• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

BILLINGS, Mont. – Senior forward Jocelyn Charette assisted on the equalizer and scored the game-winner eight minutes into overtime Thursday, capping the 17th-ranked Seattle Pacific women's comeback from a two-goal halftime deficit to a 3-2 soccer win at Montana State Billings at Yellowjacket Field.

Charette's golden goal, at 98:10, was her league-leading 12th score. Half of those goals have been game-winning strikes. Her long shot from the left side of the box into the upper right corner ended the game.

“Jocelyn just has the ability to change a game at any moment and today again she did. She reached deep down inside and was just amazing,” said SPU coach Chuck Sekyra.

Freshman Andrea Chan (Vancouver, Wash./Central Catholic, Ore.) forced the overtime. She headed in a corner kick by Charette at 76:09 for her first collegiate goal.

The win, the first in four games, was critical for SPU to remain in the conference and playoff chases. Sekyra was thrilled with the Falcons' second-half performance, particularly with so much at stake.

“My team showed incredible character and belief and created more than enough chances to pull the game out. I want to give Montana Billings all the credit in the world for coming out and having a great game plan and playing some very good soccer in the first half. I'm very proud of my kids for not giving up and believing that they could get it done.”

The defending NCAA Division II champion Falcons (15-3-1) kept alive their league championship hopes, improving to 8-2-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. They need a win in the regular-season finale Saturday and either a tie or loss by Western Washington (7-1-2) in one of its final two games.

The Yellowjackets (9-9-1) dropped to 5-6-0 in conference games. They are winless in eight all-time meetings against SPU, but managed their first goals in the series. The Falcons had outscored Billings 21-0 entering Thursday's contest.

Jaucelyn Richter scored MSUB's inaugural goal against the Falcons at 14:11. Teammate Carly Valentine made a long dribbling run with the ball before setting Richter up with a through ball.

Kari Foreman pushed the Billings lead to 2-0 on an unassisted goal at 31:16.

Freshman Megan Lindsay (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) started the SPU rally with an unassisted goal at 61:22. That was her fifth goal of the season.

Junior Maddie Dickinson (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS) had one save and allowed two goals before being replaced at halftime by senior Jesslyn Rahm Kellerman (Eugene, Ore.). The Falcons' backup goalkeeper stopped two shots to keep Billings off the scoreboard and make the comeback possible.

“Jess has been in huge games for our program and she is always ready to lead this team,” Sekyra said of Kellerman, who improved her season record in goal to 5-1. “That's exactly what she did. She went in and gave this team a ton of confidence.”

Jordan Fenwick was credited with eight saves for the Yellowjackets, who were outshot 14-11.

The come-from-behind victory stopped SPU's first three-game winless streak in seven years. The Falcons, who sandwiched road losses to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Central Washington around a home tie with Western Washington, had not gone three games without a win since the start of the 2002 season.

Sekyra thinks Thursday's result could have a positive, long-term impact with the postseason approaching next week.

“I hope that this game allows us to believe that we can do anything together when we want it bad enough. Today's result exemplified that because the entire second half and overtime was us.”

The SPU women are in a good position to make their seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance as they strive to defend the 2008 championship they won with a 1-0 double-overtime triumph over West Florida on Dec. 6 in Tampa, Fla.

The Falcons close out the regular season at home on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. They host Northwest Nazarene in the final Interbay Stadium game for four SPU seniors.


NCAA Women's Soccer
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Yellowjacket Field/Billings, Mont.

#17 Seattle Pacific 3, Montana State Billings 2 (ot)

Scoring -- 1, MSUB, Jaucelyn Richter (Carly Valentine), 14:11. 2, MSUB, Kari Foreman, 31:16. 3, SPU, Megan Lindsay, 61:22. 4, SPU, Andrea Chan (Jocelyn Charette), 76:09. 5, SPU, Jocelyn Charette, 98:10.

Shots – SPU 14, MSUB 11.
Saves –SPU 3 (Maddie Dickinson 1, Jesslyn Rahm Kellerman 2), MSUB 9 (Jordan Fenwick 8).
Corner kicks – SPU 9, MSUB 2.
Fouls – SPU 17, MSUB 12.
Offsides – SPU 0, MSUB 2.
Attendance -- 141.

Records –
Seattle Pacific 15-3-1, 8-2-1 GNAC.
Montana State Billings 9-9-1, 5-6-0 GNAC.

Next game –
Northwest Nazarene at (#17) Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Nov. 7, 1:00 p.m., Interbay Stadium