By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – It was a dominant start to the 2024 season by reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer champion Seattle Pacific last week, and the Falcons rose to No. 8 in the latest United Soccer Coaches national rankings released Tuesday.
The Falcons (2-0), who were ranked No. 14 in the preseason national poll, cruised past Sonoma State 5-2 in their season opener before smashing Cal Poly Humboldt 4-0. Western Washington (1-0-1) broke into the national rankings for the first time this season at No. 20, thanks to a statement 2-0 victory over No. 6 UC Colorado Springs on Sunday. WWU also played MSU Denver, which received votes in the latest national poll, to a scoreless draw.
This week’s slate of games featuring GNAC teams kicks off on Thursday afternoon and runs through Tuesday of next week.
| This Week’s GNAC Women’s Soccer Opponents |
| School |
Opponents |
Location |
Dates |
| Central Washington |
Chico State |
Washington |
9/12 |
| Montana State Billings |
Black Hills State; Minot State |
South Dakota/North Dakota |
9/11; 9/13 |
| Saint Martin’s |
#18 Colorado Mesa; Westminster |
Colorado/Utah |
9/13; 9/15 |
| #8 Seattle Pacific |
Hawaii Hilo; Chico State |
Washington |
9/12; 9/14 |
| Simon Fraser |
Regis; Colorado Christian |
Colorado |
9/12; 9/15 |
| Western Oregon |
Stanislaus State; CSU Monterey Bay |
California |
9/12; 9/14 |
| #20 Western Washington |
Sonoma State; Azusa Pacific |
California |
9/14; 9/17 |
FALCONS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS: SPU attained its highest national ranking since appearing No. 5 in the 2022 USC preseason poll, after producing an outburst of nine goals in its first two games of the year. Spearheading the scoring spree was
GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Kayla Wallace, who notched the GNAC’s first hat trick of the year and scored four goals total on the week.
Moira MacKay scored twice, 2023 GNAC Newcomer of the Year
Taylor Krueger had a goal and two assists and
Lauren Snedeker and
Maya Parman each also found the net for the Falcons.
Mercedes Cullen, a second-team all-GNAC pick a season ago, logged her first shutout of the year in Saturday’s win over the Lumberjacks. SPU is set to make its 2024 home debut this weekend, facing Hawaii Hilo on Thursday (4:30 p.m. PT) and Chico State on Saturday (11:30 a.m. PT).
Read More: Falcons’ offensive boom continues with 4-0 win (SPU Recap)
2023 second-team all-GNAC goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen picked up her first shutout of the year in SPU's 4-0 blowout of Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday.
VIKINGS NOTCH MONUMENTAL WIN: The biggest win of the young season belongs to Western Washington, which upended No. 6 UC Colorado Springs 2-0 on Sunday behind goals from
Morgan Manalili and
Lydia Myers. The Vikings’ back line, anchored by
Asia Hardin,
Halle Noel and
Olivia Connell, was nearly flawless in limiting the opposition to just 11 shots and just four on target over the weekend.
Abigail Trengove, who replaces 2023 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Claire Henninger in goal, made four saves and picked up a pair of shutouts. The Vikings, ranked for the first time this season, head south to face Sonoma State on Saturday (2 p.m. PT) and Azusa Pacific on Tuesday (7 p.m. PT).
The first goal of 2024 for Kansas State transfer Lydia Myers (16) was a big one, bolstering WWU's lead in its 2-0 upset of No. 6 UC Colorado Springs Sunday (WWU Athletics)
Read More: Vikings defend Harrington Field w/2-0 win over No. 6 UCCS (WWU Recap)
Third-year Viking starter Claire Potter gets stuck in during WWU's 1-0 upset of No. 6 UC Colorado Springs on Sunday. (WWU Athletics)
RED LEAFS SHUT DOWN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS: Reigning GNAC tournament champion Simon Fraser (2-0) looked better than ever on its opening weekend, blanking Cal State East Bay 1-0 on Thursday before a 2-0 shutout of Stanislaus State on Saturday. The Red Leafs, who return essentially every major piece of last year’s championship team, saw goals from
Sarah Caravatta,
Kaiden Sherwood and 2023 GNAC Championships MVP
Raegan Mackenzie on opening weekend.
Kate Smith earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week accolades after playing all 180 minutes on a back line that drew nine offsides and didn’t concede a goal, and
Sarah Loewen made 11 total saves on the way to her first shutout of the season.
Read More: SFU women’s soccer shuts out Stanislaus State 2-0 (SFU Recap)
Kaiden Sherwood scored her first goal of the season and fifth in her Red Leafs career last week. (Gordon Kalisch/Fasttrack Photography)
YELLOWJACKETS START 2024 W/BACK-TO-BACK WINS: Montana State Billings (2-0) opened its season with a pair of sound performances on its home turf, shutting out a pair of teams that each had win totals in the double figures last year. The ‘Jackets used a 70th-minute game-winner by freshman
Jamie Maas to beat Mary (10-8-3 in 2023) 1-0 in the season opener on Thursday. They followed by smashing Carroll College (11-2-3 in 2023) 5-0 to close out the ninth-annual Rimrock Classic in memory of Trevor Wildberger on Saturday.
Kendall McGraw had a pair of goals,
Jackie Sharpe had a goal and two assists and
Liberty Palmer and
Erika Wilson each got in on the scoring in the win. MSUB heads east this week, facing Black Hills State on Wednesday (3 p.m. MT) and Minot State on Friday (6 p.m. CT).
Read More: Yellowjacket offense shines in 5-0 victory over Carroll College (MSUB Recap)
MSUB freshman Jamie Maas (10 - Washougal, Wash./Washougal HS) is embraced by Nyah Attaway and greeted by Erika Wilson (9) after scoring her first collegiate goal - a winner against Mary last week. (Shi Robison Photography)
WILDCATS SPLIT ON OPENING WEEKEND: Central Washington (1-1) began its campaign with a 1-0 shutout of Cal State Monterey Bay last Thursday, before battling reigning NCAA Division II national champion No. 1 Point Loma to the end in a 1-0 defeat.
Jordan Bartlow delivered the game-winning goal in the 60th minute against the Otters, and freshman
Leighton Menge made five saves to collect a shutout in her first collegiate appearance in goal. The Wildcats held tough against the top team in the country on Saturday, conceding a goal with less than a minute before halftime that proved to be the game-winner. CWU has just one match this week, making its 2024 home debut on Thursday (11:30 a.m. PT) against Chico State.
Read More: Wildcats open season with shutout win (CWU Recap)
Sydney Madison (Santa Maria, Calif./Orcutt Academy) made her collegiate debut for Central Washington last week.
WOLVES DEFEND WELL IN DRAWS: Western Oregon (0-0-2) came away with a pair of draws on opening weekend, conceding just one goal across its first two matches. Sophomore
Ciara Garcia scored her team’s first goal of the season, finding a 65th-minute equalizer against her former side in WOU’s 1-1 draw against No. 6 UC Colorado Springs. Returning goalkeeper
Sophia Pierce delivered her first shutout of the season on Sunday, while defender
Leah Heugly played the full 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw against MSU Denver. The Wolves get back to work on Thursday at Stanislaus State (7 p.m. PT) and Saturday at Cal State Monterey Bay (5 p.m. PT).
Read More: Wolves play to scoreless draw vs. MSU Denver (WOU Recap)
WOU's Ciara Garcia (7) scored the equalizer against her former team in last week's 1-1 draw against UC Colorado Springs.
SAINTS, NIGHTHAWKS COME UP EMPTY ON OPENING WEEK: Saint Martin’s (0-2) fell 3-1 to Stanislaus State in its 2024 debut, before a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cal State East Bay.
Hinata Kojima scored the first goal of the season for SMU, on an assist from 2023 second-team all-GNAC defender
Payton Aselton in the 90th minute. The Saints hit the road this week for matches at No. 18 Colorado Mesa (Friday, 7 p.m. MT) and Westminster (Sunday, 1 p.m. MT). Northwest Nazarene (0-3) dropped three closely fought contests last week, with 1-0 defeats to Minot State and Colorado Mesa and a 2-1 setback against Chaminade.
Alejandra Jaramillo gave the Nighthawks their first goal of the season in Tuesday’s loss to the Silverswords. NNU is off this week and is next in action on Sept. 21 against Westminster.
Payton Aselton (2), a second-team all-GNAC pick in 2023, had an assist for the Saints on opening weekend.
Kendall McGraw – Montana State Billings
Senior | Midfielder | Hockinson, WA | Hockinson High School
A fourth-year senior in the Yellowjacket midfield, McGraw has played in 57 matches and made 34 starts since her debut as a freshman in 2021. Her experience showed on Saturday with a brace against Carroll, as she spurred her team to a lopsided victory. McGraw upped her career goals total to six with the two finishes, as she looks to surpass last season’s career-high three goals. The Hockinson, Wash., native was voted a team captain for the second straight season. She is among nine seniors on a veteran-heavy Yellowjacket roster that is hungry for its first trip to the GNAC Championships since the 2015 campaign.
Claire Brogdon – Montana State Billings
Freshman | Goalkeeper | Gilbert, AZ | Perry High School
The Yellowjackets got a glimpse of what freshman
Claire Brogdon could do in goal when she made 15 saves in an exhibition match against NCAA Division I Montana on Aug. 25. Last Thursday, when the result counted, she was at her best once again. The Gilbert, Ariz., native earned every bit of her first collegiate shutout, making seven crucial saves in MSUB’s 1-0 win over Mary. She followed by making the only save required of her in the drubbing of Carroll, to start her collegiate career with a pair of clean sheets. If the Yellowjackets are to have sustained success this fall, it seems likely that the 5-foot-11 shot stopper will play a large part in it.
The United Soccer Coaches weekly rankings are released every Tuesday throughout the 2024 season.
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
| Preseason |
14. SPU |
|
| Week 1 (9/10) |
8. SPU |
20. WWU |
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.
| Date |
Offensive Player of the Week |
Defensive Player of the Week |
| 9/9 |
Kayla Wallace, Seattle Pacific |
Kate Smith, Simon Fraser |
Sept. 9 GNAC Women’s Soccer Players of the Week
WOMEN’S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kayla Wallace – Seattle Pacific University
First-career Player of the Week.
Wallace propelled the Falcons to a pair of lopsided victories in their 2024 debut, as they
knocked off Sonoma State 5-2 on Thursday and
cruised past Cal Poly Humboldt 4-0 on Saturday. Wallace kicked off her junior campaign by finding the net on Thursday for what proved to be the game-winning goal against the Seawolves. She followed that by producing SPU’s first hat trick since Kasey Reeve in 2017, scoring another game-winner in the triumph over the Lumberjacks. In the first two games of her third season with the Falcons, Wallace already surpassed her career goal total of three – all of which came during the 2023 campaign. The Eagle, Idaho product recorded the first hat trick by a GNAC player since Western Washington’s Jenna Killman scored three goals on Nov. 11, 2021.
SPU Head Coach Arby Busey: “Kayla was fantastic this weekend. She has amazing soccer I.Q. and trusted that in both games. She got herself into some really good spaces around the goal and was clinical with her finishing. She had all kinds of goals – from distance, a header and one off a restart. She was dangerous the entire time she was on the field.”
Also Nominated: Jordan Bartlow, Central Washington; Kendall McGraw, MSU Billings; Isabella Muzzolini, Simon Fraser; Ciara Garcia, Western Oregon; Morgan Manalili, Western Washington.
WOMEN’S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kate Smith – Simon Fraser University
First-career Player of the Week.
Smith’s presence on the back line was instrumental in propelling the reigning GNAC Championships winners to a pair of tightly contested wins on opening weekend. The only Red Leaf to play all 180 minutes last week, Smith helped her team see out a
1-0 shutout of Cal State East Bay and a
2-0 shutout of Stanislaus State on their home turf. A native of Coquitlam, B.C., the sophomore center back won numerous challenges, and anchored a defense that drew Cal State East Bay offside six times and Stanislaus State offside three times. Smith started 12 matches and played in 17 during her freshman campaign in 2023, and is in her second year on the pitch at SFU.
SFU Head Coach Carlo Basso: “Kate was critical for our success this weekend. She played 90 minutes in both clean sheets and was consistently in a position to win her duels throughout the matches. Whether defending crosses, protecting the space in behind or in 1v1 situations, Kate helped ensure that we did not concede dangerous chances throughout both matches. She was also extremely effective on the ball, generating multiple chances through her range and quality of pass. Kate performed at a high level in both matches. She looked composed in possession and was so steady in her defensive actions. She was an instrumental figure on both sides of the ball.”
Also Nominated: Leighton Menge, Central Washington; Claire Brogdon, MSU Billings; Flavia Burrell, Saint Martin’s; Mercedes Cullen, Seattle Pacific; Sophia Pierce, Western Oregon; Abigail Trengove, Western Washington.