September 19, 2009
SEATTLE -- Junior forward Amanda Johnson halted a personal scoring drought Saturday, giving already potent Seattle Pacific another offensive weapon.
Johnson factored into all three goals, scoring the first and assisting on the next two as the No. 1-ranked Falcons posted a 3-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer victory against Saint Martin's at Interbay Stadium.
SPU improved to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in conference games. The Saints dropped to 4-4 with an 0-2 GNAC record.
Johnson (Duvall, Wash./Cedarcrest HS) ranked second on SPU's NCAA Division II championship team with 11 goals last season. She scored a pair of goals and assisted on the third in the Falcons' 3-1 NCAA Tournament semifinal victory over Metro State on Dec. 4.
Those were the last goals for Johnson before Saturday's 7th-minute tally, her first in eight games this year. She never went more than five games last season without a goal.
“She's been really playing well and we knew it would come. A.J. is one of our most dangerous players,” said SPU coach Chuck Sekyra. “In all honesty we've been kind of excited because if we could play this well and win games without her scoring goals we knew there is some even better stuff coming.”
Johnson confessed to impatience awaiting her inaugural 2009 goal, but the team success outweighed her personal pursuits.
“I was frustrated, but at the same time we're winning and that's what matters most. Even if I'm not scoring goals as long as we're winning games it's okay. I'm definitely glad to finally get one and to also be able to get some assists.”
She opened the scoring at 6:16, lofting a 35-yard shot over goalkeeper Ashley Engel. Less than four minutes later, at the 10:05 mark, Johnson sent a long shot off the crossbar. Freshman Megan Lindsay (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep HS) was a yard in front of the right post to head home the rebound for her first collegiate goal.
Johnson set up the final goal after taking a long run downfield with the ball on a counterattack. She delivered a through ball that red-shirt freshman Abbie Knox (Salt Lake City, Utah) caught up with it at the top of the box and fired into the back right corner at 82:20. That was her first collegiate goal.
Junior goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS) picked up her fourth shutout of the season for SPU. She registered a season-high five saves, including a diving deflection off a Caley Wisman shot in the third minute that was the most dangerous opportunity for the Saints.
“Maddie made a good save on a back post shot,” Sekyra said. “We do have a great team defense, but you can see that if the other team does take a worthwhile shot and creates an opportunity we've got keepers who can make those saves.”
The Falcons haven't allowed a goal this season and now have kept their opponents off the board for nine straight games totaling 863 minutes, 7 seconds dating back to last year's NCAA Division II semifinals.
SPU also hasn't allowed a home goal in the past 551 minutes, going back to a 3-1 second-round victory against UC San Diego last fall. The Falcons extended their home unbeaten streak to 36 games (34-0-2) since September 2006.
Engel was credited with six saves for the Saints, who were outshot 18-10. The 10 SMU shots were three more than any opponent has attempted against the Falcons this season.
For the second straight game SPU won 3-0 with every scorer getting her first goal of the season.
The Falcons feature a balanced attack with 11 different players having scored at least one goal. Last year's SPU squad had nine players score a goal. The team's eight game-winning goals have come from seven different players.
Sekyra was pleased with his team's effort and offensive rhythm.
“I love how we came out and I thought we scored some great goals. We had a lot of energy offensively tonight and we made things very difficult for them. We had a lot of movement off the ball, played each other quickly and we came out and ran at them. That was really fun.”
The the Falcons extended their unbeaten streak to 25 games, dating back to last September.
Seattle Pacific returns to the field next Saturday against Central Washington at 7:30 p.m. at Interbay.
NCAA Women's Soccer
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
(#1) Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 0
Scoring -- 1, SPU, Amanda Johnson (Andrea Chan), 6:16. 2, SPU, Megan Lindsay (Savannah Hanson, Johnson), 10:05. 3, SPU, Abbie Knox (Johnson), 82:20.
Shots – SMU 10, SPU 18.
Saves – SMU 6 (Ashley Engel), SPU 5 (Maddie Dickinson).
Corner kicks – SMU 5, SPU 1.
Fouls – SMU 11, SPU 9.
Offsides – SMU 1, SPU 4.
Attendance -- 420.
Records --
Seattle Pacific 8-0-0, 2-0-0 GNAC.
Saint Martin's 4-4-0, 0-2-0 GNAC.
Next match –
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Sept. 26, Interbay Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
