It was a sunny 60 degrees in Billings, Mont., when Western’s women’s soccer team defeated the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets 2-1 Saturday afternoon in the final game of the season, sealing a seven-game undefeated streak.

However, Western failed to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) league title and the automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division II tournament. Western placed second in the GNAC behind Seattle Pacific University.

The victory put the Vikings at 11-4-4 overall and 8-1-3 in the GNAC. Despite the strong finish, Seattle Pacific shut out Northwest Nazarene 6-0 Saturday to finish 16-3-1 overall and 9-2-1 in the GNAC, clinching the conference title and earning the automatic postseason bid.

The Vikings headed to Billings aware a victory was crucial if they hoped to return to the national tournament for the second consecutive year.

“We were determined going in,” Western head coach Travis Connell said. “We knew we had to win.”

Western junior forward Molly Shannon scored the first goal of the match nine minutes into the first half off a pass from Western senior midfielder Kasey Hostetler.
Hostetler later had a goal herself in the 26th minute with an assist from Vikings junior forward Claire Morgan.

Aided by Western senior goalkeeper Kylie Broadbent’s four saves, Western managed to hold off the Yellowjackets through nearly the entire game. In the last minute of play, Montana State forward Jaucelyn Richter put one past Broadbent with an assist from Montana State defenders Samantha Boehm and Jennifer Larsen.

“The team feels good coming off the victory,” Connell said. “I’m proud of their performance.”

The Oct. 5 loss, the first in league matches for the Vikings this season, is the first league loss for the team over the past two seasons.

This season is the last for many of the team’s players; the Vikings have 10 seniors on the team, including Broadbent.

“[Playing for Western] was the highlight of my collegiate career,” Broadbent said. “[Saturday’s] game went really well.”

Her sentiment on the final game of the season is shared by Western junior defender Keller Haden.

 “We worked hard and had fun,” Haden said. “We did the best we could [this season].”

Monday afternoon, the NCAA released the names of 48 teams from around the country that will take place in the national tournament this year.

Seattle Pacific secured one of the bids with their league title. The other two selections were up in the air, but Connell said he believed the Vikings or California State University Chico would secure one of the at-large bids. Broadbent said the Vikings were going to have another training session Monday before the announcements of the bids.

“If we get in, we’ll be ready for it,” she said. “We’ve done all we could do.”

Haden said she shares this sentiment with Broadbent, as well as with the rest of the team.

“We’re all crossing our fingers, hoping for the best,” Haden said.

Connell was not mistaken in believing Chico State was the biggest threat to Western. The California school was eventually selected for the other bid in the region Monday afternoon and will now advance to face Seattle Pacific in round one of the tournament this Friday.

“We had a great season,” Connell said. “We had a great record in the second half of the season. It’s a good testament to what the seniors, as well as the rest of the team, can accomplish in their [soccer] careers.”

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