September 15, 2008
SEATTLE -- Junior midfielder
Meredith Teague netted two goals for the second straight game, helping the ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific women remain undefeated with a 3-0 non-conference soccer victory over Dixie State at Interbay Stadium.
The Falcons (6-0-1) blanked their fourth straight opponent, having outscored foes 10-0 during that span. Dixie State, from St. George, Utah, dropped to 2-3-2.
Teague put SPU on the board with the game's first shot and just 1:50 elapsed on the clock.
Brandi Hamre (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap) served a pass from the left flank that found Teague five yards in front of the goal for the easy score.
“It's nice to come out and go right at a team and put them on their heels for the rest of the game,” said SPU coach
Chuck Sekyra. “It wasn't our best day today by any means, but it's great when you can have a little bit of an off day and still dominate a team. That's a good sign.”
Junior
Jocelyn Charette (Lakewood, Wash./Curtis) set up the second goal with a hard shot that was deflected by the goalkeeper to Teague who booted in the rebound at 34:43.
A product of Bellevue (Wash.) Christian High School, Teague tallied two goals in the last game, a 3-0 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday. The four goals tie her for the team lead with sophomore
Amanda Johnson (Duvall, Wash./Cedarcrest).
“She's in a nice rhythm right now and people are finding her,” Sekyra said about Teague's scoring binge. “She's just doing what she does best, getting to the spot where the ball is going to end up and then finishing when she gets it.”
The two-game, four-goal outburst is somewhat rare for Teague, who usually specializes in setting up her teammates. She leads SPU with five assists, one year after establishing a new Great Northwest Athletic Conference single-season record with 16 assists.
Freshman midfielder
Kelsey Jenkins (Kent, Wash./Kentwood) capped the scoring with the second goal of her inaugural season. She was standing in the box when senior
Katie Taylor (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River) lofted a high pass into the goalmouth from 35 yards out. Jenkins went up with the goalkeeper on her back and headed the ball across the goal line at 52:56.
Junior goalkeeper Jesslyn Rahm (Eugene, Ore.) posted two saves to collect her second shutout and the Falcons' fifth.
“It took a great play by Jessica to keep the shutout,” Sekyra said of a stop on a 59th-minute breakaway by Dixie State's Erika Mouritsen. Rahm dove to her right near the top of the box and smothered the ball at Mouritsen's feet.
“We're limiting teams' chances and I like that. You talk about shutouts, but we talk about not giving up shots. Obviously they can't score if they can't get a shot off.”
Rebels starter Tonya Smith had three saves before being replaced in the 35th minute, right after the second goal. Reserve April Hansen had four saves for Dixie State, which was outshot by a 15-8 margin.
The Falcons return to action Saturday, Sept. 20 when they open GNAC play at Western Washington.
“We did what we set out to do,” Sekyra explained of the team's unbeaten non-conference slate. “We hopefully showed the NCAA Tournament committee that we dominated both the CCAA and Pac West conferences. That's what we wanted to do. Now we have to get after our GNAC brothers.”
NCAA Women's Soccer
Interbay Stadium; Seattle, Wash.
Monday, Sept. 15, 2008
(#9) Seattle Pacific 3, Dixie State 0
Scoring – 1, SPU,
Meredith Teague (
Kayla Stiegemeier,
Brandi Hamre), 1:50. 2, SPU,
Meredith Teague (
Jocelyn Charette), 34:43. 3, SPU,
Kelsey Jenkins (
Katie Taylor), 52:56.
Shots – DSC 8, SPU 15.
Saves – DSC 6 (Tonya Smith 2, April Hansen 4), SPU 2 (Jesslyn Rahm).
Corner kicks – DSC 0, SPU 5.
Fouls – DSC 16, SPU 16.
Offsides – DSC 0, SPU 1.
Attendance – 108.
Records – Seattle Pacific 6-0-1, Dixie State 2-3-1.
