NCAA Division II: Wingate and WWU claim first titles

• by Soccer America , Dec 4, 2016

Wingate and Western Washington won their first national championships in soccer when they captured the men's and women's finals at the NCAA Division II finals held in Kansas City.

Wingate beat Charleston, 2-0, on goals by Oscar Perez and Jon Ander to complete a run of five wins the NCAA Tournament, all by shutouts, and finish the season with a 19-1-0 record.

In the semifinals, Wingate beat UC San Diego, 2-0. Its only loss came in the South Atlantic Conference tournament.

Emily Webster's free kick in the 76th minute gave Western Washington a 3-2 victory over three-time defending champion Grand Valley State in the final. The Vikings finished with 24 consecutive victories after opening with a 0-0 tie at Sonoma State.

Caitlyn Jobanek scored twice for the Vikings to give them 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but Grand Valley State, its eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA II final four, came back both times to find an equalizer.

The Lakers tied the game in the 33rd minute on Jayma Martin's goal and again in the 72nd minute on Clare Carlson's goal from distance.