BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The defending NCAA Division II national champion Western Washington University women’s soccer team is the unanimous selection as the top pick in the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Vikings will be aiming for a record sixth consecutive GNAC regular-season title and a third straight GNAC Tournament championship when their season gets underway Aug. 31 at Notre Dame de Namur. WWU received all nine first-place votes in the preseason poll and finished with 81 total votes. Central Washington (62 votes), Concordia (62 votes), Simon Fraser (57 vote) and Seattle Pacific (55 votes) rounded out the top five on the ballot.
Under the guidance of 15th-year head coach Travis Connell (202-64-26/.736 career record), WWU has won each of the last five regular-season GNAC titles, setting a conference record for most consecutive league titles. Over that five-year span (2012-16), the Vikings have combined to go 100-9-7 overall – a .892 winning percentage – with a 59-3-4 record in GNAC contests.
Western is coming off a 24-0-1 season last year, culminating in a thrilling 3-2 victory over three-time defending national champion Grand Valley State. The Vikings return seven starters from that squad which led the GNAC in shots, goals, assists, fewest goals allowed and shutouts. Among them are GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All-American Emily Webster (Sr., Bellingham, WA/Sehome), NCAA II Player of the Year Sierra Shugarts (Sr., Federal Way, WA/Decatur), third-team All-American goalkeeper Ashley Homer (Sr., Puyallup, WA), GNAC points leader Gabriela Pelogi (Jr., Federal Way, WA) and NCAA Championships All-Tournament selection Liv Larson (So., Arlington, WA). Joining them is junior forward Karli White (North Bend, WA/Mount Si/Seattle U.), a transfer from Seattle University where she scored 15 goals in her first two collegiate seasons at the Division I level.
The Vikings have two remaining preseason exhibition matches against the University of British Columbia (Aug. 22, 5 pm) and Trinity Western University (Aug. 24, 7 pm), before officially opening the 2017 regular season. WWU will play its first five matches on the road before hosting Western Oregon on Sept. 16 to open GNAC play.
2017 GNAC PRESEASON WOMEN’S SOCCER POLL
Team (1st Place Votes) 2016 Record (Finish) Points
1. Western Washington (9) 24-0-1 (12-0-0, 1st) 81
2. Central Washington 14-6-1 (8-3-1, 2nd) 62
3. Concordia 10-4-3 (5-4-3, 5th) 58
4. Simon Fraser 9-7-1 (7-5-0, 4th) 57
5. Seattle Pacific 11-5-4 (7-2-3, 3rd) 55
6. Montana State Billings 4-10-3 (4-6-2, 6th) 32
7. Northwest Nazarene 4-13-0 (2-10-0, T8th) 26
8. Western Oregon 5-11-1 (2-9-1, 7th) 23
9. Saint Martin’s 3-14-1 (2-10-0, T8th) 11
Votes awarded on a 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
— @WWU_WSoccer —