The Western Washington University Vikings played to a 1-1 draw through the rough weather against the Simon Fraser University Red Leafs on Thursday, Nov. 6, at Robert S. Harrington Field to continue their impressive run in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Vikings clinched back-to-back regular-season GNAC titles with the draw, and improved their record to 10-0-3 in conference play and 12-1-5 overall this season, with one game left to play before the postseason as of Thursday, Nov. 6.
Head Coach Travis Connell has come to expect this high level of play from the Vikings and knows that this is still just the beginning for the team.
“There’s lofty goals that we have, and so this is one step in the right direction, and really, what it does is it shows that we’re doing some things right,” Connell said. “But we know we have to keep improving and getting better, and the job’s not done.”
The lone goal for the Vikings was scored by senior Morgan Manalili, netting her 14th goal of the season, leading Western and the GNAC so far this season, as well as moving into the top 10 in Western history for goals in a season.
“I feel like, as a senior, I’m just trying to have fun and kind of take everything game by game, just kind of live in the moment,” Manalili said. “I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself, and I think that’s what’s made me successful. I don’t think too hard about it.”
Senior captain Asia Hardin appreciates games like those against Simon Fraser, as they give a feel for what is to come as they approach the postseason.
“Every game in the tournament is going to look like the game that we played tonight,” Hardin said. “So I think it’s really important for us to be able to face those challenges and figure out how to still win and score goals and get a shutout. So we learned a lot from today, and it’s always a good game against (Simon Fraser).”
Coach Connell also sees the importance of the tough games and will look to continue to push the team in the right direction, learning from games like this.
“These games are really helpful, actually, these games are the most helpful games, when there is a good opponent, a well-coached opponent, an organized opponent that creates challenges for you,” Connell said. “So it makes us have to get better and have to learn, have to execute better. So this was similar to a playoff game.”
The Vikings will look to bring the GNAC Tournament Championship back to Western for the first time since 2022, after falling short in the final the past two years to Simon Fraser. The Vikings have claimed the number one seed for the tournament, which will begin on Thursday, Nov. 13, in Burnaby, British Columbia.
“I think for me, it’s looking forward to the GNAC tournament,” Manalili said. “Our last two years, we lost to this team (Simon Fraser) in the GNAC final, so kind of taking it game by game, it’s definitely exciting to be able to clinch this. We really want that tournament win.”
The Vikings closed out their season on a high note against Central Washington University for Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Harrington Field, securing a 3-0 win, capping off their undefeated season in the GNAC and improving their record to 12-1-5 overall.
Christian Larrañaga (he/him) is a Sports and Recreation reporter for The Front. He is in his second year at Western, majoring in Visual Journalism, and is in his first quarter at The Front. Christian spends his time in the outdoors, playing soccer or hanging out with friends. You can reach him at christianlarranaga.thefront@gmail.com.
