Saturday, October 28, 2017

PORTLAND – After five seasons of Vikings’ dominance, the GNAC crowned a new regular-season champion as Concordia edged Western Washington on the final day of the regular season to capture the No. 1 seed heading into the 2017 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships in Portland.

Earning its first GNAC regular season title in program history, Concordia downed Western Washington 2-0 to achieve the top seed in just its third year as a conference member. The Cavaliers, who entered the game needing a win against the defending Division II national champion WWU to achieve regular-season honors, withstood a 23-shot barrage by the Vikings to earn its 10th shutout of the year.

Regular season champions for the previous five seasons, Western Washington’s 39-game win streak and 40-game unbeaten streak was snapped as WWU ended the regular season one-point shy of a first-place tie. The Vikings march into the GNAC Championships as the No. 2 seed, eager to have another shot at the Cavaliers next weekend.

The No. 2 seeded Vikings will play No. 3 Seattle Pacific in Thursday’s first semifinal match at 4 p.m. The two teams have met in the finals of the GNAC Championships each of the last two seasons, with Western Washington owning a 2-0-2 in that stretch. In both ties, the Falcons defeated the Vikings in a shootout to earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

The No. 1 seeded hosts will play No. 4 seed Northwest Nazarene in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. Concordia is in its second GNAC Championships, having lost in double overtime to Seattle Pacific in the 2015 semifinals. Northwest Nazarene is making its first-ever tournament appearance.

Seattle Pacific earned its sixth-straight GNAC Championships’ appearance with a 1-0 win over Western Oregon on Thursday. Tied with Northwest Nazarene with 24 points, the Falcons claimed the No. 3 seed on conference tiebreaker. Northwest Nazarene broke its program record for most wins in a season (11) and most conference victories (eight). The previous records were set during the Nighthawks’ 2012 campaign.

Western Washington met Seattle Pacific on two occasions this season, as the Vikings’ achieved 1-0 victories in both fixtures. Vikings’ forward Gabriela Pelogi is tied for first in the GNAC with 14 goals. Vikings’ goalkeeper Ashley Homer has allowed just five goals this season and has eight shutouts, tying her for first in the league. On the other side of the pitch, Falcons’ goalkeeper Molly Stinson set the SPU career saves record with her 273rd career save last Saturday against Montana State Billings. Junior forward Kasey Reeve leads the Falcons with 10 goals this season, half of which were game-winners.

The nightcap features hosts’ Concordia taking on Northwest Nazarene. Concordia has allowed just two GNAC goals this season and is second in the league with 10 shutouts. Goalkeeper Anna Miller has been a tough keeper to score against this season, as she has allowed just six goals in 14 appearances. Forward Madi Taylor leads the Nighthawks with 19 points this season while NNU netminder Daniele Ortiz is tied for first in the league with eight shutouts.

Online tickets with discounts are available now through midnight on Nov. 1. Tickets can be purchased at EventBrite.com.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 2
4 p.m.: Western Washington vs. Seattle Pacific
7 p.m.: Northwest Nazarene at Concordia
Saturday, Nov. 4
1 p.m.: Championship Match

GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships – Ticket Prices
General Admission: $10 / $9.00 in advance online
Students (With Student ID)/Seniors (65 & Over)/Youth: $6 / $5 in advance online
Two & Under: Free