With its 2-1 defeat against Saint Martin’s last Saturday, Seattle Pacific snapped a streak of 26 consecutive GNAC matches without being beaten. The string dated back to the 2022 season as last year’s GNAC champion put on an unparalleled display of success during the run. Despite the setback – and a 0-0 draw against WOU last week – the Falcons remain three points away from wrapping up their spot in the 2024 GNAC Championships. SPU travels to Central Washington (1-8-4, 0-7-3, 3 points) on Thursday (7 p.m. PT) before playing at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday (1 p.m. MT).
 
Taylor Krueger stands as one of the league’s top players, leading the conference with seven assists and ranking tied for fourth with four goals. Kayla Wallace is tied for second in the GNAC with five goals, while Maya Parman, Moira MacKay and Nora Patterson have each found the back of the net three times for SPU. Lauren Snedeker, Landrey McCann, Ella Smith and Kathryn Nyone have each started all 14 matches on the back line, and Mercedes Cullen holds a goals-against average of 1.24 with 4.25 saves per game between the posts.
 
Read More: Relentless Falcons Settle For Draw with Wolves (SPU Recap)
 
 

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YELLOWJACKETS, NIGHTHAWKS LOOK TO KEEP HOPES ALIVE: Considering a win is the only option for both Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene, one can count on Thursday’s 7 p.m. (MT) Halloween match in Nampa to be a spooky, guns-blazing affair between two sides desperate for points. A draw does neither team any good, as the only path to chasing down a tournament berth is wins the rest of the way. MSUB will also play at Central Washington on Saturday (noon PT) while the Nighthawks host the Falcons on Saturday (1 p.m. MT).
 
The Yellowjackets kept their season alive with four points last week, defeating Saint Martin’s 2-1 before a 0-0 draw against the Wolves. MSUB is on its last gasp for its first GNAC Championships berth since the 2015 season. Liberty Palmer hoisted her team up last Thursday with a goal and an assist, moving her into a tie for the team lead with four goals this season. Palmer also moved into a tie for third among active GNAC players with 12-career goals. Fellow senior Jackie Sharpe was the other goal scorer against the Saints, giving her three goals to go along with a team-best four assists this fall. Senior Kendall McGraw is tied with Palmer for the team lead in goals with four. Seniors Sunny Bennion and Megan Mendenhall have started every match on the back line and senior Taylor Gertsch has started every match in the midfield for MSUB. The ‘Jackets have relied on the sound play of freshman goalkeeper Claire Brogdon, who is third in the GNAC with six shutouts and holds a goals-against average of .929.
 
Read More: Yellowjackets Defeat Saints Behind Dynamic Duo (MSUB Recap)
 

GNAC Women’s Soccer Active Career Goals Leaders (as of Oct. 30)
Rank	Player	Goals	School	Career
1	Morgan Manalili	18	Western Washington	2022-24
2	Emily Darcy	13	Central Washington	2020-24
3	Kate Cartier	12	Simon Fraser	2021-24
	Liberty Palmer	12	Montana State Billings	2021-24
5	Kayla Wallace	10	Seattle Pacific	2022-24

 

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The Nighthawks have the advantage of being at home in three of their final four matches, as they look to bounce back from a 2-0 loss at WWU and a 6-1 defeat at Simon Fraser last week. Savanna Herz scored her second goal of the season last time out against the Red Leafs, moving her into a tie for the team lead alongside Abbey Blancett. Seniors Alejandra Jaramillo and Kate Bleffert and reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year Nicole Lewis are the three Nighthawks to have started all 14 matches.
 
Read More: Nighthawks Fall to Simon Fraser (NNU Recap)
 
 

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AFTER BEATING SPU, SAINTS HAVE BELIEF: Coming off its biggest victory of the season, a 2-1 result over reigning champion Seattle Pacific, Saint Martin’s holds newfound belief that it can compete with the conference’s top dogs. While the victory, which snapped a seven-match winless streak, may have come too late to boost the Saints into the conference tournament, it certainly provided confidence ahead of a tall task this week. The Saints host Simon Fraser on Thursday (2 p.m. PT) and the Vikings on Saturday (2 p.m. PT). In addition to winning each of its four remaining contests, SMU would need significant help from the teams above it in the standings to sneak into the GNAC Championships.
 
Brianna Yamada stunned the Falcons in the 90th minute last week, scoring her second-career goal with 20 seconds left to break a 1-1 tie and lift SMU to its second GNAC victory of the season. The last-second strike came after Eve Charles put SMU ahead in the 55th minute with her first goal of the campaign. Junior Rose Ivanis also scored her first goal of the season last week, in the team’s 2-1 loss to Montana State Billings. Goalkeeper Flavia Burrell came up huge against the Falcons, making nine saves while facing a season-high 24 shots. Burrell leads the GNAC with 83 saves this season.
 
Read More: Last-Second Goal By Yamada Secures Win (SMU Recap)
 
 

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WILDCATS PLAY HOST THIS WEEK: Central Washington will host Seattle Pacific on Thursday (7 p.m. PT) and Montana State Billings on Saturday (noon PT) as its 2024 campaign winds down. The Wildcats fell 3-1 at Simon Fraser last Thursday and 4-0 at Western Washington last Saturday as their losing skid reached three matches. Casey Park scored her first goal of the season and the eighth of her career in the loss to the Red Leafs, becoming the fourth Wildcat to find the net this season. Jordan Bartlow leads the team with two goals this fall. Danika Galbraith leads the GNAC and ranks sixth nationally with 8.20 saves per game.
 
Read More: Park Scores as ‘Cats Fall To Red Leafs (CWU Recap)
 

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Player To Watch

Claire Potter – Western Washington University
 
Part of the glue that holds the GNAC-leading Vikings together, Potter has stood as one of the conference’s top midfielders since making her collegiate debut for the 2022 national champions. Potter started all 25 matches that season as a freshman and hasn’t looked back since with 61 games played for the Vikings across her first three collegiate seasons. While Potter has certainly contributed on the stat sheet, with eight goals and five assists in her career, her role in helping the team keep possession and facilitating connection from the back line to the attacking third is where she has stood out most. Potter netted her first strike of the season last Saturday in the team’s win over Central Washington. Look for the experienced junior from Pasco, Wash., to be a focal point as WWU finishes the regular season and turns its attention towards the 2024 playoffs. She scored in the Vikings’ 2-1 win over the Wolves in last year’s tournament to help send her team to the title match.
 
 
   

GNAC IN THE UNITED SOCCER COACHES DIVISION II RANKINGS

The United Soccer Coaches weekly rankings are released every Tuesday throughout the 2024 season.
 

Poll	Team 1	Team 2	Team 3
Preseason	14. SPU
Week 1 (9/10)	8. SPU	20. WWU
Week 2 (9/17)	RV SPU	RV WWU
Week 3 (9/24)	RV SFU
Week 4 (10/1)	RV SPU
Week 5 (10/8)	RV SPU	RV SFU
Week 6 (10/15)	RV WWU	RV SPU	RV SFU
Week 7 (10/22)	RV WWU	RV SPU
Week 8 (10/29)	RV WWU	RV SFU

 

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2024 GNAC WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

 

Date	Offensive Player of the Week	Defensive Player of the Week
9/9	Kayla Wallace, Seattle Pacific	Kate Smith, Simon Fraser
9/16	Jensa Napier-Ganley, Simon Fraser	Leighton Menge, Central Washington
9/30	Ciara Garcia, Western Oregon	Asia Hardin, Western Washington
10/7	Taylor Krueger, Seattle Pacific	Claire Brogdon, Montana State Billings
10/14	Lydia Myers, Western Washington	Flavia Burrell, Saint Martin's
10/21	Morgan Manalili, Western Washington	Kate Bleffert, Northwest Nazarene
10/28	Halle Noel, Western Washington	Sophia Pierce, Western Oregon

 
Oct. 28 GNAC Women’s Soccer Players of the Week
WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Halle Noel – Western Washington University
First-career player of the week.
 
The Vikings pushed their unbeaten streak to 10 matches and their winning streak to six matches thanks in large part to the play of their senior captain. In addition to her role as a rock on a back line that did not concede a goal last week, Noel took it upon herself to impact an offense that tallied six goals. The Puyallup, Wash., native creatively snuck in behind the Northwest Nazarene back line on Thursday, heading home her first goal of the season off a set piece. She followed that by providing a pair of assists in the Vikings’ 4-0 triumph over Central Washington on Saturday, marking her first career game with multiple assists. The goal was the second in Noel’s career and she upped her career assist count to nine. A four-year starter, Noel has played in 68 matches for WWU since 2021 and was a key member of the Vikings’ 2022 NCAA Division II national championship team. The Vikings were the first team to clinch their spot in the 2024 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships, and they enter the week in first place in the standings with 26 points – seven clear of second-place Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser.
 
WWU Head Coach Travis Connell: “Halle is one of the leaders on our team. She sets a great example and inspires others to believe in themselves and rise to the occasion. She is playing really well right now and is impacting the game at both ends of the field.”
 
Also Nominated: Casey Park, Central Washington; Liberty Palmer, Montana State Billings; Brianna Yamada, Saint Martin’s; Andie Buckley, Seattle Pacific; Mikayla Tupper, Simon Fraser.
 

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WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophia Pierce – Western Oregon University
Second-career player of the week, first this season.
 
Pierce was the driving force behind helping the Wolves extend their shutout streak to six matches last week, as WOU battled SPU and MSU Billings to a pair of scoreless draws. The junior from Missoula, Mont., led all GNAC goalkeepers with 16 saves last week, with 12 of those coming in the battle against Seattle Pacific. Pierce faced a season-high 23 shots in that match, and managed to keep the Falcons out of the net on their 12 tries that landed on frame. Pierce followed with four saves against the Yellowjackets, claiming her GNAC-leading seventh shutout of the year. Pierce ranks second in the GNAC in save percentage at .861, third in the GNAC in goals-against average at .714 and has not allowed more than two goals in any match this fall. Pierce has led a defensive unit that set the school record for consecutive scoreless minutes, as WOU enters this week having conceded zero goals in its last 617:33 minutes on the pitch. Pierce’s current streak of 572:33 minutes without allowing a goal is the 16th-longest by a goalkeeper in GNAC history. WOU enters the week in fourth place in the GNAC standings with 17 points, holding an eight-point cushion over Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings.
 
WOU Head Coach Kacey Bingham: “Sophia has been a game-changer in goal for us. Her shot-stopping ability and athleticism has been seen over and over. She has been a rock for our defense.”
 
Also Nominated: Danika Galbraith, Central Washington; Megan Mendenhall, Montana State Billings; Flavia Burrell, Saint Martin’s; Mercedes Cullen, Seattle Pacific; Kate Smith, Simon Fraser; Mie Cairns, Western Washington.


 

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Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2023 Record	GNAC Record (Finish)	2024 Schedule	2024 Roster
1	Western Washington (3)	59	12-5-4	9-2-3 (2nd)	WWU Schedule	WWU Roster
2	Seattle Pacific (3)	55	13-4-5	9-0-5 (1st)	SPU Schedule	SPU Roster
3	Simon Fraser (2)	51	7-6-6	5-5-4 (4th)	SFU Schedule	SFU Roster
4	Western Oregon	37	8-5-6	5-4-5 (3rd)	WOU Schedule	WOU Roster
5	Northwest Nazarene	30	4-7-7	4-5-5 (5th)	NNU Schedule	NNU Roster
6	Central Washington	22	3-12-4	2-8-4 (7th)	CWU Schedule	CWU Roster
7	Montana State Billings	19	4-10-3	4-8-2 (6th)	MSUB Schedule	MSUB Roster
8	Saint Martin's	15	2-9-7	1-7-6 (8th)	SMU Schedule	SMU Roster
Points awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis