Thursday, November 10, 2016

BELLINGHAM, Wash.  – Four meetings between two teams in one soccer season is a lot. Both Seattle Pacific and Central Washington were 1-1-1 in head-to-head meetings this year, so there were no secrets the fourth time the two teams stepped onto a fourth different pitch.

The familiarity played into Wildcats’ hands as they defeated the Falcons 2-1 with a pair of goals by Whitney Lowe on Thursday afternoon at Harrington Field to advance to the West Region semifinals, winning their first NCAA postseason match in program history.

The No. 5 Wildcats improve to 14-5-1, avenging a 2-0 loss exactly a week ago to the same team in the GNAC Championships semifinals. Central Washington will meet No. 1 Western Washington in the second round. No. 4 Seattle Pacific dropped to 11-5-4 to wrap up their season with a 14th consecutive postseason appearance.

In the ninth minute, Lowe broke away from the Falcon defensive line and dribbled into the box. The forward beat the goalkeeper in a one-on-one for the first goal of the match. It was Lowe’s third goal on the season.

Lowe beat the goalkeeper again in the 52nd minute for an insurance goal that proved to be necessary. When the goalkeeper missed on a clearout, Lowe was in perfect position to head the ball in from six yards out for a 2-0 lead.

The memorable collegiate career of Seattle Pacific forward Hannah Huesers came to an end on Thursday but not without first scoring her 47th career goal in the 61st minute. It was also her conference-best 13th goal of the season, scoring on a breakaway from a defensive mistake. Huesers’ 48 career goals ranks second in conference history and is the most goals by a single player in nearly a decade in the GNAC.

Central Washington will play Western Washington on Saturday at 1 p.m. The last time the two teams met was also on Harrington Field, when the Vikings won 4-1 to become the GNAC regular season champions.