The Falcon   |   Volume 83, Issue 51

Published 5/15/13   |   Log In

Women’s soccer jumps to second place

Falcons defeated Montana State Billings 3-0 on Saturday

By MALIEA LUQUIN, Staff Reporter

Published: October 17, 2012

The Seattle Pacific women’s soccer team rose in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings after a second bout with Montana State Billings Saturday afternoon.

Saturday’s game at Interbay Stadium was windy and drizzly, but the Falcons used the wet elements to their advantage as they set out to earn upward movement within the GNAC standings.

The game was scoreless going into the second half until sophomore forward Ali Martin took a shot that was finished by freshman forward Laura Moore. This was Moore’s first goal of the season.

“We really needed this game to show the GNACs,” sophomore forward Heather Young said. “And we didn’t want anyone to beat us on our home field.”

Once the Falcons had an initial goal under their belt, they started to find their game.

“I wanted to jump up right then,” sophomore defender Alexa Diaz said. “But we had to keep that momentum going.”

“’Let’s get another one,’ we told each other,” sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Hughes said. “We had to keep our shape and keep composed.”

After that first goal, the next followed within seven minutes when sophomore defender Riley Dopps capitalized on a corner kick. Senior forward Megan Lindsay made the final goal for SPU from a difficult angle after a pass from sophomore midfielder Annie Thomas.

The last time SPU played MSUB was the conference opener on Sept. 13 in Billings, Mont., which the Yellowjackets won 2-1.

“Last game we kind of sat back a little,” Diaz said. “[This time] we knew we needed to work hard, put in the work early and work the whole game.”

The Falcons had exactly one month to prepare for their second encounter with MSUB, and they have been looking forward to facing this opponent again.

“I saw tremendous improvement,” head coach Chuck Sekyra said. “Today’s game was night and day compared to the first one.”

The players noticed their improvement over the last four weeks as well.

“This game wasn’t as tactical; it required more of a mental preparation,” Diaz said. “We’ve been trying to improve every day and transfer our practices over to games. We’ve improved a lot physically, tactically and mentally.”

The Falcons’ midfield worked the full 90 minutes to ensure that they got a foot on every first and second ball of the game. Possession and communication were essential to connecting the string of plays.

“Keeping the ball through the midfield was our main focus this week,” Hughes said. “And keeping the shape of our back four was a huge difference.” It was the defensive communication and Alexa Hughes’s saves that kept MSUB off the scoreboard. Between Thursday’s four goals against NNU and Saturday’s three against MSUB, a total of seven goals were made by seven different SPU women.

“There is a confidence and a level of play that is really exciting,” Sekyra said. “The first game against Billings was a bit of a struggle. Our team made it look easy today.”

The Falcons now stand 10-2-2 overall and 7-1-2 in the GNAC. Their next game is on Thursday Oct. 18 against Saint Martin’s at 2:00 p.m. in Lacey, Wash.

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