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Seattle Pacific and Western Washington will face off in Bellingham on Thursday for a match that could decide which team will win the regular season championship. Related Links
Wednesday, November 1, 2023 PORTLAND, Ore. – There is no better way for a championship to be decided than a head-to-head matchup, and that is exactly what could happen to kick off the final week of the GNAC women’s soccer regular season. First-place Seattle Pacific and second-place Western Washington enter the week separated by just one point in the conference standings. The two teams will meet for the final time of the regular season on Thursday in Bellingham. The math is simple, if the Falcons win, they will be crowned the GNAC regular-season champion for the 10th time in program history. The objective is equally simple for the Vikings, win and then win again on Saturday against Montana State Billings. If the Vikings do that, then it will be them who will be crowned GNAC regular-season champion for a 10th time. Western Washington will have the advantage of playing at Harrington Field where it owns an undefeated 6-0-1 record this season. Seattle Pacific, meanwhile, has been no slouch on the road where it has compiled a 7-1-1 record. Whatever the outcome, the two perennial powers in GNAC women’s soccer will play what will undoubtedly become an instant classic with massive championship implications and serve as a potential preview of the GNAC Championships Final in just over a week.
The second NCAA West Region rankings came out on Nov. 1 with both Seattle Pacific and Western Washington featuring in the top five. The Falcons (11-2-4, 8-0-4 GNAC) are ranked No. 3 in the region while the Vikings (10-3-4, 8-1-3) are just one place behind at No. 4. The only two teams ahead of SPU and WWU in the regional rankings are No. 1 Point Loma and No. 2 Cal State LA. The winner of the GNAC Championships will receive the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships. The remainder of the NCAA Championships field will be announced in the NCAA selection show on Monday, Nov. 13 at 3:30 p.m. (PDT).
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Seattle Pacific (11-2-4, 8-0-4 GNAC) comes into Thursday’s match at Western Washington (10-3-4, 8-1-3) ranked No. 20 in Division II after extending its unbeaten streak to 13 matches last week. The Falcons have been one of the most dominant teams in the conference, leading the GNAC with 88 points, 33 goals, 1.94 goals per game and 22 assists. Few players have been better for the Falcons than senior forward Sophie Beadle. The Rainier, Wash., native has not gone more than three matches without recording a point this season and leads the GNAC while ranking 23rd in Division II with 0.50 assists per game. Beadle also leads the conference and ranks 28th in the division with seven total assists. On the season, she is tied for eighth in the GNAC with nine points through 14 matches. On the other side of the pitch, Western Washington’s offense is led by sophomore forward Morgan Manalili. The reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year and GNAC Championships MVP from a year ago has shown her ability to grow this season and leads the conference with 15 points on six goals and three assists. After a relatively slow start to the season, Manalili has been on a tear in conference play, notching at least one point in half of her games against GNAC competition. The goalkeepers have also been integral to both teams’ success. Sophomore Mercedes Cullen has been almost unbeatable in net for the Falcons, compiling an undefeated 8-0-3 record this season along with four shutouts and a .824 save percentage to rank second in the GNAC. The only goalkeeper to post a better save percentage in the conference has been Western Washington’s Claire Henninger with a .878 save percentage that also ranks 12th in Division II. Henninger comes into this week’s matchup with a 9-2-4 record and a GNAC-leading eight shutouts.
FOUR INTO TWO DOESN’T GO: With one week remaining in the regular season, there are still four teams in play for the final two GNAC Championships berths. Western Oregon leads the chasing pack heading into the final week with 18 points followed by Simon Fraser with 15, Montana State Billings with 14 and Northwest Nazarene with 13. BATTLE IN BURNABY: Fourth-place Simon Fraser (5-5-4, 4-5-3) and fifth-place Montana State Billings (5-7-3, 4-6-2) will both have a big opportunity to make a push for the postseason on Thursday as the two teams meet in Burnaby. The Red Leafs have played relatively even at home this season, compiling a 3-3-0 home record while the Yellowjackets are 3-2-1 on the road and have won three of their last four games. Simon Fraser’s offense has been led by reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Kate Cartier with 12 points on five goals and two assists. Cartier earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring three of those goals last week, including a brace in SFU’s 3-1 win over Western Oregon last Saturday. Cartier’s 0.92 points per game average ranks second in the GNAC while her five goals also rank third. In net, Sarah Loewen has been the busiest goalkeeper in the conference, making 60 saves and amassing six shutouts to go with a 5-5-4 record. Montana State Billings has been led by freshman midfielder Kaari Little with eight points on two goals and four assists. The Yellowjackets have also been bolstered by the return of sophomore forward Liberty Palmer who has picked up six points on three goals since returning to the pitch on Oct. 10 after an injury sidelined her for the start of the season. Goalkeepers Tuva Sallvin and Clare Keenan have been splitting time in net with Sallvin amassing a 4-3-2 record to go with two shutouts while Keenan owns a 1-4-1 record.
WIN AND IN: Third-place Western Oregon (8-4-4, 5-4-3) needs just one win this week to guarantee its place in the GNAC Championships. The Wolves will face eighth-place Central Washington (3-12-2, 2-8-2) on Thursday in Ellensburg before traveling to Nampa to take on sixth-place Northwest Nazarene (5-5-6, 3-5-4) on Saturday. The Wolves opened the conference slate strong earning points in five of their first seven games, including four wins. The last few weeks have been a bit tougher for WOU, with the team taking just one win in its last five matches. The offense has been led by senior forward Chloe Smith who is tied for third in the GNAC with 12 points on five goals and two assists through just 11 matches. Fellow senior forward Raeanne Jones also has double-digit points on the season with 10 courtesy of four goals and two assists.
Northwest Nazarene will be aiming to make the postseason for a third straight season as it faces Saint Martin’s (3-7-6, 1-6-5) on Thursday and the Wolves on Saturday. The Nighthawks need all the points they can get this week as they look to overhaul a five-point deficit to fourth-place Simon Fraser. Junior goalkeeper Bailey Blancett has been a big factor in NNU’s ability to pick up points this season, coming into the week tied for the GNAC lead with eight shutouts. Three of those clean sheets came on 0-0 draws against conference opponents. The NNU offense has been paced by freshman midfielder Nicole Lewis with 11 points on three goals and five assists. Senior forward Madison Grande joins Lewis in double-digit scoring with 10 points courtesy of four goals and two assists. Both players factored in on the scoresheet last week with Lewis assisting on Grande’s Saturday goal against Seattle Pacific. Grande also added an assist of her own against Montana State Billings last Thursday.
ONE MORE IN ELLENSBURG: Central Washington (3-12-2, 2-8-2) and Saint Martin’s (3-7-6, 1-6-5) will play their final games of the season against each other on Saturday in Ellensburg. Both sides will be looking to finish the season on a high after missing out on the GNAC Championships this year. The Wildcats offense has been led by junior midfielder Casey Park with six points from three goals this season. She is among four players on the team with at least five points along with Emily Darcy, Cassidie Andrews and Paige Savage heading into the final week of the regular season. Sophomore goalkeeper Mallory Patzer started both of last week’s matches, including Thursday’s 0-0 draw with first-place Seattle Pacific.
The Saints’ offensive effort has been led by senior defender Jamine Biava with two goals and an assist for five points. Biava is one of three SMU players to have started every match of the season and has logged 1,283 minutes on the back line. In net, time has been split between senior Ali Campigotto and sophomore Flavia Burrell. Both goalkeepers have earned three shutouts with Campigotto owning a slightly superior 2-4-3 record.
Minji Rauch, Western Washington Rauch has been a consistent presence for a Western Washington team that is surging down the final stretch of the regular season. The sophomore forward from Renton, Wash., has appeared in all but two matches for WWU this season and has tallied points across each of the last three weeks. She is tied for third on the team with six points on two goals and two assists. Rauch picked up her first points of the season at the first possible opportunity, scoring a goal against Biola in the Vikings’ season-opening 2-0 win on Aug. 31. She found her offensive form once again in October where she notched an assist against Montana State Billings on Oct. 12 before scoring her second goal of the season against Central Washington on Oct. 21. Her most recent point came on a helper in WWU’s 2-0 win over Saint Martin’s last Saturday. The Vikings will look toward Rauch to continue her recent run of form as they aim to repeat as regular-season champions this week.
The ninth United Soccer Coaches Division II rankings of the season came out on Oct. 31 with Seattle Pacific (11-2-4, 8-0-4) rising two places in the top 25 up to No. 20 after drawing 0-0 with Central Washington and taking a 2-1 victory over Northwest Nazarene last week. The results extended SPU’s unbeaten streak to 13 matches and kept the Falcons one point ahead of second-place Western Washington in the GNAC standings. The ranking marks the fifth week in a row that Seattle Pacific has received votes in the poll and is the highest that the Falcons have been ranked this season.
Team Rankings (Top-30)
Goals Against Average: 30. WWU, 0.647 Individual Rankings (Top-30)
Assists Per Game: 23. Sophie Beadle, SPU, 0.50
Offensive: Kate Cartier, Simon Fraser The GNAC’s leading scorer from last week’s games, Cartier found the net in both of SFU’s matches including her first-career brace. The two-goal effort came in an important 3-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Thursday, as Cartier delivered a penalty-kick finish and a stellar header goal on a corner kick service. After helping her team claim three points to keep pace in the hunt for a GNAC Championships berth, Cartier struck again on Saturday against Western Oregon. This time she tucked a well-placed, left-footed strike inside the low far post on a 22-yard free-kick attempt. Cartier leads the Red Leafs with five goals scored this season, a figure that ranks third in the conference. Also Nominated: Casey Park, CWU; Mackenzie Carnell, MSUB; Kat Nyone, SPU; Jenna Efraimson, WOU; Morgan Manalili, WWU.
Defensive: Gracen Crosby, Western Washington The Vikings kept their GNAC regular-season title hopes alive with a pair of shutout victories last week, with Crosby at the center of it all. The Georgia State transfer has started 15 of 17 matches while playing the majority of the minutes. Crosby turned in her fourth 90-minute effort of the season in WWU’s 1-0 blanking of Western Oregon last Thursday, and helped the team extend its shutout streak to four matches with Saturday’s 2-0 triumph over Saint Martin’s. Crosby chipped in a pair of assists on the offensive end in the win over the Saints. “Gracen is playing really well right now and has been a fantastic addition to our team this year,” WWU head coach Travis Connell said on the newcomer. “We lean on her to be a ball-winner in the midfield and to cover our back line, and she did a great job of that last week in our two victories. Anytime you come into a new team you have to learn the players and the tactics. Gracen just gets better and better each week as she becomes more acclimated to what we are doing, and she is definitely playing her best soccer of the season.” Also Nominated: Mallory Patzer, CWU; Sunny Bennion, MSUB; Jamine Biava, SMU; Landry Schoennauer, SPU; Sarah Loewen, SFU.
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