Thursday, November 1, 2018

PORTLAND – Just five days after playing to a 1-1 draw on the same pitch, No. 17 Concordia used goals early in each half against third-seeded Seattle Pacific to advance to the 2018 GNAC Women's Soccer Championships title match.

The day's second semifinal was controlled for the most part by the Cavaliers as midfielder Kasey Ames and forward Quinn Williams tallied goals for the host school. The Falcons did cut the deficit in half late in the match, but a strong defensive effort in the closing minutes allowed CU to survive for the 2-1 victory.

The Cavaliers wasted no time getting on the scoresheet, attacking early and often before breaking through just seven minutes in.

Ames found a great ball put into the center of the box by fellow midfielder Gabrielle Ewing and finished it with force, getting it past the Falcons goalkeeper to put her team ahead 1-0. The goal marked Ames' third on the 2018 season.

The beginning of the second stanza played out in a similar fashion.

Concordia was able to double its lead in the 54th minute as Williams slid into a pass right on the goal line to put the ball past the keeper. The goal was assisted by both Kyra Radcliffe and Sydney Van Steenberge and gave the Cavaliers a nice two-goal cushion.

That cushion was cut in half late as the visitors from Seattle made one last effort at getting back into the match. With just five minutes remaining, midfielder Megan Moore cashed in a pair of well-placed passes from Brooke Lancaster and Sierra Smith to pull their team to within 2-1. 

Ultimately, however, the comeback effort would fall just short as CU was able to prevent an equalizer. The tournament's two seed outshot Seattle Pacific 22-6 and finished with an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Senior keeper Rose Hauser was credited with the victory, tallying two saves while playing all 90 minutes in goal.

Concordia improved to 13-1-3 on the season while the Falcons fell to 12-5-2. The Cavaliers advanced to the GNAC Championships title match with the victory, setting up a rematch of last year's final against top-seeded and No. 6 Western Washington. 

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Tuominen Yard.