Thursday, November 8, 2018

PORTLAND – Under chilly but sunny skies, No. 11 Concordia was able to protect its home field and defeat Seattle Pacific for the second time in as many weeks in Thursday's NCAA Championships first round match at Tuominen Yard.

The 2-1 win sends the Cavaliers to the NCAA West Region semifinals, setting up a rematch of last week's GNAC Championships title tilt against 16th-ranked Western Washington. 

"Having played them for the fourth time this season, that was two teams who know each other really well," said Concordia head coach Grant Landy after the match. "They made it difficult for us but we got an early goal and that was very important."

That early goal came in just the match's second minute to stake CU to a 1-0 advantage. It was Quinn Williams who was able to control a bouncing ball in the box, using her left foot to drive the ball into the right side of the net. The goal was Williams' second on the 2018 campaign.

The margin remained just one goal for the next 50-plus minutes as the Falcons steadily chased an equaizer but couldn't quite cash in. That changed early in the second half as Kasey Reeve was able to sneak behind the defense and put away a ball played nicely into the box by Claire Neder.

However, it didn't take long for the Cavaliers to grab the lead right back. Defender Megan Myers chose a good time to tally her first goal of the season, lofting a chip shot from just outside the box up and over the outstretched arms of the SPU goalkeper. 

That gave the West Region's No. 2 seed a 2-1 advantage that it wouldn't relinquish, thanks to a stingy defense that did not allow a shot in the match's final 40 minutes.

Landy's side finished the contest with a 17-5 advantage in shots taken. A trio of upperclassmen - Karlie Hurley, Kyra Radcliffe and Maddie Misi - led their team with three shots a piece. 

The victory improved Concordia's record to 15-1-3 on the season. It will return to the pitch on Saturday afternoon, facing the conference's regular-season champion in Western Washington back home at Tuominen Yard. 

"It's so nice," senior Kasey Ames said on playing in Portland. "We had the opportunity last year to travel to California for the regional so it is nice to have a different experience this year while hosting."

Saturday's matchup will kickoff at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to next week's NCAA West Regional championship.