Tuesday, December 5, 2023
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. – A quintet of Great Northwest Athletic Conference players lead 11 total GNAC selections to the 2023 United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Team as first-team honorees.

Regular season champion Seattle Pacific leads all GNAC programs with a pair of first-team selections that include GNAC Player of the Year Sophie Beadle and junior midfielder Lauren Snedeker, both of whom earned D2CCA first team all-region honors a week ago. Beadle, a senior midfielder from Rainier, Wash., battled through a midseason injury to lead the Falcons to their 10th regular season title and through to the NCAA West Regional Final. She finished the season with nine points on one goal and seven assists.

Snedeker was another valuable piece of that championship-winning offense, contributing two goals and two assists on the year. The Washougal, Wash., native was one of the most reliable players of the season for SPU and was one of just three players to start all 22 matches for the Falcons, logging a team-leading 1,926 minutes.

Western Oregon senior defender Hannah Rispler also earned first team all-region honors for the second time this season after a year where she played all but 15 minutes of the Wolves’ season and started all 19 matches. In addition to her defensive efforts in leading WOU to a 0.95 goals against average, Rispler also added two goals and two assists of her own for nine points.

Simon Fraser junior midfielder Isabella Muzzolini picked up first-team all-west honors after a season where she started all but one match for the Red Leafs and logged over 1,600 minutes as a key player in the midfield. Muzzolini finished the season with five points on one goal and three assists, including the opening goal of SFU’s victory in the GNAC Championships Final over Western Washington.

The Vikings are represented on the first team by sophomore forward Morgan Manalili who picks up her second all-region honors of the year with the selection. Manalili came on strong down the stretch for Western Washington, scoring three game-winning goals in consecutive matches from Oct. 21-28. She finished the season leading the team with 15 points on six goals and three assists.

Two players from Western Washington also feature on the second team with senior goalkeeper Claire Henninger and sophomore defender Asia Hardin picking up all-region recognition alongside Western Oregon senior midfielder Lulu Sadler. Henninger, the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, finished with a conference-leading 0.61 goals against average and .839 save percentage. Hardin played a big role in that defense as well, starting every match for WWU and playing a team-leading 1,875 minutes.

Sadler, meanwhile, was a constant presence for the Wolves as they qualified for the GNAC Championships for the first time in two years. The Camas, Wash., native started every match for WOU, finishing with over 1,600 minutes under her belt to go with an assist.

Seattle Pacific senior defender Marissa Bankey, Northwest Nazarene senior defender Makayla Roggow and Western Washington senior midfielder Payton Neal all represent the GNAC on the third team.

Western Washington led all GNAC programs with four selections between all three teams, followed by Seattle Pacific with three, Western Oregon with two and Northwest Nazarene with one. The 2023 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Women’s All-America Team will be released on Thursday, Dec. 7.