By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

Photography by: Gordon Kalisch/FastTrackSports Photography

BURNABY, B.C. – For the third year in a row Simon Fraser claimed the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championships tournament title, winning a penalty-kick shootout 5-4 after a 0-0 draw against Western Washington on a foggy Saturday evening at Terry Fox Field.
 
After 110 scoreless minutes of action, a thick layer of fog rolled in to set a dramatic stage for the third penalty-kick shootout in GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships history and the first since 2014. Tournament Most Valuable Player goalkeeper Sarah Loewen made the difference on the very first attempt, leaping upwards and to her right to knock away the opening shot from WWU’s Claire Potter.
 
The next nine attempts by the Vikings and Red Leafs combined all landed in the back of the net, with the final one coming off the boot of SFU captain Eve LaFontaine to seal the trophy.
 

Penalty-Kick Shootout Results
Team	PK 1	PK 2	PK 3	PK 4	PK 5	Total
WWU	Claire Potter - X	Mie Cairns - O	Kascia Muscutt - O	Olivia Connell - O	Asia Hardin - O	4
SFU	Sofia Faremo - O	Sarah Caravatta - O	Alyssa Clark - O	Jensa Napier-Ganley - O	Eve LaFontaine - O	5

 
Simon Fraser joined WWU as the second program in GNAC history to win three consecutive conference tournament titles, with the Vikings achieving that feat from 2015-17. The Red Leafs’ record moved to 13-2-5 with the draw, and they earned the league’s automatic berth into next week’s NCAA West Region Championships. Western Washington moved to 14-1-6 on the season and will almost certainly receive an NCAA at-large bid after extending its unbeaten streak to 18 matches dating back to Sept. 10.
 
Loewen, who had seven saves in the match, collected her 31st-career shutout moving into a tie for second on the GNAC all-time list with WWU’s Teresa Fish (2003-05, 07). Loewen became just the second goalkeeper in the 13-year history of the tournament to win MVP honors, joining Seattle Pacific’s Natalie Harold (2013) who also carried her team to a PK-shootout win after a draw in the title match.
 
Each team had chances to find the net during regulation and overtime, with each totaling 14 shots and seven on target across the 110-minute marathon. GNAC Newcomer of the Year Reese Walker, who scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime in WWU’s 2-1 semifinal win over Seattle Pacific on Thursday, led all players with four shots including three on frame. Sofia Faremo meanwhile led the Red Leafs with three shots – all on target in Saturday’s championship match.
 
Two of the conference’s top defenses were on display Saturday, with invaluable performances across the board in the scoreless draw. LaFontaine captained a back line that featured 110-minute performances by Kate Smith, Abbey Simpson and Elyse Beaudry. WWU center backs Asia Hardin and Olivia Connell played the full 110 minutes, with Hardin breaking the GNAC career record in making the 89th start of her tenure at WWU. That duo along with Kascia Muscutt, who played 97 minutes, and Emily Rice, who played 86 minutes, proved impossible to beat as they shone brilliantly in winning numerous challenges and keeping the Red Leafs out of the net.
 
Behind the WWU back line was freshman goalkeeper Ellie McGowan, who deserved as much credit for the clean sheet as her defenders. Matching her counterpart Loewen save-for-save, McGowan was flawless under the lights and passed every test that came her way. None was bigger than a blistering strike by SFU’s Kiera Scott in the 34th minute, which McGowan managed to get a fingertip to that deflected the ball off the crossbar and kept it out of the net. The freshman’s outing was also highlighted by a stretch of four corner kicks in succession by SFU – three of which she punched clear as she helped her team through a stressful push of pressure from the Red Leafs.
 
WWU nearly found itself ahead just before halftime, when a shot by Mie Cairns glanced off Loewen and landed in the back of the net. A raised offside flag negated the finish however, as the WWU midfielder was judged to be just a step too far behind the SFU back line. Cairns played the entire match in the midfield, and freshman Alina Kravtsov had a compelling 29-minute stint off the bench in which she landed a pair of shots on target.
 
GAME NOTES: The Vikings played without GNAC Player of the Year Morgan Manalili, who missed the match with an injury…Manalili tied the GNAC single-season record with her 17th goal of the campaign in Thursday’s semifinal win over Seattle Pacific…SFU tied Seattle Pacific for the second-most conference tournament titles with its third overall…Seattle Pacific won each of the other two PK shootouts at the conference tournament, defeating WWU 4-1 in 2013 and 5-4 in 2014…SFU is the third team in the history of the tournament to win it on its home pitch, joining the Concordia Cavaliers who claimed the 2018 crown at Tuominen Yard in Portland, Ore., and the Vikings who won the 2016 crown at Harrington Field in Bellingham, Wash....Hardin broke a tie with WWU’s Catherine Miles, who started 88 matches for the Vikings from 2012-15…WWU assistant coach Jamie Arthurs is the lone GNAC goalkeeper ahead of Loewen on the all-time shutouts list, collecting a conference-record 39 in her career from 2009-12.
 

 

2025 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships All-Tournament Team
GNAC Championships Most Valuable Player - Sarah Loewen, Simon Fraser
Name	School	Position
Morgan Manalili	Western Washington	Forward
Kaiden Sherwood	Simon Fraser	Forward
Grace Coston	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder
Reese Walker	Western Washington	Midfielder
Chelsea Crocq	Simon Fraser	Midfielder
Ciara Garcia	Western Oregon	Midfielder
Emily Morandi	Seattle Pacific	Defender
Kascia Muscutt	Western Washington	Defender
Eve LaFontaine	Simon Fraser	Defender
Asia Hardin	Western Washington	Defender
Sarah Loewen	Simon Fraser	Goalkeeper