August 29, 2009
SEATTLE -- The combination of a timely substitution, coachable player and fortuitous bounce produced a late victory for top-ranked Seattle Pacific.
Freshman
Hannah Masson re-entered the game in the 87th minute Saturday and scored just over one minute later, lifting the Falcons to a 1-0 non-conference NCAA women's soccer win over San Francisco State at Interbay Stadium.
Masson (Meridian, Idaho) gathered a rebound in the goalmouth after a shot by senior teammate
Janae Godoy (Yakima, Wash./West Valley HS) had caromed off the crossbar. She quickly pushed a five-yard shot into the net at 87:32 for her first collegiate goal.
“It's surprising, and shocking, and it happened so fast,” Masson exclaimed immediately after the game. “I didn't actually think I was going to get it. When it hit the crossbar I ran straight toward it and it just fell right at my feet. I just hit it in.
“It was really surprising, and scary and fun.”
Masson was taking part in her second collegiate game for the defending national champion Falcons, who improved to 2-0 with the win. Masson came off the bench to play the final 12 minutes of the first half.
She was on the bench for the majority of the second half, until Coach
Chuck Sekyra inserted her into the lineup with 3:27 showing on the clock. Masson's shot found the back of the Gators' goal just one-minute, five-seconds later.
“She goes in and we asked her to get deeper in the box and she does,” Sekyra explained. “She's very coachable. I love it.”
Junior SPU goalkeeper
Maddie Dickinson (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS) stopped three shots en route to her 11th career shutout.
“I've got to tell you what, our defense has been amazing,” said Sekyra. “Three freshmen and a sophomore shut them down. I don't remember a clean shot at the goal. I really like where we are at.”
Rachel Lauderdale was credited with four saves for the Gators (1-1), who were outshot by a 22-7 margin.
The Falcons had a 12-2 shot advantage in the first half. They controlled the game early and had four solid scoring opportunities in the eighth minute alone.
Sophomore
Brandi Hamre (Bremerton, Wash./Central Kitsap HS) had back-to-back shots, the first went wide and the second bounced off the crossbar. Just seconds later junior
Amanda Johnson (Duval, Wash./Cedarcrest HS) had a header deflected by Lauderdale and then booted the rebound just wide of the goal.
SPU is now unbeaten in its last 19 games (18-0-1) dating back to last September. The Falcons posted their 13th consecutive home victory and extended the current Interbay unbeaten streak to 32 games (30-0-2), having not lost at home since Sept. 30, 2006.
“We deserved that win. I thought we dominated the game,” said Sekyra. “We were very resilient and we kept getting at them and got stronger as the game went on. They got a little tired at the end and we kept going at them.”
The Seattle Pacific women return to action on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. against Humboldt State before closing out their four-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. versus Cal State East Bay.
NCAA Women's Soccer
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
(#1) Seattle Pacific 1, San Francisco State 0
Scoring -- 1, SPU,
Hannah Masson (
Janae Godoy), 87:32.
Shots -- SFSU 7, SPU 22.
Saves -- SFSU 4 (Rachel Lauderdale), SPU 3 (
Maddie Dickinson).
Corner kicks -- SFSU 2, SPU 3.
Fouls -- SFSU 6, SPU 4.
Attendance -- 408.
Records --
Seattle Pacific 2-0-0
San Francisco State 1-1-0
Next Game -- Humboldt State at #1 Seattle Pacific, Thursday, Sept. 3, 7 p.m.
