POINTS ON POINTS: Seattle Pacific (6-2-1, 3-0-1 GNAC) is the only undefeated team in conference play after two weeks and sits atop the GNAC standings with 10 points. Western Oregon follows SPU in second with nine points as both teams come into the week off a pair of wins. Northwest Nazarene sits in third with seven points while Saint Martin’s and Western Washington are even with five points apiece. After last week, every team in the conference has at least one point.

NATIONAL NOTICE: Western Oregon (6-6-1, 3-1-0) and Seattle Pacific (6-2-1, 3-0-1) both garnered votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II women’s soccer poll. The Wolves returned to the top 25 for the first time in two weeks while the Falcons received votes for the second time this season. The two sides will face off in Seattle on Saturday for the first time this season.

Western Oregon comes into the week as the reigning GNAC Team of the Week after taking 1-0 wins over Simon Fraser and defending national champion Western Washington. The Wolves’ defense has been rock solid this season, leading the conference with a 0.62 goals against average. Senior defender Hannah Rispler has been a big part of that effort and has played every game this season for WOU and earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts in last week’s shutouts. 

Backing up the stellar defense for Western Oregon has been one of the highest-scoring offenses in the conference. The Wolves rank second in the GNAC with 11 goals and 11 assists through eight matches. The offense has been led by senior forward Chloe Smith who tops the conference charts with 12 points on five goals and two assists.

Read More: WOU Shows That Where There’s A Wolf, There’s A Way

 Seattle Pacific enters the week after two wins of its own last week, a 1-0 victory over Northwest Nazarene and a 3-2, come-from-behind win over Central Washington. The Falcons have won all but one of their conference contests this season and are the only team in the GNAC to score more points than WOU. Seattle Pacific leads the conference with 56 points, 21 goals, 14 assists and 123 shots. Leading that offense last week was reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Marissa Bankey who netted both the game-tying and game-winning goals against CWU last Saturday. Bankey ranks third on the team with six points from three goals.

Sophomore goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen has been unbeatable since stepping back into net for SPU, compiling a 4-0-1 record and a .857 save percentage to lead the GNAC. Including last Thursday’s win over Northwest Nazarene where she made seven saves, Cullen has notched a pair of shutouts this season.

BACK TO BILLINGS: After playing four of its last five matches on the road, Montana State Billings (1-4-2, 0-3-1) will return home this week to host Western Oregon (6-6-1, 3-1-0) on Thursday and Saint Martin’s (3-2-3, 1-1-2) on Saturday. The Yellowjackets fell 4-3 to Central Washington last week before picking up their first point of the season in a 2-2 tie at Northwest Nazarene.

Freshman midfielder Kaari Little leads MSUB with six points through seven matches this season and made a mark on the scoresheet in both of last week’s contests. Little opened her week by scoring the Yellowjackets’ first goal of the game against CWU in the 14th minute to draw the score level at 1-1. On Saturday, she added her team-leading second assist of the season in the 24th minute to help give MSUB a 2-1 lead at the time.

Saint Martin’s comes into Billings on the back of a week where they allowed just one goal to earn a 0-0 draw with Western Washington and a 1-1 draw with Simon Fraser. The Saints have been one of the most resilient defensive teams in the conference this season, ranking fourth in the GNAC with a 0.88 goals against average and 3.38 saves per game. Goalkeepers Flavia Burrell and Ali Campigotto have been a big part of that, combining for four shutouts. Burrell has notched three of those clean sheets including last week’s blanking of WWU where she made six saves.

HOME AT LAST: Simon Fraser (2-2-2, 1-2-1) will play its first home matches of the season this week as it hosts Northwest Nazarene (4-1-3, 2-1-1) on Thursday and Central Washington (2-7-0, 1-3-0) on Saturday. The Red Leafs come into the week after falling 1-0 to Western Oregon and earning a point in a 1-1 draw at Saint Martin’s last week.

Simon Fraser has been another top defensive team in the conference and leads the GNAC with just four goals allowed while ranking second with a 0.67 goals against average. The Red Leafs have conceded multiple goals in just one match this season and are led by sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Loewen in net. Loewen has posted three shutouts this season and owns a .852 save percentage.

Offensively, SFU has been led by junior midfielder Kate Cartier with three points on a goal and an assist. Last week, freshman forward Katelyn Magdalinski netted the first goal of her collegiate career by collecting the second touch off a corner kick in the 87th minute to lift Simon Fraser to a draw with Saint Martin’s.

Northwest Nazarene comes into Burnaby after earning one point last week in a 2-2 draw with Montana State Billings. The Nighthawks have played the majority of their matches on the road where they own a 4-0-1 record. The NNU offense has been led by freshman midfielder Nicole Lewis with three goals and four assists. Lewis added two of those helpers last week, assisting on both of NNU’s goals against MSUB.

Central Washington picked up its first win of the conference slate, 4-3, over Montana State Billings last Thursday and posted its highest-scoring week of the season with six goals in two matches. Senior midfielder Lily Newberry led the Wildcats to victory against MSUB, scoring her first goal of the season in the 22nd minute before assisting on Emily Darcy’s game-winner in the 82nd minute.

The Wildcats have utilized four goalkeepers this season, splitting time with Kassandra Jaggard, Danika Galbraith, Mallory Patzer and Morgan Blankenship between the pipes. Galbraith was in net the most last week, playing the second half against MSUB and the full 90 minutes against SPU.

Read More: Wildcats Hit The Road, Face Vikings and Red Leafs

PAINT THE TOWN BLUE: Western Washington (3-3-3, 1-1-2) will return home this week after three matches on the road to host Central Washington (2-7-0, 1-3-0) on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene (4-1-3, 2-1-1) on Saturday. On Saturday, prior to WWU’s GNAC Championships rematch with NNU, the Vikings will celebrate the unveiling of a banner commemorating Western Washington’s pair of national championships (2016 & 2022).

Read More: National Championship Celebration Saturday Features New Banner and Sticker Giveaway

The Vikings are undefeated at Harrington Field this season and will look to build on a pair of matches that saw WWU earn just one point last week as they return home. Defense has been the primary strength for Western Washington this season as the team is tied for the GNAC lead with five shutouts. Three of those shutouts have been authored by senior goalkeeper Claire Henninger who owns a .833 save percentage and a 0.67 goals against average through seven starts.

The WWU offense is led by sophomore midfielder/forward Morgan Manalili and junior midfielder Gracen Crosby. Both Manalili and Crosby have one goal and one assist this season. Manalili also ranks fifth in the conference with 2.22 shots per game after leading the GNAC in scoring last year.

Listen: GNAC Insider - Katie Watt, Western Washington Women’s Soccer

Raeanne Jones, Western Oregon

Jones has been one of the most consistent scoring threats in the GNAC through the first two weeks of the conference slate, tallying at least one point in each of her last four matches. The junior forward from Chino Hills, Calif., scored the first goal of her GNAC career in the Wolves’ 2-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Sept. 21 and hasn’t looked back since.

She notched her second of the season just two days later against Northwest Nazarene and added an assist in last Thursday’s 1-0 win over Simon Fraser. Jones followed that up with the game-winning goal in the 24th minute of WOU’s 1-0 win over Western Washington last Saturday.

Jones’ consistent points production sees her tied for fourth in the GNAC with seven points. She will look to continue her points-scoring streak this week as Western Oregon takes on Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific.

WSOC | 24' - GOAL WOLVES!

It's Parker to Smith to Jones as Western Oregon takes the lead on Western Washington as we hit the half up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/RlWe2BqbU7

— Western Oregon Wolves Athletics (@WOU_Wolves) September 30, 2023

The fifth United Soccer Coaches Division II rankings of the season came out on Oct. 3 with Western Oregon (6-1-1, 3-1-0 GNAC) moving back up into the top 25 after taking a pair of 1-0 wins over Simon Fraser and Western Washington last week. The ranking puts the Wolves back in the top 25 for the first time in two weeks and marks the fourth consecutive week that WOU has received votes.

 Seattle Pacific (6-2-1, 3-0-1) also received votes this week after road wins over Northwest Nazarene, 1-0, last Thursday and Central Washington, 3-2, last Saturday. The Falcons sit atop the GNAC standings with 10 points and are the only undefeated team in conference play. This week marks the first time that SPU has received votes since the preseason.