Tuesday, October 11, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Mo.  – After recording a GNAC record-tying 22nd consecutive home victory over with a 5-0 win over Northwest Nazarene, the Western Washington women’s soccer team moved up four spots in the NSCAA Division II Coaches Poll to No. 1.

Since tying current No. 19 Sonoma State in their season opener, the Vikings have since won 11 consecutive matches, including wins over top-10 opponents UC San Diego and Bridgeport in consecutive weeks. Western Washington also defeated then-unbeaten Concordia at home.

The Vikings finished both the 2013 and 2015 seasons ranked No. 3 in the nation. The only GNAC team to finish a season ranked No. 1 was Seattle Pacific in 2008.

Western Washington has gone unbeaten in all of its last 28 matches against West Region opponents, which includes four postseason victories in the 2015 season. The Vikings are also unbeaten in their last 39 regular season home matches. Over the last four years, WWU has been the class of the conference, finishing atop the standings each year. This year, the Vikings are looking to become the first GNAC women’s soccer team ever to win five consecutive conference titles.

During the last five years, Western Washington has gone 85-8-7 in their last 100 matches, which is the second best record of any NCAA Division II team in its last 100 matches. The only school with a better record is Grand Valley State at 89-5-6. The Lakers were ranked No. 1, but dropped to No. 2 following a 2-1 loss to Florida Tech. The Lakers and Vikings met in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Championships last year, where the Lakers won 3-2.

The Vikings will travel to Oregon this week to play at Western Oregon on Thursday and then face Concordia on Saturday at Tuominen Yard.