Nov. 11, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University had four first-team selections and the Vikings' Travis Connell was named Coach of the Year on the 2008 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer All-Star team announced today.

The Vikings, ranked No.12 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America/NCAA Division II Coaches Poll and the No.1 seed in the Far West Regional, finished the regular season at 16-2-2 and won their first GNAC title with a 10-0-2 record. They will host either Cal State Dominguez Hills or San Francisco State in a second-round contest of the national playoffs on Sunday (1 p.m.) at Orca Field on the Whatcom CC campus.

Western's four first-team picks were goalkeeper Kylie Broadbent (Sr., Spokane/Lewis & Clark), midfielder Kelly Irving (Jr., Gig Harbor), forward Claire Morgan (So., Bellingham) and defender Katie Warner (Sr., Burlington/Burlington-Edison).

Broadbent and Warner were both unanimous picks and Morgan and Warner were repeaters. Morgan leads the team with 23 points, eight goals and seven assists; and Irving has 18 points with six goals and six assists. Warner and Broadbent have helped Western to a 0.73 goals per game average and seven shutouts.

It was the second time in three seasons that Connell has received coach of the year honors. His Vikings are working on a 15-game unbeaten string, the school's longest since 1986.

In six seasons as Western's women's coach, Connell has a record of 70-41-8. He also has compiled a 94-87-11 mark in 10 seasons with the Viking men for an overall record of 164-128-19 in a total of 16 collegiate campaigns.

Western's Molly Shannon (So., Bellingham) was named to the second team. She has 18 points with eight goals and two assists.

Three Vikings received honorable mention - midfielder Stephanie Janigo (Jr., Bellingham), forward Lucy Miller (Jr., Pacific Palisades, CA) and defender Brynn Regan (Jr., Mercer Island).

Miller has scored 19 points with a team-best nine goals.

Seattle Pacific's Meredith Teague was named the GNAC Player of the Year with Saint Martin's Jill Jensen the Newcomer of the Year and Western Oregon's Melinda Ingalls the Freshman of the Year.

GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Women's Soccer: Teague, Connell Player, Coach-of-the-Year in GNAC

SPOKANE, Wash. - Seattle Pacific midfielder Meredith Teague has been selected the 2008 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Player-of-the-Year.

Teague (5-4, Sr., Redmond, WA - Bellevue Christian) ranks second in the conference in scoring this fall with 32 points on 12 goals and eight assists. She is also the third most prolific playmaker in GNAC history with 32 assists and is tied for 10th in career points with 78.

Western Washington coach Travis Connell, who led the Vikings to a 16-2-2 record and their first-ever GNAC women's soccer conference title with a 10-0-2 mark, was selected the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year. The 1996 Seattle Pacific University graduate also won the award in 2006.

In six seasons as the head coach for the Viking women, Connell has a record of 70-41-8. He also has compiled a 94-87-11 record in 10 seasons with WWU's men for an overall collegiate record of 164-128-19 in a total of 16 collegiate campaigns.

Forward Jill Jensen of Saint Martin's and midfielder Melinda Ingalls of Western Oregon were voted the GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year, respectively.

Jensen (5-6, So., Puyallup, WA - Emerald Ridge), who is a transfer from the University of Oregon, led the conference in scoring with 38 points producing 15 goals and eight assists. Ingalls, who prepped at Wilsonville High School (Ore.), tied for fifth in scoring with 23 points. She had 10 goals and three assists.

Teague and Jensen were among seven unanimous selections to the GNAC all-conference team. Also earning unanimous accolades were Seattle Pacific forward Jocelyn Charette (5-10, Jr., Lakewood, WA - Curtis), SPU midfielder Shannon Oakes (5-5, Sr., Boise, ID), SPU defender Claire Grubbs (5-9, Sr., Sterling, VA - Potomac Falls), Western Washington defender Katie Warner (5-8, Sr., Burlington, WA - Burlington-Edison) and Viking goalkeeper Kyle Broadbent (5-9, Sr., Spokane, WA - Lewis & Clark).

Four players were repeat selections from a year ago - Teague, Oakes, Warner and Western Washington forward Claire Morgan (5-7, So., Bellingham, WA).

Western Washington and Seattle Pacific, who are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in this week's NCAA West Region playoffs, led the first team all-star selections with four each. Central Washington, Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's all placed one player on the first team.

2008 GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-STAR TEAM

First Team (Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown)
+Jill Jensen, Saint Martin's, F, 5-8, So., Puyallup, WA
+Jocelyn Charette, Seattle Pacific, F, 5-10, Jr., Lakewood, WA
*Claire Morgan, Western Washington, F, 5-8, So., Bellingham, WA
*+Meredith Teague, Seattle Pacific, M, 5-4, Sr., Redmond, WA
*+Shannon Oakes, Seattle Pacific, M, 5-5, Sr., Boise, ID
Lynde Clarke, Central Washington, M, 5-3, Sr., Albuquerque, NM
Kelly Irving, Western Washington, M, 5-6, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA
*+Katie Warner, Western Washington, D, 5-8, Sr., Burlington, WA
+Claire Grubbs, Seattle Pacific, D, 5-9, Sr., Sterling, VA
Sara Gress, Montana State Billings, D, 5-9, Sr., Boise, ID
+Kyle Broadbent, Western Washington, GK, 5-9, Sr., Spokane, WA
   +Unanimous  *Repeater

Second Team
Melinda Ingalls, Western Oregon, F, 5-7, Fr.	,Wilsonville, OR
Amanda Johnson, Seattle Pacific, F, 5-7, So., Duvall, WA
Molly Shannon, Western Washington, F, 5-10, So., Bellingham, WA
Kim Bowen, Northwest Nazarene, M, 5-3, So., Nampa, ID
Kaycie Hutchins, Central Washington, M, 5-7, So., Port Orchard, WA
Jessica Wilson, Saint Martin's, M, 5-8, Sr., Redlands, CA
Janae Godoy, Seattle Pacific, M, 5-4, Jr., Yakima, WA
Kari Foreman, Montana State Billings, M, 5-5, So., Lakewood, CO
Monique Thees, Western Oregon, D, 5-8, Fr., Camano Island, WA
Jessica Andrews, Central Washington, D, 5-5, Jr., Spanaway, WA
Katie Taylor, Seattle Pacific, D, 5-6, Sr., Vancouver, WA
Amber Easterbrook, Central Washington, GK, 5-5, Jr., Kent, WA

Honorable Mention
Allison Gamberg, MSU Billings, F, 5-5, So., Lakewood, CO
Stacey Beckman, Northwest Nazarene, F, 5-7, So., Olympia, WA
Lucy Miller, Western Washington, F, 5-2, Jr., Pacific Palisades
Naomi Shimabuka, Western Oregon, M, 5-2, So., Aoea, HI
Kayci Donnatelli, Saint Martin's, M, 5-9, So., Seattle, WA
Mandy Ploskonka, Montana State Billings, M, 5-5, Sr., Federal Way, WA
Hannah Bridges, Central Washington, M, 5-6, Sr., Federal Way, WA
Maggie Kuzmer, Western Oregon, M, 5-6, Sr., Vancouver, WA
Stephanie Janigo, Western Washington, M, 5-4, Jr., Bellingham, WA
Savanna Hanson, Seattle Pacific, M, 5-8, Fr.	Centennial, CO
Jessie Cahill, Northwest Nazarene, D, 5-5, Fr., Henderson, NV
Cayla Dixon, Saint Martin's, D, 5-2, So., Federal Way, WA
Brynn Regan, Western Washington, D, 5-9, Jr., Mercer Island, WA
Hillary Franks, Central Washington, D, 5-9, Fr., Yakima, WA
Mykenzie Deverell, Montana State Billings, D, 5-3, Fr., Camas, WA
Ashley Engel, Saint Martin's, GK, 5-9, Fr., Burien, WA

GNAC  Player-of-the-Year - Meredith Teague, Seattle Pacific
GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year - Jill Jensen, Saint Martin's
GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year - Melinda Ingalls, Western Oregon
GNAC Coach-of-the-Year - Travis Connell, Western Washington