6 soccer players with local ties inducted into WWU’s Hall of Fame

Western Washington University (WWU) will induct the 2016 and 2022 women’s soccer teams into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend.

The two squads were NCAA Division II national champions their respective years, and there are three Snohomish County players from each group who will see their teams’ plaques hung on the wall inside Sam Carver Gymnasium. Each national team member will also receive a commemorative coin that displays the national championship winning year on one side and the WWU Soccer Crest with two stars for winning a pair of national championships on the other.

Western Washington University’s Dayana Diaz (left), a Granite Falls High School graduate, dribbles the ball during a game against Simon Fraser on Oct. 8, 2022, in Burnaby, B.C. (Photo courtesy of Western Washington University Athletics)

The 2016 group, which included Liv Larson (Arlington), Erin Russell (Mountlake Terrace) and Callie VanAelst (Jackson), bested three-time defending champion Grand Valley State 3-2 on Dec. 3 at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. This was the first national title in the program’s history. That year, the Vikings also won their fifth-consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular-season championship with an undefeated 12-0-0 record and their third GNAC Tournament title, which helped advance them to a fifth-consecutive NCAA II Tournament.

Western Washington University’s Liv Larson, a former Arlington High School standout, played a big role in the Vikings’ run to a women’s soccer national championship in 2016. (Photo courtesy of Western Washington University Athletics)

“Western, which led the GNAC in nearly every statistical category, set a school record and tied the GNAC record with 17 shutouts, tied for third nationally in NCAA II. The Vikings had the fifth-lowest goals against average nationally at 0.396, allowing only 10 goals in 25 games,” a press release on the university’s athletics website states. “Western led the NCAA in winning percentage (.980) and averaged a school-record 2.64 goals per game, 15th-best in the nation.”

Western Washington University’s Morgan Manalili, a Shorewood High School graduate, takes a corner kick during the Western-Point Loma game at Harrington Field in Bellingham, Wash., on Nov. 12, 2022. (Taras McCurdie / The Herald)

The 2022 group, which included Dayana Diaz (Granite Falls), Morgan Manalili (Shorewood) and Grace Wales (Snohomish), topped West Chester University 2-1 six years later on Dec. 3 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. That year marked the Vikings’ 10th consecutive NCAA II championship tournament, seventh consecutive West Region tournament and third of six national title game appearances.

Western Washington University’s Morgan Manalili, a Shorewood High School graduate, celebrates after scoring a goal against Saint Martin’s University at Harrington Field in Bellingham, Wash., on Oct. 29, 2022. (Taras McCurdie / The Herald)

On Saturday, Oct. 5, there will be a ceremony in Carver Gym followed by a sideline party at 1 p.m., prior to the 2 p.m. game against West Oregon, set up by the Foundation for WWU and Alumni. During halftime, there will be a photo with national championship team members in attendance at Harrington Field.