• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

SEATTLE – The top-ranked Seattle Pacific women exhibited a tremendous team effort Wednesday … at least for a half.

Sophomore Kelsey Jenkins and freshman Megan Lindsay each registered a goal and assist for the Falcons, who did all of their scoring during the second half of a 5-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference soccer victory over Western Oregon at Interbay Stadium.

SPU had eight more shots then the Wolves in both halves. The difference, according to Coach Chuck Sekyra, was a more cohesive effort after halftime.

“It was a tale of two halves. Obviously I enjoyed how we played in the second half, with the energy,” he said. “It's interesting if you look at the two halves, we outshot them 12-4 in the first and 11-3 in the second.

“But our energy and team unity on the field, and how we played as a team in the second half was the difference. If we play like that, no one is going to be able to stay with us.”

Jenkins (Kent, Wash./Kentwood HS) opened the scoring six minutes after halftime with a low 12-yard shot off a pass from Lindsay (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep), who netted the second goal eight minutes later. Lindsay was at the left post and headed in a long crossing free kick from sophomore Janie Wurth (La Mirada, Calif.) from 10 yards out at 58:25.

Five different players scored for SPU, four of them netting their second goals of the season. Sophomore Savanna Hanson (Centennial, Colo.) tallied her first collegiate goal at 72:00 on a 35-yard chip that bounced in front of, and then over the goalkeeper.

Hanson's score pushed the lead to 3-0 and ignited a flurry of three goals in a span of just over six minutes. Red-shirt freshman Abbie Knox (Salt Lake City, Utah) had a five-yard header at 73:05 that was set up by a Becca Woods (Beaverton, Ore.) header off a corner kick by Jenkins.

Freshman Brittany Langdon (Irvine, Calif.) capped the scoring at 78:14, nudging a 5-yard shot that caromed off the WOU goalkeeper's hands.

Sekyra explained that his halftime adjustments were more mental than tactical.

“If we don't play as a team, then it looks like we did in the first half,” he said. “We just felt like we could come out and play much harder as a team. The big thing we talked about at halftime was that we had to move the ball and defend and attack as a team, not as individuals.”

The Falcons (10-0) extended their winning streak to 21 games going into Saturday's visit to Western Washington, the site of their last loss. SPU has gone undefeated in 27 games, with just one tie, since a 1-0 setback in Bellingham on Sept. 20, 2008.

SPU improved to 4-0 in conference play while the Wolves (2-7-3) dropped to 1-4 in GNAC games.

Junior goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS) was credited with three saves en route to her fifth shutout and the 10th for the Falcons, who have not allowed a goal all season. Their current streak of 11 consecutive shutouts, dating to last season, is the fourth-longest in NCAA Division II history.

Defending national champion SPU has not surrendered a goal in its last 1043-minutes, 7-seconds.

Brittney Rigtrup made six saves for the Wolves, who were outshot by a 23-7 margin.

SPU nearly scored in the 15th minute when senior Jocelyn Charette (Lakewood, Wash./Curtis HS) reached to push a shot near the goal line. WOU defender Monique Thees cleared the ball off the line at the right post.

The Wolves had two dangerous chances in the first half, both by Sam Slezak. She tapped a ball goalward during a 20th-minute scramble deep in the box, but Dickinson smothered that attempt.

In the 25th minute, Slezak lobbed a 25-yard shot that carried just over the top of the crossbar.

The Falcons' game at Western Washington is slated for Saturday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus.


NCAA Women's Soccer
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
(#1) Seattle Pacific 5, Western Oregon 0

Scoring -- 1, SPU, Kelsey Jenkins (Megan Lindsay), 50:27. 2, SPU, Megan Lindsay (Janie Wurth), 58:25. 3, SPU, Savanna Hanson, 72:00. 4, SPU, Abbie Knox (Kelsey Jenkins, Becca Woods), 73:05. 5, SPU, Brittany Langdon, 78:14.

Shots—WOU 7, SPU 23.
Saves— WOU 6 (Brittney Rigtrup), SPU 3 (Maddie Dickinson).
Corner kicks – WOU 0, SPU 3.
Fouls—WOU 11, SPU 10.
Offsides – WOU 0, SPU 1.
Attendance-- 289.

Records
Seattle Pacific 10-0-0, 4-0-0 GNAC.
Western Oregon 2-7-3,  1-4-0 GNAC.

Next Game
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, Oct. 3, Bellingham, Wash., 5 p.m.