By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Storming to eight consecutive victories across the last month, Western Washington’s women’s soccer team secured its 10th Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title on Saturday and was named the GNAC Team of the Week on Monday.
 
The Vikings (11-2-4, 10-0-2) have out-scored their opposition 22-2 during the dominant winning streak, which began with a 7-1 triumph over Central Washington on Oct. 10. WWU has gone unbeaten in its last 12 matches overall, and clinched the No. 1 seed into the upcoming GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships along with the trophy last week. “I’ve been really impressed with the mindset of the team this year,” said WWU head coach Travis Connell, who is in his 22nd season leading the program. “They have really bought into trying to get better each day and you can see that in some of the play we’ve had in the second half of the season. The pieces are all fitting together which has helped us get on a roll.”
 
The latest addition to the trophy case ties the Vikings with Seattle Pacific for the most women’s soccer regular-season titles since the conference was founded in 2001. In two weeks, the Vikings will have a crack at claiming their seventh GNAC Championships trophy which would be four more than the next closest team (SPU).
 
First thing’s first, however, as the Vikings get set for a prime-time match against the Falcons on Thursday night at SPU’s Interbay Stadium (7 p.m. PT) – the site of the upcoming conference tournament. WWU and SPU played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 28 in Bellingham, one of just two draws for WWU in an otherwise victorious conference season. “This is why they play sports – to play these kind of games,” Connell said on the upcoming rivalry match against his alma mater. “They are looking forward to playing a rivalry game with SPU, and they are looking forward to playing for a conference tournament championship. Mostly we are just excited and we can’t wait to play.”
 
When you look for a reason for the Vikings’ success this season, it can’t be found in any single area of the team. However a defense that has allowed a GNAC-low eight goals this season and ranks 15th in Division II with a goals-against average of .471 is a good starting point. The back line is headlined by captains Asia Hardin and Halle Noel alongside sophomore center back Olivia Connell (no relation to Travis) and senior Abigail Trengove in goal. That unit has combined for a GNAC-leading nine shutouts this fall, and last conceded a goal on Oct. 17 in a 2-1 victory over Montana State Billings. WWU’s back line has allowed more than one goal just once this year, in a 2-0 loss to then-No. 3 Colorado Mines on Sept. 22. That was the last time Connell’s team suffered a defeat, as they prepare for their final two matches of the regular season. “We have benefitted greatly from the continuity we have had in the back line that started last year and through the spring season,” Connell said on the three returning defenders. “It is a perfect example of how the sum of the parts is better than any individual on their own. They all make each other better and fit well together, and they are playing at a high level.”
 
 
Offensively, WWU has scored 29 goals with 11 different players finding the back of the net. Leading the charge has been a pair of talented newcomers in College of Saint Rose transfer Kyrsten McGuffey and Kansas State transfer Lydia Myers. McGuffy was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, after scoring four goals last week and upping her GNAC-leading total to eight on the season. Myers tied the GNAC record for goals in a match earlier this fall when she scored four times in WWU’s runaway win over Central Washington. “We knew they had a lot of quality in their game, but it’s always a challenge to bring new players into the group,” Connell said on the two star transfers. “You have to give a lot of credit to them for putting in the work to learn a new system and teammates, but also to our returning players for making space for them and encouraging them. Their offensive output is easy to see in the stats, but in order to play with us you have to defend as an attacking player as well.”
 
Junior Morgan Manalili, a first-team all-GNAC pick last fall, leads the team with seven assists while adding a pair of goals to her ledger. The Shoreline, Wash., native is the conference’s active career leader with 18 goals since her first season as a Viking in 2022. “Morgan is a joy to coach and to watch play,” said Connell. “Her true value is the fact that she is so versatile and adaptable. We have asked her to do so many different things from scoring to facilitating to free kicks, to defending and playing different positions. It is hard to put a value on that. She has been amazing and enables us to do so many different things. She is incredibly valuable in that way.”
 
Senior Ashley Nguyen has chipped in three goals and three assists, junior Emily Rice has played in all 17 matches and has three assists and junior Claire Potter has been a mainstay as a central midfielder. The Vikings have received equally important contributions from their underclassmen, with sophomores Mie Cairns and Jane Hmura playing big minutes in all 17 matches and freshman Emily Holdridge earning a dozen starts and contributing her first collegiate goal. “Sometimes you have sophomore slumps, but what we are seeing is the opposite with them hungry to have a larger role this year,” Connell said on Cairns, who has started all 17 matches, and Hmura after impressive freshman seasons in 2023. “They have gotten the chance and have run with it.”
 
A 2-0 win over then-No. 6 UC Colorado Springs on Sept. 8 hinted early on that the Vikings were among the top teams in Division II. After back-to-back losses – a 1-0 defeat at Azusa Pacific on Sept. 17 preceded the loss to Mines – the Vikings have responded by racing through their GNAC schedule as the league’s only team unbeaten in conference play. The reward for that level of execution was clinching the conference title with a week to go before the playoffs. “It’s a huge honor,” Connell said of the trophy, which is his 16th combined between the regular season and conference tournament while leading WWU’s women. “It’s not easy to do and is a huge accomplishment for whichever team ends up winning it.”
 
WWU has looked, of late, like a program that won national titles in 2016 and 2022. The Vikings have 14 players on their roster this season who were members of the 2022 championship unit, experience that will serve the team well as it shifts its sights towards another postseason run.