Falcons came back from early week loss with 6-1 win over WOU
The Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team almost pulled off an upset against the No. 6 ranked Concordia University last Thursday, only allowing the opposing team to score one goal.
Unfortunately, the Falcons could not grab a goal of their own, and lost 1-0. Their performance turned around on Saturday when the Falcons netted six goals and beat Western Oregon University 6-1.
Falcons’ Head Coach, Arby Busey said, “We started off much better against Concordia and established ourselves in the game early. We were able to build momentum and play really well.”
Both teams took some shots in the first half, and the Falcons forced some saves from the Cavaliers’ goalie Rose Hauser, making her first start in goal on the season. Despite this, no one found the net until the 62nd minute.
The Cavaliers intercepted the ball in the Falcons half and after a series of passes the ball reached Cavalier midfielder Gabrielle Ewing at the top of the box. The senior quickly turned and shot the ball into the bottom right corner to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.
That would prove to be all CU would need. The Falcons sent shots wide left, wide right, high, but all into the hands of opposing goalie, never finding the back of the net.
Thankfully, the Falcons found the net many times on Saturday, getting past Western Oregon University 6-1.
They outshot the Wolves 22 to 10, putting eight shots on goal to the Wolves’ six. The Falcons first entered the scoresheet in the 11 minute, as forward Sophia Chilzcuk was fouled by Western Oregon forward Kennedy Clay in the penalty box.
Senior defender Kaytlin Willis stepped up to take the penalty and kicked it into the bottom left corner for the Falcons’ first goal on the day.
The Wolves responded 17 minutes later, after a throw-in by defender Kaitlin Poe found midfielder Kaili Brundage, who passed the ball to midfielder Hannah Cabral.
Cabral knocked the ball into the Falcons’ goal from eight yards out.
The Falcons took the lead for good in 41 minute, after passes from midfielder Emma Young and defender Ava Giovanola set up forward Mickayla Mury for a one on one opportunity with the goalkeeper, which Mury took advantage of.
Mury and Young combined again in the 54th minute, as Mury stole the ball and passed it across to Young, who finished into the upper left corner from outside the box.
The Falcons began to blow the game open with eight minutes left, scoring two goals in two minutes. The goals came from midfielder Claire Neder, and forward Kasey Reeve, and were assisted by Sophia Chilczuk and midfielder Julia Devere, respectively.
The final goal came with one-minute left, as passes from defender Mason Minder and forward Abbie Anderson directed the ball to defender Sydnee Smith, who took a shot from 25 yards out. The Wolves’ keeper Alex Qualls got a hand to the ball, but was not able to stop the ball from going into the net.
Busey said that, “with the exception of Western Washington, we have been able to create quality goal scoring chances often thus far. We need to better about capitalizing on those chances, and Saturday’s performance certainly built our confidence along those lines.”
Seniors scored five of the six goals for the Falcons, and the win marked the 29 win for the Falcons in their last 30 meetings against Western Oregon.
With this win, the Falcons get some much-needed breathing room in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Standings.
The Falcons now hold fourth place in the conference, with a conference record of five wins, three losses, and zero ties, while the Wolves hold a conference record of three wins, five losses, and one tie. The top four teams head to the conference playoffs the second weekend in November.
The Falcons’ defense has settled back in after allowing four goals to WWU last week, and Busey credits that to the team keeping possession better.
The Falcons will need to continue to do so as they have some important games coming up in the next two weeks.
The Falcons will travel to British Columbia on Thursday, Oct. 18, to face Simon Fraser University, who are one ranked third, just above the Falcons, with a record of 6-1-1.
