• News
• |
• Schedule
• |
• Roster
• |
• Stats
• |
• Archives

Nov. 9, 2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The last hope of making a third trip in four years to the NCAA Division II National Tournament was put to rest today as the Western Washington University women's soccer team did not receive an at-large berth into the West Regional.

The Vikings, who nearly earned an automatic berth only to have the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship slip away in the final week of the season, complete their season 11-4-4 overall and second in the GNAC at 8-1-3. Western concluded the season unbeaten in its final seven games.

In fact, after having two losses and a tie in their opening three games, the Vikings, who had 10 seniors on the roster, were 11-2-3.

"It's disappointing that we didn't get selected," said Western coach Travis Connell. "We didn't start the season strongly and that's what kept us out of the at-large berth. We were playing our best soccer at the end and feel like we could beat any team in the region, so not having that opportunity is disappointing."

Western gave itself an opportunity to win the GNAC championship by posting a win and a tie against defending national champion Seattle Pacific for the second straight season. That helped the Vikings enter the final week leading the conference standings, but a wind-swept 1-1 draw against Northwest Nazarene in the final home game meant a victory at Montana State-Billings on the final day of the season wasn't enough, as Seattle Pacific won both their games the final week to claim the conference title and automatic tournament bid.

"We made a great run at the conference championship," said Connell. "We weren't able to defend it, but to only lose one conference game over two seasons is a pretty impressive record. We should be proud of what we accomplished."

Forward Molly Shannon (Jr., Bellingham) led Western in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Midfielder Kelly Irving (Sr., Gig Harbor) had a team-high eight assists, giving her 26 for her career, which tied a 25-year old school record. Goalkeeper Kylie Broadbent (Sr., Spokane/Lewis & Clark) had a 0.77 goals-against-average and posted eight shutouts.

Cal State L.A. was the West Region No.1 seed and will host the winner of the Dixie State vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills semifinal. UC San Diego is the No.2 seed and will entertain the winner of the Seattle Pacific at Chico State semifinal.

Last year, Western went unbeaten in GNAC play to take the league title and reached the West Regional final, losing 1-0 in overtime to Seattle Pacific.