Saturday, November 9, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second consecutive season and the seventh time in the past eight years, Western Washington has claimed the GNAC regular-season title and will head into the 2019 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships in Seattle, Washington, as the team to beat.

Western Washington went 16-2-0 this season and completed a perfect 12-0-0 run in GNAC play to top the conference table with 36 points. The Vikings outscored their conference opponents 45-3, tallying nine shutouts in the process. Four different Vikings have earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors in 2019 while six Vikings earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Western Washington is paced by senior forwards Liv Larson and Karli White. Larson leads the team with 17 points (six goals and five assists) while White follows closely behind with 16 points (four goals and a GNAC-best eight assists). Junior Zoe Milburn also contributed six goals, all of which came in conference play.

Seattle Pacific is headed back to the GNAC Championships and earned the No. 2 seed after posting an 9-3-0 conference mark (11-7-0 overall). The Falcons are led by a formidable duo in junior forward Sophia Chilczuk and freshman midfielder Chloe Gellhaus. Chilczuk is second in the conference with 58 shots and tallied seven goals, two assists and 16 points this season while Gellhaus also registered six goals and an assist.

Seattle Pacific will host the GNAC Championships at Interbay Stadium and will play third-seeded Western Oregon in Thursday’s second semifinal match at 7 p.m.

Western Oregon clinched a GNAC Championships berth for the first time since 2013 with a 7-3-2 conference record under first-year head coach Kacey Bingham. The Wolves are led by junior forward Alyssa Tomasini, who scored nine goals and dished out seven assists to top the GNAC with 25 points.

Returning to the GNAC Championships for the first time in three years is Central Washington. The Wildcats finished conference play with a 6-5-1 record to secure the No. 4 seed. Sophomore midfielder Sydney Lowe led the team with nine points (three goals and three assists). Central Washington will play the top-seeded Vikings in Thursday’s first semifinal match at 4 p.m.

The tournament champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA regionals.

Online tickets are available and can be purchased now at GNACTickets.com.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 14
4 p.m.: Semifinal #1 - No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 4 Central Washington
7 p.m.: Semifinal #2 - No. 2 Seattle Pacific vs. No. 3 Western Oregon

Saturday, Nov. 16
1 p.m.: Championship Match