Wednesday, November 7, 2018
NCAA WEST REGION PREVIEW
And then there were three.
Just 56 Division II women’s soccer teams are playing on across the country, with three of them coming from the top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference table.
Concordia, ranked 11th nationally after winning the GNAC Championships title, enters the postseason tournament as the No. 2 seed in the West Region. The Cavaliers are flying high after a 2-1 overtime victory against rival Western Washington, a match won on a golden goal by forward Sydney Van Steenberge.
No. 3 seed Western Washington is back in the NCAA postseason for a seventh consecutive season. The Vikings have a long line of postseason success in this tournament, including a national championship run in 2016.
Seattle Pacific returns to the NCAA Championships for the 15th time in 16 years. It’s the Falcons first trip since 2016 after not receiving a bid a year ago.
The three clubs will converge at Tuominen Yard, where the Cavaliers host the Portland sub-regional. Sonoma State joins the GNAC trio to round out the four-team bracket. The sub-regional breeds plenty of familiarity as Concordia, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific were all at Tuominen Yard just last week for the GNAC Championships.
The Vikings will meet No. 6 seed Sonoma State in Thursday’s opening match. The contest will be a rematch of a second round matchup in Bellingham from last November, where Travis Connell’s team knocked out the Seawolves with a 2-0 victory. Sonoma State is 11-4-4 on the season and is coming off a loss to No. 6 UC San Diego in the CCAA Championships title match. Thursday morning’s meeting with WWU will be its first match against a GNAC opponent in 2018.
Western Washington enters the NCAA Championships with a record of 16-3-1. The club won the GNAC’s regular-season title and have had two winning streaks of at least five matches throughout the 2018 campaign. The Vikings are led by forwards Gabriela Pelogi and Dayana Diaz, who have tallied 15 points a piece (each with seven goals) thus far.
Thursday’s final match of the first round will feature a pair of teams already plenty familiar with each other. Concordia and Seattle Pacific will meet for the third time in less than three weeks, and in SPU’s case, it will be the team’s third consecutive match against CU.
A balanced blend of offense and defense has led Concordia to the host spot and No. 2 seed as the teams ranks second in the GNAC in assists (40), goals allowed (11) and shutouts (9). The team has lost just once in 2018, compiling a sensational 14-1-3 record on the road to the NCAA Championships.
Head coach Grant Landy’s team is led on the pitch by forward Kyra Radcliffe. The junior’s 21 points ranks third in the conference after tallying an even seven points and seven assists.
Seattle Pacific had won four consecutive matches until running into the Cavaliers. The team has proven tough to beat as its streak was halted with a double-overtime draw in last month’s regular season finale. Concordia then edged the Falcons in a 2-1 decision in last Thursday’s GNAC Championships semifinals.
Sophomore Sophia Chilczuk leads the team with eight goals. Her 19 points on the season is tied for fourth in the conference and is followed closely by midfielder Julia DeVere’s 15 (seven assists, four goals). DeVere was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week twice in 2018 in addition to earning GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The West Region features seven teams, with the Portland sub-regional hosting four teams and the La Jolla sub-regional three teams. The winner of the Portland and La Jolla bracket will meet in the West Regional Final next week at the host site of the highest remaining South Central Region school.
UC San Diego (17-2-1) was announced as the No. 1 seed in the West Region for a second consecutive season and will face the winner of Thursday’s match between No. 4 seed Point Loma (15-1-1) and No. 5 seed Chico State (10-1-6).
MATCH SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 8
11 a.m.: No. 3 Western Washington vs. No. 6 Sonoma State (in Portland)
12 p.m.: No. 4 Point Loma vs. No. 5 Chico State (in La Jolla, Calif.)
2 p.m.: No. 7 Seattle Pacific at No. 2 Concordia (in Portland)
Saturday, Nov. 10
12 p.m.: PLNU/CSUC at No. 1 UC San Diego (in La Jolla, Calif.)
2 p.m.: WWU/SSU vs. SPU/CU (in Portland)
PORTLAND SUB-REGIONAL TICKET PRICES
$7 - Adults
$4 - Visiting Students with ID/Seniors
$4 - Seniors (60 years and over)
$4 - Youth (2-12)
Children under the age of 2 shall be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Both cash and card will be accepted onsite.