SEATTLE – When sophomore forward Sophie Bearden Croft entered Western Washington University’s national semifinal matchup against a high-octane, No. 2-seed Columbus State team, she had yet to tally a goal all season.
By the time she was subbed off in the 77th minute, she had scored her first two goals of the season, allowing the No. 3-seed Vikings to hang on to a 2-1 win and advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship, the program’s third appearance since 2016.
Western women’s soccer was faced with a daunting task on Thursday night in attempting to slow down the nation’s highest-scoring Division II offense in Columbus State.
The first half showed why Columbus State averaged 3.87 goals a game, with the Cougars’ attack constantly pressing and testing the Western midfield and back line. Columbus State tallied seven shots, but WWU head coach Travis Connell said midfielders Tera Ziemer and Payton Neal played a crucial role in keeping the Cougars’ offense at bay.
“It was really fantastic, probably their best games of the season,” Connell said of his midfielders’ play. “[Payton Neal] was fantastic tonight. [Columbus State] had an extra player in the midfield the entire game and we were able to play three versus four because of the quality of Tera [Ziemer], Peyton [Neal] and Dayana [Diaz].”
The Cougars looked like the better team in the first half, outshooting the Vikings 7-4, although only one of those seven shots forced a Claire Henninger save.
“They pushed us to the limit, they really dominated the first half, to be honest,” Connell said. “We hung on and stayed alive and then were able to regroup in the locker room and we challenged each other. We really knew what we had to do in the second half. I’m really proud of how we came out and turned the game in our favor. It wasn’t so much tactics as it was just winning our battles.”
Going into the locker room at halftime, senior midfielder Tera Ziemer said the Vikings knew they were being outplayed.
“Everyone looked at each other and was like, ‘All right, we either go out and we play the way we should, or we lose,’” Ziemer said. “Everyone, from the start, when that first whistle blew in the second half, was like, ‘We’re going to go out and win it,’ and we did. I’m so proud of everyone.”
Just three minutes into the second half, Bearden Croft took a pass in from a deft Dayana Diaz run. Diaz, playing in her WWU-record 100th career game, dished to a wide-open Bearden Croft who calmly hooked a right-footed shot around the CSU goalkeeper from 12 yards out, putting the Vikings ahead 1-0.
In the 75th minute, after being subbed out and back in again, Croft volleyed in her second goal of the night. Junior forward Estera Levinte began the attack with a speedy run up the left side, passing to Ziemer at the top of the 18-yard box. Ziemer faked a shot and passed again to a streaking freshman forward Morgan Manalili on the right side.
Manalili, who already tallied goals in each of Western’s previous two tournament matches, moved past a Columbus State defender and slotted a beautiful pass to Croft, who redirected it into the net.
Now, all the Vikings had to do was keep the nation’s highest-scoring offense from scoring with 15 minutes to go.
In the 84th minute, the Cougars’ all-out attack finally broke through, when a cross from the left side by Columbus State sophomore forward Emma Beddow reached freshman forward Michelle Medina, who slotted in a low shot to the left corner.
Over five minutes remained and the Vikings faced an even tighter 2-1 margin against a Cougars team that scored 13 goals in the four NCAA tournament games prior to Thursday’s match.
“We have conceded goals even though we have a great defense. We also know exactly what to do,” Connell said. “We didn’t bend at all at that point. We got right back into it and did what we wanted to do and saw the rest of the game out.”
As the clock reached zero and Western had weathered Columbus State’s final attack, the roars of the home crowd at Interbay Stadium in Seattle — just 90 minutes south of the Vikings’ campus in Bellingham — echoed through the stadium.
“When I didn’t know how much more I could give, just hearing people and knowing that our fans were in the crowd was, like, the biggest boost we could have,” Ziemer said. “It made such a big difference to have them with us.”
“It felt like Harrington — it felt like home, so it was awesome,” Croft said.
Western will now play Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. at Interbay Stadium against West Chester University. West Chester enters the final as the No. 1 seed with an undefeated 23-0-1 record.
Western hopes to earn its first national championship since 2016, and especially hope to get back on top after losing in the finals back in 2019, when some of the veterans on this team were freshmen.
Tera Ziemer, who has played every minute of Western’s NCAA Tournament run, said this year’s team isn’t really looking back on past accomplishments.
“I think this is a new year. Whatever happened in past years doesn’t really matter,” Ziemer said. “It’s a new team and we have a lot to prove and we just have to go out there and, and play. That’s it.”
