WWU women’s soccer seeks national title at Final Four in Seattle

Katie Watt played all 107 minutes before the Western Washington women’s soccer team lost in double-overtime to Grand Valley State in the 2019 NCAA Division II title game.

Watt, a Seattle native who went to Bishop Blanchet High School, was determined to help her team to get back to the Final Four. Three years later, the Vikings are back, and having it in Seattle makes it even more special.

“There is no feeling like getting back to the Final Four,” said Watt, a fourth-year junior center back for Western Washington (17-2-4), which plays Columbus State (20-2-1) from Georgia on Thursday night at Interbay Stadium. “I think it’s incredible that we had the group to do it again.

“We’ll have all of our fan base there to support us. More than half our team is from the Washington or Oregon area, so we will have a lot of people there, and it’s really rare to have a Final Four this close — only an hour and a half from Bellingham — so we’re going to have a major home advantage.”

The women’s soccer Final Four is one of six Division II national titles that will be decided in the Seattle area this week as part of the Fall Festival. The other sports are men’s soccer, volleyball, field hockey and men’s and women’s cross country.

The best local angle this week is the Western Washington women’s soccer team, which is making its fifth trip to the Final Four in the past 10 seasons. The Vikings won the national title in 2016.

The first national semifinal Thursday pits top seed West Chester (22-0-1) against Ferris State (12-5-7) at 5 p.m. No. 3 seed Western Washington and No. 2 seed Columbus State play at 8 p.m.

The winners will play Saturday at 3 p.m. at Interbay for the national title.

Travis Connell, in his 20th season as Western’s coach, said his team is more than capable of winning the program’s second national title.

“This team — more than probably any I have coached — has improved so much from Day One until where we are at right now,” Connell said. “It’s really exciting to see how far they have come. … We’re in a place where I think we match up really well against this opponent, and we are playing our best soccer right now.”

Not that it will be easy for Western Washington. Columbus State is the top-scoring team in the country by far, averaging 3.87 goals per game (Catawba is second at 3.14).

“They are a high-octane attack, and they score a ton of goals, and they’ve got some dynamic attackers, so we are going to have our hands full for sure,” Connell said.

Western Washington’s defense might be up to the task. The Vikings have allowed just one goal in their past six matches, and their .478 goals-against average is third-best in the nation.

Watt, one of the anchors of the defense, attributes the success to every Viking on the field contributing on defense — and having fifth-year junior Claire Henninger as goalkeeper.

“Our coaching staff really drills into us that the whole team attacks, and the whole team defends,” said Watt, who is majoring in business with a concentration in marketing. “We all defend together, not to mention that with [Henninger] in the goal we feel extremely safe.”

In the past six games, Henninger has saved 19 of the 20 shots on goal against her.

“Our defense, as a unit, has really done a tremendous job of not allowing a lot of shots to get off,” said Henninger, who is from Sequim and is working on a master’s of science degree in kinesiology-sports psychology. “And the shots that do get off, we’re forcing poor shots from bad angles. Really, all the credit goes to the girls in front of me.”

Offensively, Western has been led by Morgan Manalili, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference freshman of the year, and junior Estera Levinte. Manalili has a team-leading 10 goals and Levinte has seven.

“We have some dynamic wingers — Estera and Morgan — who have turned into some real creative playmakers and are really fun to watch,” Connell said.

As a team, Connell said the goal is to be the hardest-working team on the field, and he said that is “almost always the case.”

“We run more, we play harder, we’re physical, and that’s the one thing that really sets us apart as a team,” he said.

Playing on a field they know very well from their matches against Seattle Pacific, the Vikings look to set themselves apart in the Final Four.

“We are excited, and we’re hungry,” Henninger said. “I think there is a lot of belief in this group that we have what it takes to go all the way. No matter the adversity that comes — whether it’s weather, refereeing or whatever — there is a steady current of belief on our team right now. That will hopefully push us to where we want to go.”