Tuesday, October 29, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – With a comeback 3-2 victory on Thursday, Seattle Pacific clinched a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer championship tournament and in effect solidified the field of four teams that will battle for the GNAC title.

SPU knocked off Saint Martin’s, which was the last team with a chance to make the postseason. The Saints’ loss not only put the Falcons into the playoffs, but ensured Western Oregon would grab a spot as well.

SMU and WOU will join first place Western Washington and second place Central Washington next weekend in a two-day three-game tournament at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash., that will determine which GNAC team will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional tournament.

After a pair of victories last week, WWU moved up to No. 11 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America national rankings, up one spot from last week.

WWU is not only one of the top teams across the NCAA defensively, but the Vikings have displayed significant offensive firepower as well. WWU is No. 16 in the NCAA in scoring offense (2.73) and ranks 10th amongst Division II competition in assists per game with 2.47. The Vikings’ stingy defense has allowed just five goals this season – all to GNAC opponents – as WWU ranks No. 6 in goals-against average (.333) and No. 12 in save percentage (.878). 

Individually, Catherine Miles pushed her name up the national leader board and earned Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors with a hat trick last week. The sophomore forward ranks No. 18 in the NCAA in total goals (12), No. 21 in points per game (1.8), and No. 24 in total points (27).

Seattle Pacific’s Alexa Diaz is amongst the NCAA leaders in assists per game as her .58 mark ranks her 13th.

Western Oregon remains one of the top defensive teams in Division II, ranking No. 5 in save percentage (.906) and No. 9 in goals-against average (.351) and shutout percentage (.688). Much credit goes to goalkeeper Amanda Rose Johnson, who is in the top-10 in the NCAA in save percentage (7th, .896) and goals-against average (8th, .347).

RECAP

Western Washington (14-1-0, 11-1-0 GNAC) recovered after its first loss of 2013 to collect a pair of victories last week. Miles led the way with three goals, while Delanee Nilles scored twice including the game-winner against Montana State Billings, and Jessica Bertucci also contributed a pair to account for the Vikings’ seven total goals.

Central Washington (10-4-1, 9-2-1) couldn’t find the net against Western Oregon on Thursday as the teams battled to a scoreless overtime draw. The Wildcats had to come from behind on Saturday, bouncing back with two goals in less than two minutes in the second half to down Saint Martin’s 2-1.

CWU was not the only team to earn a tough comeback win last week, as Seattle Pacific (12-4-0, 9-3-0) came back from a 2-0 deficit for just the second time in program history, beating SMU 3-2 on Thursday. The Falcons’ Laura Moore became the first opposing player to score in Monmouth, Ore., on Saturday, as her goal just before the half pushed SPU to its second victory of the week.

Kelli Bannerman did all she could to help SMU (4-11-0, 3-9-0) win last week, but the Saints twice relinquished leads and lost both of their matches. The freshman forward scored all three of her team’s goals, and has scored 10 of SMU’s 16 goals so far this season. 

Montana State Billings (5-7-2, 4-7-1) scored for the first time in three matches as the Yellowjackets picked up a 3-0 victory over Simon Fraser on Saturday.

The Clan (1-11-2, 1-9-2) grabbed their first win of 2013 on Thursday, downing Northwest Nazarene (1-11-3, 0-9-3) 2-1 in Burnaby, BC., as Kate Pearsall scored the golden goal in the 100th minute and goalkeeper Simone Tessler made six big saves for SFU.

COMING UP

With the tournament field already determined, the final two games of the 2013 regular season could have an impact on the seeding for the championship. WWU can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win or a CWU or SPU loss or tie.

The most likely shift could occur between CWU and SPU for the second and third seeds, though this would have no impact on the matches for the championship tournament.

The schedule for the second of eight GNAC Championships throughout the 2013-14 school year will pit the No. 2 seed against the No. 3 seed in game one on Nov. 7, with the No. 1 seed facing the No. 4 in game two on the same day. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. with the two winners from Day 1 meeting to determine the automatic postseason bid from the GNAC.