Monday, November 13, 2023
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. – The field is set for the 2023 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer West Regional Championships and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference will have two teams in the mix for top honors in Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser.

The regular season champion Falcons return to the NCAA Championships as the No. 2 seed for the first time since winning the West Regional and advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2021.  Meanwhile, the Red Leafs come into the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history as the No. 6 seed after winning their first ever GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships title.

Both teams will have the opportunity to take to the pitch in familiar territory as Seattle Pacific’s Interbay Stadium will play host to at least two matches of the West Regional Championships. The Falcons earned a bye in the first round of the West Regional with their 12-3-5 record which included a 15-match unbeaten streak between Sept. 16 and Nov. 4. The Red Leafs (8-5-5) will face No. 3 seed Cal State LA (9-2-8) in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. (PST).

Simon Fraser has met the Golden Eagles on the pitch just twice since 2012, earning a win and a draw in that time. The most recent meeting between the two teams came on Sept. 4, 2017, in Burnaby where the Red Leafs took a 2-1 win. The Red Leafs come into Thursday’s meeting ranked No. 39 in Division II with a.832 save percentage that.

On the season, Simon Fraser has been led by junior midfielder Kate Cartier with 14 points on six goals and two assists. Cartier picked up one of those goals last Saturday in SFU’s 4-2 win over Seattle Pacific in the semifinals of the GNAC Championships. In net, the Red Leafs are led by sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Loewen with seven shutouts to go with a .832 save percentage and a 0.95 goals against average.

Seattle Pacific is led by GNAC Player of the Year Sophie Beadle with nine points on one goal and seven assists while first team all-GNAC senior forward Jacqueline Blakeley heads up the offense with 18 points courtesy of eight goals and two assists. In net, sophomore goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen has compiled a 9-1-4 record to with an .813 save percentage, 1.00 goals against average and five shutouts.

The Falcons will look on eagerly to see who they will face on Saturday, Nov. 18. The Falcons are 4-2-0 against Cal State LA historically, having last met on Nov. 12, 2011, in the second round of the NCAA Championships where SPU dropped a 1-2 decision to the Golden Eagles. If Simon Fraser comes out on top in Thursday’s match, the two GNAC sides will meet each other for the third time in as many weeks after facing off in the regular season finale and the semifinals of the GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships.