September 8, 2009

• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

SEATTLE – He didn't hesitate to turn to a freshman at the game's most pivotal juncture.

Chuck Sekyra, coach of the top-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team, selected Taylor Sawyer to take a penalty kick late in a scoreless game. He had several veteran members of last season's NCAA Division II championship team to pick from and yet Sekyra went with the first-year player.

Sawyer did not let him down.

The recent graduate of North Mason (Wash.) High School converted a penalty kick in the 79th minute to provide the only scoring Tuesday, helping SPU remain undefeated with a 1-0 non-conference victory over Chico State at University Soccer Stadium.

“No doubt at all. Not one bit,” Sekyra said of his decision to select Sawyer to attempt the critical kick. “I've watched her do it in training where she buries them and she wants that situation.”

Actually, Sekyra didn't choose her as much as Sawyer selected herself.

“The other day in practice I asked for three people who want to take PKs in a game to step up. She was the first one to raise her hand and step up,” Sekyra recalled. “I want a kid to take them who wants to be in that situation. She's not playing like a freshman, so why not?”

The Falcons (5-0) registered their fourth 1-0 victory in five outings this season. They have not surrendered an opposing goal in 450 minutes of action.

SPU doubled up the Wildcats in shots with a 14-7 advantage. Goalkeeper Natalie Bensky kept Chico (2-2) in the game by stopping six shots.

The one shot Bensky could not keep out of the net came from the 12-yard penalty spot after senior Jocelyn Charette (Lakewood, Wash./Curtis HS) was fouled near the top of the box.

“We were really great around the box. We kept the ball moving and swung the ball around from one side to the other, playing it in and out,” Sekyra described. “We found Jocelyn in a seam right on top of the 16 in the middle. Basically she took a touch like she was going to shoot it and the girl just hammered her.”

Sawyer calmly deposited the ensuing penalty kick into the left inside netting for her first collegiate goal.

“She's playing like she's been here for four years, so I expected nothing but the result that we got from her,” Sekyra said. “Taylor is unreal. She didn't hesitate. She just came up and buried it.”

Junior Maddie Dickinson (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview HS) made two stellar first-half saves for SPU en route to her third shutout. She faced five shots in the first half, but just two after intermission.

“She got tested. They got into the box in the first half,” said Sekyra. “They got nothing in the second half, but they got in pretty deep in the first half. In the second half, we turned up our defensive pressure and got more movement off the ball."

The Falcons have not allowed a goal since the 55th minute of their Dec. 4, 2008 NCAA semifinal game, a 3-1 win over Metro State. Including nearly 108 scoreless minutes in the 1-0 double-overtime championship victory over West Florida on Dec. 6, SPU has not surrendered an opposing score during the last 593-minutes, 7-seconds.

SPU extended is winning streak to 16 games and has not lost in its last 22 outings.

Sekyra was pleased with his team's performance on Tuesday in their first road game.

“It was huge. It was not just our first road trip, but it was a road game against a team that I think is going to finish in the top four in the region and go to the NCAA Tournament,” he said. “It's huge to get that result against a quality team.”

The Falcons return home to Interbay Stadium to host Grand Canyon on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Seattle Pacific starts Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Sept. 17 at Western Oregon.


NCAA Women's Soccer
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
University Soccer Stadium/Chico, Calif.

(#1) Seattle Pacific 1, Chico State 0

Scoring -- 1, SPU, Taylor Sawyer (pk), 78:02.

Shots – SPU 14, CSU 7.
Saves – SPU 2 (Maddie Dickinson), CSU 7 (Natalie Bensky 6).
Corner kicks – SPU 2, CSU 5.
Fouls – SPU 6, CSU 6.
Offsides – SPU 2, CSU 1.
Attendance -- 202.

Records
Seattle Pacific 5-0-0
Chico State 2-2-0

Next game
Grand Canyon at #1 Seattle Pacific
Friday, Sept. 11th, 7:00 p.m.