Thursday, November 14, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - With the 2013 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament being decided in a penalty kick shootout between victorious Seattle Pacific and Western Washington, it only seemed fitting that the two teams should meet one final time this season to bring one of the best rivalries in the conference full circle.

With a 1-0 win over Sonoma State on Thursday evening on the campus of Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Wash., SPU ensured a rematch with WWU as the second round NCAA Division II West Regional bout between the two GNAC schools is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. Pacific time in Bellingham.

“They’re a team we respect and it’s always a good match when we play them,” SPU goalkeeper Natalie Harold commented earlier this week on GNAC Insider when asked about the prospect of facing the Vikings again this weekend. “We would definitely be excited to get another shot at playing Western.”

Hannah Huesers pushed SPU ahead of WWU with a goal in the 88th minute of the GNAC Championship Match, and she repeated the feat Thursday evening as she found the net in the 55th minute. The single goal proved to be the difference in a match that saw the Seawolves outshoot the Falcons 16-9, as Harold came up with nine crucial saves for SPU.

Ashley Shaw nearly got the Falcons on the board in the 20th minute, but her shot glanced off of the post. The ball rebounded to the foot of Alexa Diaz, but Sonoma State goalkeeper Allison Hadidian was there to make the save to keep the game scoreless.

Harold saw her first action in the 21st, when a shot on target from Melissa LaFranchi required a save from SPU’s senior goalkeeper. Neither team had scored after 45 minutes, as play was relatively equal through the first half with each team notching six shots.

Huesers’ goal just 10 minutes into the second half was not met without a retaliatory effort, as SSU’s Kristal Luna launched a shot off the post just two minutes later. LaFranchi’s rebound effort sailed wide and SPU dodged a major bullet to hold onto the lead.

Harold came up with two more big saves in a span of 10 seconds, knocking down a header shot by the Seawolves’ Lauren Curtin before denying the second effort strike by Luna. The Falcons held off SSU down the stretch, preventing any kind of scoring threat throughout the final minutes of regulation.

Saturday's match between Seattle Pacific and No. 9 Western Washington will mark the fourth time this season the teams have met, with WWU winning both regular season matches 2-1. The two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in the GNAC championship tournament finals, before SPU emerged victorious 4-1 in a penalty kick shootout.