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Montana State Billings put itself well and truly in the hunt for the postseason last week with a pair of big wins to sit just three points behind fourth-place Simon Fraser. Related Links
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 PORTLAND, Ore. – Just two weeks remain in the 2023 GNAC women’s soccer season and all eight teams are still in contention for the conference championships. Seattle Pacific is in prime position to capture its 10th regular-season title at the top of the standings with 24 points but defending champion Western Washington is just one win behind with 21 points in its quest for a ninth regular-season title. It’s a close affair behind the Falcons and Vikings as five points cover third to sixth in the standings. Western Oregon is in third with 15 points while Simon Fraser rounds out the top four with 12 points after two draws last week. The Falcons are on an 11-match unbeaten streak coming into the week and will have the luxury of staying home this week to host a pair of matches against Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. Montana State Billings enters the week on the back of two big road wins that put it in the postseason conversation. The Yellowjackets will also return home this week to host the Nighthawks and Wildcats. Simon Fraser kicks off its final homestand of the season this week by hosting Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday. Western Washington will be home for a season-long four-game home stretch that sees the Vikings face the Wolves and Saints this week.
CAN’T TOUCH THIS: Seattle Pacific (10-2-3, 7-0-3 GNAC) has been nigh on unstoppable this season and sits on top of the conference standings heading into the penultimate week of the regular season. The Falcons have not lost a game since Sept. 19 with a big part of that coming down to the return of sophomore goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen. Since starting against then No. 2 Colorado Mines, Cullen has posted an undefeated 8-0-3 record. She ranks third in the GNAC with 42 saves, is fourth with 3.82 saves per game and is fifth in the conference with four shutouts. That stellar defense has been supported by the most potent offense in the conference. The Falcons lead the GNAC with 83 points, 31 goals, 2.07 goals per game, 21 assists, 1.40 assists per game and 207 shots. Across the season, SPU has outscored its opponents 31-16, including 22-8 in conference play. Senior forward Jacqueline Blakeley has been leading the prolific attack, notching six goals and two assists for 14 points to lead the GNAC. The Falcons will return home this week to host Central Washington (3-11-1, 2-7-1) on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene (4-4-6, 2-4-4) on Saturday as they look to cement their place at the top of the standings. STINGING SUCCESS: Montana State Billings (4-6-3, 3-5-2) had possibly its best week of the season last time out, taking a 2-0 win at Saint Martin’s last Thursday and a 1-0 victory at Western Oregon on Saturday. The total team performance also resulted in some stellar individual efforts, with MSUB sweeping the GNAC women’s soccer player of the week awards. Coming off a second major injury from last season, forward Liberty Palmer returned to action with a bang, netting her first-career brace in the first six minutes against Saint Martin’s to deliver the win and earn her first GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Award. Palmer is now tied for second on the team with six points behind freshman midfielder Kaari Little with eight. In net, it was senior goalkeeper Tuva Sallvin who earned her first-career GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honor after recording a pair of clean sheets to put MSUB three points outside of a postseason place. Montana State Billings will aim to continue its push for the postseason this week as it returns home to host Northwest Nazarene (4-4-6, 2-4-4) on Thursday and Central Washington (3-11-1, 2-7-1) on Saturday. COMING DOWN THE HOME STRETCH: Western Washington (8-3-4, 6-1-3) will have a true home stretch to cap off the regular season as it begins the longest homestand of its schedule this week. The Vikings will be back in Bellingham this week to host Western Oregon (7-3-4, 4-3-3) on Thursday and Saint Martin’s (3-5-6, 1-4-5) on Saturday. The Vikings will be aiming to extend their advantage on third-place Western Oregon after the Wolves took the first match of the season series 1-0 on Sept. 30 in Monmouth. Western Washington has gone undefeated at home thus far in the regular season, compiling a 4-0-1 record at Harrington Field. Senior goalkeeper Claire Henninger stood tall in net for her fifth and sixth shutouts of the season last week in a 0-0 draw at Northwest Nazarene and a 4-0 win at Central Washington. Team-leader Morgan Manalili added three more points to her total of 11 which rank third in the GNAC with a goal and an assist against the Wildcats. The Vikings also picked up goals from sophomore forward Claire Potter, junior midfielder Gracen Crosby and sophomore forward Minji Rauch in the victory over CWU.
ONE STEP AHEAD: Western Oregon (7-3-4, 4-3-3) is one win ahead of fourth-place Simon Fraser in the standings coming into the week after earning just one point in a 1-1 draw with Seattle Pacific last week. The Wolves will have their work cut out for them when it comes to earning points this week as they travel to face second-place Western Washington (8-3-4, 6-1-3) on Thursday and Simon Fraser (4-4-4, 3-4-3) on Saturday.
Senior forward Chloe Smith continues to lead the team and ranks second in the conference with 12 points on the season. Smith’s last point, an assist, came against Western Washington in WOU’s 1-0 victory on Sept. 30 and the Wolves will hope she can return to that offensive form as they travel to Bellingham on Thursday. Fellow senior forward Raeanne Jones has also maintained her steady offensive presence and is one of just five players in the conference to score 10 or more points on four goals and two assists. NO QUIT IN THOSE NIGHTHAWKS: Northwest Nazarene (4-4-6, 2-4-4) hasn’t taken an overwhelming number of victories this season but has kept itself in the hunt for the postseason by earning points in three of its last four games via the draw. Two of those points came in 0-0 draws against Western Washington and Simon Fraser last week. The Nighthawks come into this week looking to maximize their points haul against two of the top teams in the conference as they travel to Montana State Billings on Thursday and first-place Seattle Pacific on Saturday. The NNU defense has been anchored by junior goalkeeper Bailey Blancett who owns a conference-leading seven shutouts to go along with a 0.79 goals against average and a .804 save percentage. Blancett’s seven shutouts also rank 22nd in Division II. The offense has been highlighted by the emergence of freshman midfielder Nicole Lewis who leads the team with 10 points. Lewis has started every match for NNU, scoring three goals to go along with four assists. EVERY POINT COUNTS: There is no time to relax for Simon Fraser (4-4-4, 3-4-3) as it comes into the penultimate week of the regular season. The Red Leafs occupy fourth place in the GNAC standings with one hand on a postseason position, but the chasing pack won’t make life easy for them. Through the next two weeks, SFU is set to face two opponents who are within three points in the standings as well as the first-place Falcons. This week, Simon Fraser hosts Saint Martin’s (3-5-6, 1-4-5) on Thursday and third-place Western Oregon (7-3-4, 4-3-3) on Saturday. The Red Leafs have picked up most of their points with gritty defensive performances while the offense has been outgunned by the opposition. In 12 matches, SFU has had just a single multi-goal effort with the remainder of their 12 points all coming in 1-0 wins or via the draw. Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Lowen has played every minute in net for the Red Leafs, amassing an .850 save percentage to singlehandedly rank Simon Fraser No. 22 in Division II. Loewen has come through for six shutouts this season, with four of those coming against GNAC competition.
The midfield has also played a critical role in helping Simon Fraser earn points as junior Isabella Muzzolini and freshman Alyssa Clark have both logged over 1,000 minutes on the pitch. Clark has started every match for SFU and ranks fourth on the team with four points on four assists while Muzzolini has notched two assists and started 11 of the team’s 12 matches. ALL TO PLAY FOR: Despite sitting lower in the standings, seventh-place Saint Martin’s (3-5-6, 1-4-5) and eighth-place Central Washington (3-11-1, 2-71) still have the potential to make a push for the postseason. The Saints are four points behind the fourth-place Red Leafs with the Wildcats just one point further back after a 1-1 draw with SFU last week. Saint Martin’s will face a tough northern road trip this week as it takes on Simon Fraser (4-4-4, 3-4-3) on Thursday and Western Washington (8-3-4, 6-1-3) on Saturday. Central Washington will also face a challenge as it hits the road to face No. 24 Seattle Pacific (10-2-3, 7-0-3) on Thursday before facing a surging Montana State Billings (4-6-3, 3-5-2) on Saturday.
Jackie Sharpe, Montana State Billings Sharpe scored arguably one of the biggest goals of the Yellowjacket’s season last week as she netted MSUB’s lone tally in a 1-0 win over Western Oregon to put her team in the hunt for a postseason spot. The junior forward from Apple Valley, Calif., ranks fifth for MSUB with five points on two goals and an assist and has started all but two matches this season. All of Sharpe’s points this season have come against conference competition, with her first, an assist, coming against Central Washington on Sept. 28. She followed that up with a key goal in a 2-2 draw at Northwest Nazarene just two days later before finding the back of the net against Western Oregon last Saturday. The Yellowjackets will hope that Sharpe continues her scoring form heading into the penultimate week of the season as they look to make more moves up the standings.
The eighth United Soccer Coaches Division II rankings of the season came out on Oct. 24 with Seattle Pacific (10-2-3, 7-0-3) slipping two places to No. 24 despite remaining undefeated with a 1-1 draw at Western Oregon and a 2-0 win over Saint Martin’s last week. The Falconshave now featured in the top 25 for the last three weeks and have received votes since the start of this month. The first NCAA regional rankings will come out Wednesday, Oct. 25. The release will include the top 10 teams from each region listed in alphabetical order.
Team Rankings (Top-30)
Penalty Kicks: 1. Five Teams Tied, 1.000 Individual Rankings (Top-30)
Assists Per Game: 23. Sophie Beadle, SPU, 0.50
Offensive: Liberty Palmer, Montana State Billings The 2021 GNAC Freshman of the Year suffered a devastating injury the final week of that season, before returning to the pitch in time for the 2022 campaign. Palmer had to endure another season-ending injury just five matches into last season, but has not missed a beat coming back for the second straight season. In addition to scoring both of MSUB’s goals against the Saints, Palmer was a constant threat in the box landing all four of her shot attempts on target. Last week marked the first time Palmer cracked the starting lineup in 2023. “I am very happy for Liberty,” said MSUB head coach Abiye Jack. “She has worked extremely hard to get back on the field for a second time and it has been great to see her right away remind everyone of the type of player she is. She has come out with a lot of energy and showcased her skill and work rate. It is great to see her back on the field scoring goals again.”
Also Nominated: Peyton Vogel, CWU; Chloe Gellhaus, SPU; Kaiden Sherwood, SFU. Defensive: Tuva Sallvin, Montana State Billings Sallvin doubled her shutout total from last year in a single weekend, twice keeping a clean sheet to move the Yellowjackets just one point out of a GNAC Championships berth. Sallvin started her week with three denials in the 2-0 win at Saint Martin’s on Thursday. She followed that with four saves against the Wolves on Saturday while facing 17 shots throughout the narrow 1-0 victory. “Getting clean sheets has been a big focus for us, and we wanted to improve our defense,” Jack said. “Tuva has done a good job of communicating and keeping our back line organized. She reads the game well, understands how to distribute and she made some very timely 1-v-1 saves for us last week.” Also Nominated: Danika Galbraith, CWU; Bailey Blancett, NNU; Ali Campigotto, SMU; Mercedes Cullen, SPU; Sarah Loewen, SFU; Asia Hardin, WWU. |
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