By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

SEATTLE – The shortest player on the pitch made the biggest impact Thursday evening at Interbay Stadium, as Myka Carr scored twice to send No. 1 seed Western Washington to a 3-1 semifinal win over Western Oregon at the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Championships.
 
The 5-foot-2 senior struck twice within the span of three minutes early in the second half, helping the Vikings overcome a 1-0 deficit and send her team to Saturday’s GNAC Championships title match. “I feel really good and feel very lucky that I can just do it with my team,” Carr said after the match.
 

Carr, who had just two career goals entering the night, made the most of her 41 minutes off the bench. Her first finish came in the 51st minute, as a shot by WWU freshman Emily Holdridge that was blocked inside the box fell to her foot near the six-yard box. Carr calmly tucked away the go-ahead goal into the back of an open net. “We are very fortunate, and we have a deep roster,” said WWU head coach Travis Connell. “As a coach you get to ride the hot player, and Myka was fantastic today. She and Emily had a really good understanding of each other, and them being able to play together was really important for us today.”
 
The same combination of players linked up in the 53rd minute, when Holdridge lofted a soft pass over the back line and towards Carr in the middle of the box. With WOU goalkeeper Sophia Pierce charging off her line towards Carr, she turned and tucked a nifty, left-footed shot softly into the back of the net. “I saw Emily take a shot and I’m glad I was there for the rebound,” said Carr. “For the second one I just got a little touch on it and it went into the back of the net. It was really cool.”
 
Western Washington extended its unbeaten streak to 15 matches, improving to 13-2-5 on the season after going unbeaten (11-0-3) in conference play on the way to its 10th regular-season title. WWU plays Simon Fraser in Saturday’s championships finals at 1 p.m. (PT), after the Red Leafs dispatched tournament host Seattle Pacific 2-0 on Thursday night. The Vikings have won the conference tournament a GNAC-record six times since its inception in 2012.
 
Viking sophomore centerback Olivia Connell produced her second goal of the season, pulling her team even just before halftime on a 41st-minute corner kick. After service by Morgan Manalili rattled around a crowded goal box, Connell slid forward and got her right foot to a ball that glanced off the left goal post and into the net. “It was crazy,” Connell said on her goal-scoring effort. “I ended up on the ground, it bounced back towards me and I just tried to tap it in.”
 
Connell and fellow defender Asia Hardin played the full 90 minutes on the back line for WWU, which has allowed more than one goal in a match just once all season. “The timing of the goals was really advantageous for us,” Coach Connell said. “(Scoring) right before halftime makes it really hard for the opposing team to concentrate, and then we came back out and got two goals immediately. The timing of the goals was critical to the game, and it looked dramatically different in the second half after those two goals.”
 
The Wolves’ season came to a close with a record of 6-6-8 overall, and a fourth-place finish in the GNAC standings at 6-3-5 in league play. Second-team all-GNAC forward Ciara Garcia made her mark on Thursday’s semifinal match, scoring her team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 20th minute. A strong run by captain Jada Foster in the midfield sparked the goal, as she fed a through ball out wide to Hadlie Bullock on the right wing. As Hadlie Bullock’s right foot met the ball for a cross, Garcia stealthily cut inside of her defender and tucked a perfect header finish just under the crossbar and just over the hand of WWU goalkeeper Abigail Trengove.
 
The lightning-quick strike swayed momentum into the hands of the Wolves, who kept pressure on and were able to hold possession for the majority of the first half. The set-piece finish by WWU turned the tides however, as the Vikings equalized just before a steady rainfall commenced at the halftime break. “Western Oregon was fantastic throughout the first half,” Coach Connell said. “They scored a great, deserved goal against us, and you have to give them a ton of credit. They had a great plan and were super motivated.”
 
After Carr’s bang-bang finishes, WWU commanded the run of play the rest of the way. An aggressive yet controlled Vikings unit prevented the Wolves from connecting passes and continued to press in the attacking third through the final whistle. “I have been really proud and impressed with how the group has grown over the past year and a half, and their understanding of important moments,” said Coach Connell. “It was seamless by our players. They recognized the situation, knew what they needed to do, and I was really proud of them and the way they executed.”
 
GNAC Newcomer of the Year Kyrsten McGuffey was a constant worry for the WOU back line, finding herself on the ball in dangerous positions throughout the night and tying for the team lead with two shots. Three-time first-team all-GNAC pick Morgan Manalili had a similar impact on Thursday’s win, causing the Wolves issues in the defensive third on multiple occasions.
 
No Wolf had more than one shot in the match, as WOU managed just five total including just one in the second half. Pierce had three saves in goal for WOU, while Lilly Nowatzke dealt with the Vikings’ constant pressure on the wings well across her 90-minute performance. Foster was a commanding presence for the first hour defensively, but had limited touches in the second half after being pushed into a striker position with the Wolves’ need to generate scoring chances.
 
WWU’s Holdridge entered the night with nine points this fall – the second most among any freshman in the conference. She upped her season assist count to five in 38 efficient minutes Thursday. The midfield tandem of Mie Cairns and Jane Hmura were pivotal in the Vikings’ convincing second-half performance, while defender Emily Rice and midfielder Lydia Myers played key roles in the win as well.
 
GAME NOTES: WWU won the season series (including playoffs) between the teams 2-0-1…it is the second straight year WWU defeated WOU in the title match, after claiming a 2-1 result in last year’s tournament.