Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer played Western Washington University for the second time this season, ending in a 1-1 tie, on Thursday, Nov. 7.
The first goal for Seattle Pacific was scored in the first two minutes of the match. Junior forward Kayla Wallace passed the ball from the left side of the field to sophomore defender Ashlyn Valdovinos in front of the goal.
Commenting on the quick start, Head Coach Arby Busey explained their tactic for the game.
“We wanted to try to put them under a little bit more pressure this time, and I thought initially we did, I thought, as the game wore on, they kind of found their legs and got into it,” Busey said.
The Vikings retaliated offensively with 13 shots in the first half. Seattle Pacific played an exhaustive offense to keep up, forcing the ball forward toward the opponent’s goal but all attempts were denied. The first half ended 1-0, giving SPU the advantage.
Going into the second half, Western Washington put their efforts into scoring, and in the span of three minutes, WWU found an opportunity and managed to take a goal from SPU.
Both teams picked up their pace and enhanced their offensive pressure for the remaining forty minutes. Western Washington had more ball possession, and SPU worked hard to turn over the ball whenever their defense was challenged, creating many opportunities for the Falcons to score.
What started as a game favoring SPU turned into a game of slide tackling, aggravated defense and a rowdy crowd. The second half ended with both teams equally challenged and in a tie.
For their final game of this season, SPU played Simon Fraser University on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Terry Fox Field, which ended in a goalless tie. Both teams were equally matched throughout the game, yet Simon Fraser outshot SPU 20-8.
These two matches were eagerly awaited by both teams to see how the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s championship bracket would end up. Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser University are tied for second place behind Western Washington in the GNAC rankings.
Seattle Pacific women’s soccer prepares to face off against Simon Fraser once again for the start of the GNAC championship tournament on Thursday, Nov. 14, at Interbay Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m.
