By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Fresh off its 10th Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title in 2024, Western Washington emerged as the favorite in the women’s soccer preseason coaches poll announced on Tuesday.
 
The Vikings went undefeated in conference play last fall, posting a league record of 11-0-3 to accumulate 36 points and run away with the league crown by nine points. WWU tied Seattle Pacific for the most regular-season titles since the league was formed in the fall of 2001.
 
The Vikings received 7 of 8 first-place votes in the 2025 preseason poll, totaling 63 points. That was good for a nine-point cushion over second-ranked Simon Fraser, which checked in with 54 points and received the final first-place vote. Western Washington, Simon Fraser and Seattle Pacific each received votes in the 2025 United Soccer Coaches preseason top-25 rankings.
 

2025 GNAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2024 Record	2024 GNAC Record (Finish)
1	Western Washington (7)	63	14-4-5	11-0-3 (1st)
2	Simon Fraser (1)	54	14-4-3	8-3-3 (T2nd)
3	Seattle Pacific	50	9-3-7	7-1-6 (T2nd)
4	Western Oregon	39	6-6-8	6-3-5 (4th)
5	Northwest Nazarene	27	4-14	4-10 (T6th)
6	Montana State Billings	26	6-8-4	3-7-4 (5th)
7	Central Washington	15	1-11-5	0-10-4 (8th)
8	Saint Martin's	14	3-13-3	3-8-3 (T6th)
Points awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

The 2025 women’s soccer season officially kicks off on Sept. 4, with conference matches beginning the week of Sept. 22. The top-four teams in the regular-season standings will earn spots into the GNAC Championships, which will run Nov. 13-15 at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, B.C. The winner of the GNAC Championships earns the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.
 
2025 GNAC Women’s Soccer Season Outlook
Returning all three of its first-team all-conference selections from last season, Western Washington (14-4-5 overall in 2024) has the foundation to back up its top preseason ranking. Three-time first-teamer Morgan Manalili returns to the midfield and attack unit as the GNAC’s active leader with 18 goals and 16 assists across her first three seasons. Asia Hardin, a two-time first-team defender, returns to a WWU defensive unit that allowed a GNAC-low 13 goals in 23 matches last fall. After earning minutes in 43 matches and starting all 23 last year on her way to first-team honors, junior midfielder Mie Cairns is also back as a key piece for the Vikings.
 
Honorable mention all-league center back Olivia Connell has started 37 matches in her first two collegiate seasons and gives the Vikings another key returning presence on the back line. Senior Emily Rice who started 15 of 23 games and

junior Jane Hmura who got a dozen starts each also return to the lineup. Senior Claire Potter has also been a fixture since breaking in during the 2022 season and is back after racking up nine goals and six assists across 67 matches played. WWU will look for a replication of a freshman season that saw Emily Holdridge score three goals and add five assists while starting 18 matches. WWU’s all-conference losses include 2024 GNAC Newcomer of the Year and second-teamer Kyrsten McGuffey, second-team defender Halle Noel and honorable mention midfielder Lydia Myers and goalkeeper Abigail Trengove.
 
Under the guidance of 2024 GNAC Coach of the Year Travis Connell, the GNAC’s all-time winningest coach, the Vikings have gone 325-89-46 (.757) overall and 198-44-28 (.785) in conference matches since his tenure began in 2003. In addition to the 10 GNAC regular-season titles, Connell led WWU to six GNAC Championships tournament titles (2012, 2015-17, 2019 and 2022) and the NCAA Division II national championship titles in 2016 and 2022. Eight players on the Vikings’ current roster were members of the 2022 national championship team, including Hardin, Potter, Manalili, Rice, Kascia Muscutt, Alisa Harmer, Minji Rauch, and Abby Succi.
 
Simon Fraser is coming off back-to-back upsets of Western Washington at the GNAC Championships, as the Red Leafs enter the 2025 campaign as the two-time defending conference tournament champion. SFU was a clear second in the preseason poll, totaling 54 points after going 14-4-5 overall and 8-3-3 in league play to tie for second with 27 points in 2024. While the Red Leafs will have to replace 2024 GNAC co-Player of the Year Isabella Muzzolini and GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Emily Smith, they’ll have plenty of firepower returning to the roster this fall. Headlining the list of returners are first-team all-GNAC goalkeeper Sarah Loewen and 2024 GNAC Freshman of the Year Dariella Lopez. Loewen recorded eight shutouts last fall while holding a goals-against average of 0.74 and a save percentage of .843. Lopez tied for second in the conference with seven goals scored and was second with 1.06 points per game as a true freshman.
   

GNAC Championships MVP Kiera Scott, a second-team all-conference forward last fall, is back in the lineup, along with honorable mention defender Elyse Beaudry. Kate Smith also returns to the back line as a seasoned defender, and Alyssa Clark, who had four assists last year, returns as well. It has been quite the start for head coach Carlo Basso, who has delivered two championship trophies and a record of 22-9-9 (.663) including 13-8-7 (.589) in league play in his first two years in charge at his alma mater. Other key departures from last year’s tournament championship team include second-team all-GNAC midfielder Kate Cartier and honorable mention selections in defender Katie Richardson and forward Mikayla Tupper.
 
Finishing third in the preseason poll with 50 points was Seattle Pacific, which tied SFU for the runner-up position in the 2024 standings. The Falcons went 9-3-7 overall and had a mark of 7-1-6 in league play as they advanced to the GNAC Championships for the 12th consecutive season. GNAC co-Player of the Year Taylor Krueger is back on the SPU roster for her senior season, after racking up 19 points on six goals and seven assists for an average of 1.00 points per game in 2024. In two seasons as a Falcon, including a GNAC Newcomer of the Year performance in 2023, Krueger has amassed 10 goals and a dozen assists in 41 matches played.
 
In addition to Krueger, the Falcons also have their second-leading scorer back in the lineup in senior forward Kayla Wallace. Wallace totaled five goals and a pair of assists and was among the Falcons to start all 19 contests last fall. Also back is second-team midfielder Ashlyn Valdovinos, who started 19 matches while scoring three times and adding three assists, and midfielder Maya Parman, who scored three times in her 19 starts. A pair of honorable mention selections return in midfielder Andie Buckley and forward Nora Patterson, who combined for seven goals last fall. In goal, Mercedes Cullen is back after averaging 4.71 saves per game and posting a goals-against average of 1.19 on her way to honorable mention all-conference.
 
Arby Busey begins his 11th season leading SPU, holding a career record of 109-46-24 (.676) and a league record of 71-22-19 (.719). His 71 conference wins are fourth most in GNAC history, and Busey will be on the hunt for his third GNAC regular-season title after claiming the crown in 2021 and 2023. SPU also won the conference tournament in 2021 under Busey’s leadership. Notable losses for SPU include first-team all-GNAC midfielder Lauren Snedeker and second-team defender Kathryn Nyone who were both senior anchors in 2024.
 
Coming off consecutive conference tournament appearances, Western Oregon was projected to be in the championship event once again as it received 39 points for fourth place in the preseason poll. WOU’s success will hinge around players

like two-time first-team all-GNAC defender Jada Foster, who is back for her final collegiate season. Foster was a crucial presence when healthy last fall, starting 13 of 14 matches that she played in on the back line. WOU’s top scorer also returns to the pitch, as Ciara Garcia scored five goals and added an assist on her way to second-team all-conference recognition.
 
Other top returners for WOU include forward Lauren Rose and midfielder Ally Beavers, who each had a pair of assists and played in all 20 matches in 2024. Leah Heugly will be another fixture on the defensive unit, after starting all 20 matches and leading the team with 1,693 minutes played last fall. WOU’s key losses were second-team all-conference midfielder Lulu Sadler, forward Olivia Fothergill who was second on the team with four goals scored, and second-team goalkeeper Sophia Pierce. WOU is under the guidance of seventh-year head coach Kacey Bingham, who is 37-40-25 (.485) overall and 26-23-19 (.522) in conference games since beginning her tenure in 2019. 
Finishing fifth in the preseason polling was Northwest Nazarene, checking in with 27 points after going 4-14 overall and 4-10 in conference play last season. NNU’s top goal scorer from last season, Savanna Herz, is back in the lineup after finding the net three times and earning honorable mention all-conference. On the defensive unit, Elliana Kimball is back after starting 17 of 18 matches and Grace Fisher returns after making 13 starts in 2024. Abbey Blancett was NNU’s other player with multiple goals, scoring twice while starting 15 of 18 matches. Ellie Ritter is the team’s other regular starter who returns, after she scored once and started 17 of 18 games last season. Jenny Jaggard, who spent the previous six seasons as the head coach at fellow Division II Westmont, begins her first season leading the Nighthawks in 2025. NNU will be in search of its first GNAC Championships berth since the 2022 campaign.
 
Montana State Billings was slotted just behind NNU, picking up 26 points to appear sixth in the preseason poll. The Yellowjackets went 6-8-4 overall and were the first team out of the conference tournament going 3-7-4 in league play to finish fifth with 13 points. First-team all-conference forward Liberty Palmer is back for her final collegiate campaign, after leading the team with six goals and starting 17 of 18 matches last fall. Among active GNAC players Palmer ranks second behind WWU’s Manalili with 14 career goals scored in her 48 career matches. The ‘Jackets also bring back second-team all-conference defender Ava Curtright, who started 17 of 18 matches and provided a goal and an assist last season. Erika Wilson is back in the midfield after being an honorable mention selection in 2024, as she tied for the team lead with four assists while adding a pair of goals. Hailee Gertsch, who was an honorable mention all-GNAC defender in 2021, returns to her hometown team after a two-year transfer stint at Bluefield State. Abiye Jack kicks off his third season leading the team, holding a record of 11-17-7 (.414) overall and 7-15-6 (.357) in conference matches.
 
Beginning the regular season ranked seventh in the preseason poll was Central Washington, which totaled 15 points. The Wildcats made a change in leadership after going 1-11-5 overall and 0-10-4 in conference play to take eighth place with four points, as John Hawks was elevated into the head coach position. Goalkeeper Danika Galbraith, who led the GNAC and ranked 10th nationally with 7.64 saves per game, is back for her junior season between the posts. The Wildcats also welcome back honorable mention all-conference midfielder Shannah Mellick, who scored her first collegiate goal as a freshman last fall. Senior Casey Park was another honorable mention player for CWU in 2024, as she scored a goal while starting 13 of 17 matches.
 
Finishing out the preseason poll in eighth place with 14 points was Saint Martin’s. Like the Wildcats, the Saints have a new head coach in Scott Ford after they went 3-13-3 overall and tied for sixth in the GNAC standings with 12 points on a 3-8-3 league record. SMU will look for a fresh start in 2025, after first-team all-GNAC defender Payton Aselton and honorable mention goalkeeper Flavia Burrell each departed the program. Senior defender Keilee Silva has the most experience among the returners, after starting 16 of 18 matches last fall. Senior forwards Eve Charles and Hinata Kojima will give SMU some experience up top, after each tying for the team lead with a pair of goals scored in 2024.