NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament
Regional Final & Quarterfinal Rounds
Patriot Soccer Field / Dallas, Texas

• Webcast:  https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/dbu/
• LiveStats:  http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=380472
 
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2
West Region Championship: (2) Western Washington vs. (1) Seattle Pacific
8:00 a.m. PST (10:00 a.m. CST); Dallas, Texas
 
South Central Region Championship: (2) UC Colorado Springs vs. (1) Dallas Baptist
11:00 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. CST); Dallas, Texas
 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4
Quarterfinals:  Region final winners meet; Dallas, Texas, 11:00 a.m. PST/1 p.m. CST
 
The fourth-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (18-1-1) continues its pursuit of a second NCAA Division II title with a West Regional championship clash against No. 13 Western Washington (15-4-3) on Thursday, Dec. 1. Kick-off is 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Central) at Patriot Soccer Field in Dallas, Texas. That will be this season's fourth meeting between the Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals and the Falcons won the previous three by a combined 8-0 tally. SPU advanced to the Sweet 16 by virtue of a 2-1 triumph over Sonoma State on Nov. 20 in Seattle. Chloe Gellhaus and Makena Rietz each had a goal in the second-round win. Host and South Central region top seed Dallas Baptist (18-3-0) plays No. 2 seed UC Colorado Springs (19-3-0) in the site's other third-round matchup. The winners remain in Dallas to play a quarterfinal on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. PST (1 p.m. CST) for a trip to the College Cup in Colorado Springs.
 
Northwest Rivals
Two Northwest schools, located 78 miles apart, travel 1,680 miles to Dallas to play for the West Region championship. GNAC rivals Seattle Pacific and Western Washington meet Thursday for the fourth time this season. The stakes are much greater this time as the winner advances to the NCAA quarterfinals. SPU is ranked higher (No. 4 to No. 13) and seeded higher in the West Region (No. 1 vs. No. 2). The Falcons won all three prior matchups this season, 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 9 in Seattle, 3-0 on Oct. 21 at WWU and 4-0 on Nov. 13 in the GNAC Tournament title game in Bellingham. The matchup features GNAC goal leaders Makena Rietz (SPU) and Jenna Killman (WWU), each with 13. These teams met once before in the Midwest, on Nov. 20, 2008 in Kirksville, Mo., and SPU won 1-0 in two overtimes, then beat host Truman State 1-0 en route to the NCAA title.
 
Notable
Seattle Pacific scored in the opening 92 seconds in the last two matchups versus the Vikings. Makena Rietz netted a rapid goal at 0:51 (Oct. 21) and Sophie Beadle at 1:32 (Nov. 13).

TAYLOR MENKENS INTERVIEW

Clash of the Titlists
Both Seattle Pacific and Western Washington have captured an NCAA Division II women's soccer national championship. The Falcons claimed the 2008 crown, defeating West Florida 1-0 on a golden goal by Janae Godoy. Western won the 2016 title with a 3-2 victory over Grand Valley State. The Vikings met Grand Valley in the last NCAA title game, in 2019, and lost 1-0 in overtime. These Northwest rivals are the dominant GNAC powers, combining to capture 17 of the 20 regular-season crowns, SPU claiming its ninth title this season and WWU winning eight times.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
• The Falcons are outscoring opponents 62-9 and have a 17-0-0 record when netting two or more goals
 
• Sophia Chilczuk leads the nation with 17 assists, helping her team rank No. 3 in D-II with 56 assists
 
• Unbeaten for the last 14 games (13-0-1), including 9 straight wins, SPU has not had a longer streak since the 2008 squad was undefeated over its final 17 games (16-0-1) en route to the national championship
 
• The Falcons rank No. 5 nationally with a 0.44 goals against average, featuring 12 shutouts
 
• SPU captured its ninth GNAC regular-season championship and its third GNAC Tournament title
 
Quoting Coach Arby Busey
"With Western and us, the amazing thing is the programs have the ability to bring out the best in each other. We will be excited and they'll be excited. It will be another barn-burner as it always is. Two good teams will have the opportunity to play for the right to advance in the NCAA Tournament."
 
 

Super Sophia
Senior forward Sophia Chilczuk has reinvented her game, drawing intense defensive attention after topping all SPU scorers in each of the last three seasons. She amassed 10 games in just eight outings last season to rank No. 3 nationally. Chilczuk is proving to be a proficient provider and leads all NCAA Division II playmakers with 17 assists, a figure that stands as the SPU single-season standard. The school's previous record of 16 assists was established in 2007 by Meredith Teague. That's not the only record that Teague may lose. Chilczuk increased her career total to 34 assists, drawing level with Teague for the SPU record. along with the GNAC record. Chilczuk was named the 2021 GNAC Tournament MVP after distributing two assists in each playoff contest. She ranks No. 3 among all-time Falcons in career points (106) and No. 5 in goals (36). Also a stellar student, the three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American boasts a 3.92 grade point average in applied human biology.
 
Scouting Seattle Pacific (18-1-1, No. 1 West seed)
Fourth-ranked SPU outscores opponents 62-9 with 12 clean sheets. The Falcons feature forward Sophia Chilzcuk, who leads the nation with 17 assists. GNAC Player of the Year Makena Rietz shares the league lead with 13 goals from her midfield post. Freshman of the Year Lauren Forster tallied nine goals and Defensive Player of the Year Madison Ibale has two. Fourteen different players netted a goal, six of them with five or more. Backed by first-team All-GNAC goalkeeper Riley Travis with her eight shutouts and 0.46 goals against average is a defense yielding less than a half a goal per game (0.45).
 
Scouting Western Washington (15-4-3, No. 2 West seed)
The 13th-ranked Vikings lost just once in their last six outings (4-1-1). Western outscores opponents 40-16 topped by the 13 goals of Jenna Killman. Goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx has eight shutouts and a 0.76 goals against average. Travis Connell, a four-year SPU men's soccer letterman (1991-95), is in his 18th year and owns WWU's all-time mark with 280 coaching wins. The Falcons hold a 22-21-7 series edge and won the last four meetings, including a 1-0 overtime result on Oct. 9 in Seattle that Claire Neder ended with a 95th-minute golden goal. SPU won the rematch 3-0 on Oct. 21 in Bellingham, halting Western's 32-game home winning streak. The Falcons were 4-0 victors on Nov. 13 in the GNAC title game.
 
Scouting Dallas Baptist (18-3-0, No. 1 South Central seed)
The fifth-ranked Patriots won 11 of their last 12 games. The exception was a 1-0 setback to Angelo State in the Lone Start Conference final that was avenged with a 3-2 NCAA second-round victory. The high-scoring tandem of Ashley Merrill (15 goals) and Delaney Schmidt (13) help DBU outscore opponents 66-19. Goalkeeper Hailey Brown has eight clean sheets and a 0.83 goals against average.  The Patriots and SPU have never met in women's soccer.
 
Scouting UC Colorado Springs (19-3-0, No. 2 South Central seed)
The ninth-ranked Mountain Lions won their last nine games and are outscoring opponents 60-21 overall. They are champions of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Tarah Patterson tops the team with nine goals and 13 assists. A trio of goalkeepers combined for 10 shutouts and a 0.95 goals against average. UCCS and the Falcons have never met in soccer.

Tournament Format
The NCAA Division II Tournament is a single-elimination playoff starting with a 56-team field. The eight regional champions will be determined during third-round games on Thursday and Friday. Two regional titlists are paired in quarterfinal games at every site, with the winners advancing to the College Cup. The 2021 NCAA semifinals and championship game are scheduled for Dec. 9 and 11 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colo. Defending champion Grand Valley State, a 1-0 overtime winner over Western Washington in the 2019 final, is seeded No. 1 in the Midwest Region. No NCAA Tournament was conducted in 2020 due to the COVID outbreak.
 
SPU Tournament History
Seattle Pacific is participating in the playoffs for the 16th time in the last 18 seasons and the first time since 2018. The Falcons earned the top seed in the West for the first time since 2010. The Falcons have an 18-13-3 record in all-time postseason games. They captured the 2008 national championship with a 1-0 double-overtime triumph over top-ranked and previously undefeated West Florida on a Janae Godoy golden goal in the 108th minute. SPU also advanced to the Final Four in 2005 and 2007.
 
Coach Busey
2021 GNAC Coach of the Year Arby Busey is in his 16th year on the SPU staff, his seventh as head coach. In the abbreviated 2020-21 season, he directed the Falcons to an 8-0-1 record and No. 5 final ranking. Busey has a 75-32-10 record with the Falcons. SPU advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in Busey's first two seasons at the helm and again in 2018 and 2021.