The Falcon   |   Volume 83, Issue 53

Published 5/29/13   |   Log In

Season ends in double overtime heartbreaker

Women’s soccer team defeated in second round of postseason

By MALIEA LUQUIN, Staff Reporter

Published: November 14, 2012

Seattle Pacific’s women’s soccer team’s flight to the NCAA Division II Soccer Championship in Evans, Ga. was grounded after Saturday night’s game in La Jolla, Calif. The Falcons lost 2-1 in the second round of the NCAA West Regional Tournament.

“Personally, I am really sad that it’s over, and I think we deserve to go further,” said sophomore midfielder Annie Thomas, whose shot in the last five seconds of the game almost put SPU on top until it hit the goal post.

SPU continued battling the UC San Diego Tritons into double overtime after the game was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. The Tritons scored in the second overtime period. For the No. 3 ranked SPU women, it ended their season and their run in the NCAA Tournament.

“Playing a team at their home brings a whole different atmosphere to the game,” sophomore midfielder Demi Waitley said. “I think the most challenging part of the game was the fact that if we lost, we were done.”

Waitley and the rest of the team went into the second round knowing that one game could cost them their season.

“Saturday’s game was faster paced, and you could tell we had more heart,” Thomas said. We wanted to win so [badly]. I think we could have put the game away sooner.”

Despite the loss, this week of NCAA games has not been devoid of positive moments. Earlier in the week, sophomore forward Heather Young snuck in a goal against BYU Hawaii, which advanced the Falcons into the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 1-0 win.

“We all kept saying, ‘nobody gets tired until the tournament is over,’ and I think we all played like it,” sophomore defender Riley Dopps said.

Senior forward Megan Lindsay also scored her 41st career goal in Saturday’s UCSD game, which evened the score going into the second half. However, three minutes into the second overtime extension, a rogue ball was kicked into the Falcon net on a corner kick, ending SPU’s postseason dreams.

“I have the utmost respect for my team the way we never gave up,” Lindsay said. “We left it all out on the field; it’s too bad we couldn’t take home a win.”

This isn’t the first time the Falcons have seen a double overtime game this season, and Saturday’s match is the fifth time the team has had to play longer than 90 minutes.

“We [have been in] double overtime many times throughout the season,” sophomore forward Heather Young said. “[We] thought that we would be able to pull through again. It was just unfortunate that this time we were unable to.”

This season marks the 10th consecutive year the Falcon women have made a national appearance, including the championship season in 2008. SPU ended this season with an overall record of 15-4-2.

Heading into winter, the Falcons are appreciative of what they learned from each other and about themselves during their season.

“We had tremendous growth,” sophomore midfielder Arden Matro said. “We’ve gone through so many overtime games — double overtime games; we’ve really been tested this year.”

The Falcons are soaring into their post-NCAA winter thankful for the experiences the year has offered and anticipating their future undertakings, especially their 2013 season opener game against UCSD.

“We are, and always will be, a family, and I’m so grateful for being surrounded by such a wonderful group of women,” Dopps said. “They’re my best friends, and I think that this season sets a high bar for next year. We’re already looking forward to going back to UCSD and getting the win we deserve.”

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