By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Morgan Manalili was as clear a choice for Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Year as the league has ever seen, as the Western Washington senior headlined the 2025 all-conference team announced on Wednesday.
 
Receiving 7 of 7 first-place rankings among the coaches votes, Manalili was unanimously recognized by the league as its top performer during the 2025 campaign.
 

GNAC Women’s Soccer 2025 All-Conference Team
Player of the Year	Morgan Manalili, Western Washington
Co-Defensive Player of the Year	Jada Foster, Western Oregon
Co-Defensive Player of the Year	Sarah Loewen, Simon Fraser
Newcomer of the Year	Reese Walker, Western Washington
Freshman of the Year	Olivia Boger, Western Oregon
Coach of the Year	Travis Connell, Western Washington

 

First-Team All-Conference
Name	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Morgan Manalili*$!+	Western Washington	Forward	5-5	SR	Shoreline, WA (Shorewood)
Kiera Scott*#	Simon Fraser	Forward	5-6	JR	Coquitlam, BC (Centennial)
Kayla Wallace*	Seattle Pacific	Forward	5-4	SR	Eagle, ID (Eagle)
Claire Potter*	Western Washington	Midfielder	5-8	SR	Pasco, WA (Tri Cities Prep/Pasco)
Mie Cairns* $	Western Washington	Midfielder	5-8	JR	Sammamish, WA (Skyline)
Maya Parman	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder	5-6	SR	Camas, WA (Camas)
Jada Foster $>	Western Oregon	Defender	5-8	SR	Corvallis, OR (Crescent Valley)
Asia Hardin $!&	Western Washington	Defender	5-5	SR	West Linn, OR (West Linn)
Emily Rice	Western Washington	Defender	5-8	SR	Portland, OR (Beaverton)
Ashlyn Valdovinos #	Seattle Pacific	Defender	5-5	JR	Yakima, WA (West Valley)
Sarah Loewen* $%	Simon Fraser	Goalkeeper	5-5	SR	Burnaby, B.C. (Burnaby Mountain)
*Unanimous Selection $ - First Team in 2024 ! – First Team in 2023 + - First Team in 2022 > - First Team in 2021 # - Second Team in 2024 % - Second Team in 2023 @ - Honorable Mention in 2024 ^ - Honorable Mention in 2023 & - Honorable Mention in 2022

 

Second-Team All-Conference
Name	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Taylor Krueger $^	Seattle Pacific	Forward	5-7	SR	Tigard, OR (Jesuit/Saint Louis)
Kaiden Sherwood	Simon Fraser	Forward	5-8	SR	Vernon, BC (W.L. Seaton)
Kaitlin Taylor	Western Oregon	Forward	6-0	JR	Corona, CA (Santiago/CSU Fullerton)
Savanna Herz @	Northwest Nazarene	Midfielder	5-9	SR	Murrieta, CA (Murrieta Mesa)
Sofia Faremo	Simon Fraser	Midfielder	5-7	JR	Surrey, BC (Elgin Park/Univ. of Fraser Valley)
Alyssa Clark ^	Simon Fraser	Midfielder	5-5	JR	Port Coquitlam, BC (Riverside)
Abbey Simpson	Simon Fraser	Defender	5-7	JR	Mississauga, Ont. (St. Marcellinus)
Olivia Connell @	Western Washington	Defender	5-10	JR	Woodinville, WA (Woodinville)
Elyse Beaudry @	Simon Fraser	Defender	5-7	SR	Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. (Marcel-Landry/Radford)
Leah Heugly	Western Oregon	Defender	5-8	SR	Draper, UT (Real Salt Lake Acad./Portland State)
Bella Lopez	Western Oregon	Goalkeeper	5-9	SR	Pleasant Hill, CA (College Park)
*Unanimous Selection $ - First Team in 2024 ! – First Team in 2023 + - First Team in 2022 > - First Team in 2021 # - Second Team in 2024 % - Second Team in 2023 @ - Honorable Mention in 2024 ^ - Honorable Mention in 2023 & - Honorable Mention in 2022

  
 

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Name	School	Position	Height	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
Annelise Bauman >	Central Washington	Defender	5-11	SR	East Wenatchee, WA (Eastmont)
Casey Park @^	Central Washington	Forward	5-8	SR	Grants Pass, OR (Grants Pass)
Jaylee Reynolds	Central Washington	Forward	5-7	FR	Bonney Lake, WA (Bonney Lake)
Liberty Palmer $%}	Montana State Billings	Forward	5-7	SR	Maple Valley, WA (Tahoma)
Kambryn Smith	Montana State Billings	Forward	5-9	FR	Parker, CO (Ponderosa)
Cesia Swain	Montana State Billings	Midfielder	5-4	JR	Spanish Fork, UT (Gillette CC)
Alex Barrass	Northwest Nazarene	Goalkeeper	5-9	SO	Nampa, ID (Skyview)
Grace Fisher	Northwest Nazarene	Defender	5-6	SR	Pocatello, ID (Highland)
Sam Escobar	Saint Martin’s	Goalkeeper	5-6	JR	Lynden, WA (Lynden)
Rose Ivanis	Saint Martin’s	Defender	5-4	SR	Seattle, WA (Holy Names)
Nora Melcher	Saint Martin’s	Midfielder	5-5	JR	Camas, WA (Camas)
Brooke Streeter	Saint Martin’s	Forward	5-8	SR	Montesano, WA (Montesano/Westminster)
Mercedes Cullen %@>	Seattle Pacific	Goalkeeper	5-7	SR	Spokane, WA (Mead)
Gracie Gouran	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder	5-4	FR	Bellingham, WA (Bellingham)
Ella Smith	Seattle Pacific	Defender	5-5	SO	Silverdale, WA (Central Kitsap)
Ally Beavers	Western Oregon	Midfielder	5-8	SR	Puyallup, WA (Puyallup/Wyoming)
Olivia Boger	Western Oregon	Forward	5-8	FR	Medford, OR (North Medford)
Ciara Garcia #	Western Oregon	Midfielder	5-5	JR	Flagstaff, AZ (Flagstaff/UCCS)
Lauren Rose	Western Oregon	Defender	5-4	SR	Roseville, CA (Roseville)
Emily Holdridge	Western Washington	Forward	5-3	SO	Ferndale, WA (Ferndale)
Ellie McGowan	Western Washington	Goalkeeper	6-0	FR	Post Falls, ID (Post Falls)
Kascia Muscutt	Western Washington	Defender	5-9	SR	Leavenworth, WA (Cascade/Peninsula Coll.)
Reese Walker	Western Washington	Forward	5-10	JR	Spokane, WA (Mead/Spokane CC)
*Unanimous Selection $ - First Team in 2024 ! – First Team in 2023 + - First Team in 2022 > - First Team in 2021 # - Second Team in 2024 % - Second Team in 2023 @ - Honorable Mention in 2024 ^ - Honorable Mention in 2023 & - Honorable Mention in 2022

Manalili’s numbers this season speak for themselves, as she ranks fifth in NCAA Division II women’s soccer with 16 goals and sixth nationally with 39 total points. The senior’s goal total is five higher than the next closest player in the conference, and she has added a GNAC-second best seven assists. The top collegiate season for the 2022 and 2023 All-American helped lead Western Washington to its second straight GNAC regular-season title and record 11th overall, as the Vikings went 11-0-3 in league play to capture the No. 1 berth into the GNAC Championships. Her goal total thus far is one shy of the conference single-season record, set by Seattle Pacific’s Shannon Lovejoy in 2003 and matched by SPU’s Leah Wymer and Sarah Martinez both in 2007.
 
Manalili’s career season has featured five multi-goal performances, including a hat trick on Sept. 18 in a 4-1 win over Cal State Monterey Bay. She earned three GNAC Player of the Week awards this fall and tied for the GNAC lead with six game-winning goals. Manalili has put together one of the top careers in GNAC history, entering this week’s conference tournament ranking 11th all-time in total points (91), goals scored (34) and 20th in assists (23). In her four seasons she has played in 88 matches and made 81 starts, including helping the Vikings capture their second NCAA Division II national championship title as a freshman in 2022. She becomes the fifth player in WWU history to earn the conference’s top honor, joining Karli White (2019), Sierra Shugarts (2016), Kristin Maris (2013), Jamie Arthurs (2012). She also becomes just the third player in conference history to earn both the GNAC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year awards, joining Seattle Pacific’s Shannon Lovejoy (FOTY in 2002, POTY in 2004) and Seattle University’s Tafara Pulse (FOTY in 2001, POTY in 2002 & 2003).
 
The conference coaches singled out the league’s top center back and the league’s top goalkeeper to share GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, with Jada Foster of Western Oregon and Sarah Loewen of Simon Fraser each receiving the same number of votes.
 
Foster, a fifth-year senior on the Wolves’ back line, earned first-team all-conference for the third time in her career. She started 18 of 19 matches during the regular season, helping WOU go 8-2-4 in league play and collect 28 points for a third-place finish. WOU’s defensive unit ranked second in the conference with a goals-against average of 0.74 and had the second-most shutouts in the league with nine. In addition to her 1,587 minutes played defensively, Foster contributed a game-winning goal and an assist on the offensive end. Foster becomes the second player in WOU history to earn the league’s top defender award, joining 2022 recipient Hannah Rispler.
 
 
Loewen led the GNAC with 10 shutouts between the posts, while holding a goals-against average of 0.67 and a save percentage of .864. The fifth-year senior was the anchor of an SFU defense that allowed a GNAC-low 0.67 goals per game, as she played every minute of the regular season (1,620). Loewen totaled 76 saves in 2025, including a season-high nine on Oct. 23 against Western Oregon. That upped her career total to 273 saves in 64 matches played since the fall of 2022. Loewen owns a career goals-against average of 0.80, while ranking third in conference history in shutouts (29), fifth in save percentage (.845) and 16th in total saves. It is the second straight year an SFU player has earned the top defender award, with center back Emily Smith taking home the honor last fall.
 
Contributing heavily to the Vikings’ success this fall was GNAC Newcomer of the Year Reese Walker, who stood out in her first season in Bellingham. A transfer from Spokane Community College, Walker has started all 19 matches and tallied three goals and a pair of assists for eight points. She notched her first goal as a Viking in just her second game of the season, and provided the game-winning goal in WWU’s 5-0 triumph over Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 25. Walker is the seventh Viking to etch her name on the newcomer plaque, with previous selections being Kyrsten McGuffey (2024), Tera Ziemer (2021), Natalie Dierickx (2018), Karli White (2017), Ashley Homer (2016) and Rosie Zadra (2005).
 
Also making a name for herself in her first year with her team was GNAC Freshman of the Year Olivia Boger of Western Oregon. The 2025 graduate of North Medford High School in Oregon played in all 19 of WOU’s regular-season games, earning 11 starts including each of the last eight matches. Boger produced six goals and a pair of assists in her debut collegiate campaign, including a brace in WOU’s 3-0 win over Eastern Oregon on Sept. 13. Boger’s other game-winning goal came on Oct. 18 in a 3-0 triumph over Saint Martin’s. Boger is just the second player in WOU history to earn the league’s top freshman honor, joining 2008 selection Melinda Ingalls.
 
After leading the Vikings to their record 11th conference title, WWU head coach Travis Connell was selected by his peers as the GNAC Coach of the Year. It was the ninth such honor and second in-a-row for Connell, who is in his 23rd year leading the women’s program. With their second consecutive unbeaten league season, WWU extended its streak to 29 straight conference matches without a defeat dating back to Nov. 2, 2023. Connell’s resume is highlighted by national titles in 2016 and 2022 and with a 338-100-51 overall record and 209-44-31 mark in league play he is the winningest women’s soccer coach in conference history.
 
The 2025 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Soccer Championships kick off on Thursday morning at Terry Fox Field on the campus of Simon Fraser University. Complete ticketing, schedule and live coverage information can be found online here.