Thursday, October 14, 2021

In a clash of GNAC and West Region titans at Interbay Stadium on Saturday, Seattle Pacific took round one against Western Washington with a 1-0 overtime victory, thanks in large part to GNAC Defensive Player of the Week Riley Travis.

Travis dove to her left to parry away Darby Doyle’s penalty kick 11 seconds into the extra period and midfielder Claire Neder buried a goal less than five minutes later to lift the Falcons over the Vikings. It was Western Washington’s first loss of the season, and SPU and WWU are now tied in the GNAC standings at 5-1 apiece. The Falcons also took home the GNAC Team of the Week award for the memorable and significant win.

The result had significant national and regional United Soccer Coaches Poll implications. Seattle Pacific jumped 17 spots to No. 8 in the national rankings, while Western Washington fell 17 spots to No. 23. In the West Region Poll, the Falcons and Vikings swapped spots from last week, with SPU rising to take the No. 1 spot and the Vikings falling to No. 4.

Elsewhere, Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon had undefeated weeks, winning Thursday matches and drawing with each other on Saturday. Nighthawks midfielder Madison Grande earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors by scoring two goals and an assist over NNU’s two matches. Northwest Nazarene re-entered the West Region Poll at No. 10 this week after being out of the poll for two weeks.

After beginning the week with a 3-0 loss to Western Oregon, Central Washington halted an eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Saturday. Senior midfielder Sydney Lowe recorded five points to lift the Wildcats.

GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Madison Grande, Northwest Nazarene
M • 5-5 • Sophomore • Gig Harbor, Wash.
Grande had two goals and an assist for five points in NNU’s 1-0-1 week. She scored one of the Nighthawks’ two goals in both games, with the game-winning goal against Saint Martin’s and the opening tally of the draw with Western Oregon, before assisting on the second goal against the Wolves.

Also Nominated: Sydney Lowe (CWU), Sydney Torres (MSUB), Kiara Buono (SFU), Rachel Kimura (SMU), Claire Neder (SPU), Chloe Smith (WOU)

DEFENSE
Riley Travis, Seattle Pacific
GK • 5-6 • Senior • Seattle, Wash.
Travis registered back-to-back shutouts in two wins for Seattle Pacific. She made four saves on Thursday in a 2-0 win against Simon Fraser before stopping three shots against then-No. 6 Western Washington in a 1-0 victory, including a penalty kick 11 seconds into overtime that would have ended the match. It was only the second time this year that Western Washington was shut out.  

Also Nominated: Maci Parke (CWU), Ally Findlay (MSUB), Emily Wheeler (WOU)

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington lost 3-0 to Western Oregon on Thursday, then snapped an eight-game losing streak with a dominant 4-1 win over Saint Martin’s on Saturday.
• After sitting out Thursday’s match, Sydney Lowe lit up the stat sheet against the Saints with two goals and an assist. Her five points was tied for the most in a single game by a GNAC player this season.
 • Lowe scored the game’s first goal eight minutes in by chipping the ball over the opposing keeper. She set up freshman midfielder Casey Park for her second goal of the year to make it 3-1 before icing it herself with another goal in the 88th minute. Grace Jackson scored the game-winner in the 52nd minute as CWU had three unanswered goals in the second half.
• Goalkeepers Liz Canton and Megan Fox split the week in goal, with Canton playing the first half and Fox playing the second half in both matches. Each conceded two goals, while Canton made six saves to Fox’s five. Individually, Canton’s 38 saves rank third in the GNAC while Fox’s 31 saves rank fifth. As a team, CWU leads the conference with 70 saves.
• Senior forward Makinzie Packwood assisted on Lowe’s final goal against SMU, her third of the year. Packwood is the only Wildcat with multiple assists and her two goals are tied with Park for second on the team behind Lowe’s three. Lowe and Packwood are among five players tied for eighth in the GNAC with seven points.  
• Central Washington will have two more home matches against challenging competition this week, facing No. 8 Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings lost 4-0 to No. 25 Western Washington before winning in overtime over Simon Fraser, 2-1.
• Sophomore forward Sydney Torres scored the golden goal against Simon Fraser in the 93rd minute off an assist from freshman Jordan Roe. Roe has two goals and two assists this year, the only Yellowjacket to have more than one of each.
• It was Torres’ third goal of the year, tying her with freshman forward Liberty Palmer for the team lead. Palmer has taken 34 shots, 12 more than any other Yellowjacket and third-most in the GNAC.
• Defender Aly Findlay scored the opener against Simon Fraser six minutes into the match. Findlay was making her first start of the season against SFU. She has played in six games overall this year.
• Clare Keenan played 90 minutes against Western Washington, making five saves. Keenan’s 42 saves are second in the GNAC and her 5.25 saves per match rank third.
• Against Simon Fraser, MSUB turned to Tuva Sallvin. She played all 93 minutes, conceding one goal and making four saves. It was the first goal scored against Sallvin in 284 minutes played between the pipes this season. Sallvin has a 0.32 goals against average and .941 save percentage, but has yet to meet the GNAC stats minimum of 33% of team minutes played.
• Montana State Billings will face their Mountain Time Zone rival Northwest Nazarene on Thursday before welcoming No. 8 Seattle Pacific to Billings on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene went unbeaten this week, defeating Saint Martin’s 2-0 on Thursday before tying Western Oregon 2-2 on Saturday.
• Sophomore midfielder Madison Grande won the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award after scoring two goals and an assist over the Nighthawks’ two matches. Grande scored the game-winner against the Saints and the opening tally of the draw with Western Oregon, before assisting on the second goal against the Wolves, scored by Sierra Sanchez.
• Grande is part of a five-way tie for the league lead in goals with four, and part of a three-way tie for the fourth-most points with nine.
• Goalkeeper Alexis Montoya leads the GNAC with 51 saves and 5.67 saves per match. She made 10 this week, four to seal the shutout against Saint Martin’s and six to preserve the draw against WOU.
• NNU ranks third in the GNAC in goals per match (1.56), assists per match (1.33) and points per match (4.44).
• The Nighthawks re-entered the United Soccer Coaches West Region Poll this week at No. 10. They had been absent from the previous two polls since appearing at No. 7 on Sept. 21.
• The Nighthawks will hit the road, taking on Montana State Billings on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s lost 2-0 at home to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday before losing to Central Washington 4-1 in Ellensburg on Saturday.
• Redshirt freshman Rachel Kimura scored what was at the time an equalizing goal for the Saints against CWU in the 17th minute. It was Kimura’s first goal of the season and second of her career.
• The Saints have an extremely balanced offensive attack. Saint Martin’s has had 11 different offensive players score points this season, with Kiersten Madsen and Maddie Wolff having the team lead with four. Seven different players have fired between 11 and 15 shots at opposing nets this year, with Rebecca Garrison and Payton Aselton leading at 15 each.
• As a team, Saint Martin’s ranks fourth in the GNAC in shots (137) and are averaging 2.6 points per match.
• The Saints will stay along Interstate 5 for both road matches, facing No. 23 Western Washington on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific defeated Simon Fraser 2-0 on Thursday before knocking off then-No. 6 Western Washington 1-0 in an overtime classic on Saturday night to pull even with the Vikings in the conference standings.
• Senior goalie Riley Travis won the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week Award after posting two shutouts this week. That included a particularly heroic moment 11 seconds into overtime, when Travis saved a Western Washington penalty kick that would have ended the match.  
• After Travis’ save kept them in it, the Falcons broke through in the 95th minute on a goal by Claire Nader. It was Nader’s first goal of the season, but the senior already has four assists, tied for second in the GNAC and trailing teammate Sophia Chilczuk, who has five.
• One of Nader’s assists came against Simon Fraser on the opening goal by senior forward Chloe Gellhaus in the 15th minute. Gellhaus and Lauren Forster received assists for setting up SPU’s second goal, a tap-in by sophomore forward Jacqueline Blakely.
• In recognition of their two shutout wins, including a dramatic triumph against a Top-10 ranked conference rival, SPU women’s soccer was named the GNAC Team of the Week. They are the first soccer program of either gender to receive the Team of the Week honor in 2021-22.
• The Falcons lead the GNAC in goals per match (2.56), assists per match (2.78) and goals against average (0.22) and are second in shots (158).
• Individually, three Falcons – AJ DePinto, Makena Rietz and Forster – are among five tied for the league lead with four goals. DePinto and Forster share the league lead in points (10) with Western Washington’s Tera Ziemer.
• The Falcons rose 17 spots to No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, and three spots to No. 1 in the West Region Poll.
• Seattle Pacific travels to Central Washington on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser endured two losses, falling 2-0 to No. 8 Seattle Pacific on Thursday and 2-1 in overtime to Montana State Billings on Saturday.
• Sophomore midfielder Kiara Buono had SFU’s goal against MSUB, a long-range rocket from outside the penalty box that hit the underside of the crossbar before deflecting downwards into the net. It was Buono’s first goal of the season. She is one of two Simon Fraser players with 10 or more shots this year, alongside sophomore forward Giuliana Zaurrini.
 • Simon Fraser has scored the fewest goals in the GNAC (seven) but allowed the third-fewest (11).
• SFU’s goals include two scored directly off corner kicks without another player touching the ball, one by Kate Cartier and one by Zaurrini. Carter and Zaurrini each have two goals this year, the only SFU players with more than one.
• Simon Fraser leads the GNAC in fewest fouls against, being whistled only 66 times.
• Simon Fraser is on the road twice this week, against Western Oregon on Thursday and No. 23 Western Washington on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon is on a four-match unbeaten run, going 1-0-1 for the second straight week. The Wolves beat Central Washington 3-0 before battling to a 2-2 draw on the road at Northwest Nazarene.
 • Western Oregon jumped out early against CWU, getting first-half goals less than three minutes apart from freshman defender Jada Foster and forward Piper Matson, the team-leading third goal of the year for both. Sophomore defender Erika Moreno assisted on both goals for her first two points of the season.
• Midfielder Liz Parker scored the clinching goal against the Wildcats in the 61st minute, putting in the rebound off an initial shot by forward Briana Kubli.
• Forward Chloe Smith led the charge against Northwest Nazarene. Smith assisted on both Wolves goals, setting up Alyssa Talkington in the 45th minute and Kaytlyn Larsen in the 65th minute. Both goals equalized after NNU had taken the lead. Smith ranks tied for second in the GNAC with four assists on the year.
• Goalkeeper Emily Wheeler continued her strong run of play. Wheeler made three saves in 75 minutes against CWU before being pulled with the game in hand, then made a season-high six saves during the match against the Nighthawks.
• Western Oregon will put their unbeaten run on the line at home in Monmouth twice this week, taking on Simon Fraser on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington defeated Montana State Billings 4-0 before coming up short in a highly-anticipated matchup with rivals No. 8 Seattle Pacific, losing 1-0 in overtime.
• Darby Doyle was the offensive star against MSUB. The dangerous senior wing player scored the first goal against the Yellowjackets, then assisted on the second goal, scored off the bench by forward Ellie Busik. Forward Dayana Diaz and defender Jayden Nguyen also scored against MSUB, punching in their first goals of the year.
• The Vikings have had 12 different goal-scorers and five different multi-goal scorers.
• Goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx got her sixth shutout of the year against MSUB and made five saves against Seattle Pacific. Dierickx ranks second in the conference in goals against average (0.47), shutouts (six) and is fourth in saves (34).
• Seniors Grace Eversaul and Jenna Killman have been offensive standouts this year. They rank first and second in the GNAC in shots (Eversaul with 39, Killman with 35) and are both among seven GNAC players with three goals. Teammate Tera Ziemer is one of five players with a league-leading four goals, and she shares the league lead in points (10) with two other players.
• The Vikings fell 17 spots to No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, and three spots to No. 4 in the West Region poll, the lowest Western Washington has been in that poll all season. They had been No. 1 in three out of the past six weeks.
• Western Washington gets a chance to rebound at home against Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday.