• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Two Seattle Pacific freshmen got their first taste of a heated Northwest women's soccer rivalry on Wednesday and immediately made their presence known.

Heather Young tapped in a cross from Ali Martin at the left post in the 62nd minute, lifting SPU to a 1-0 women's soccer victory over Western Washington in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

The Falcons (4-1) took a successful first step in pursuit of their third straight league title. They were picked first in the preseason GNAC coaches' poll and WWU (1-2-2) was projected to place second.

Keeping with the recent history of the series, the game at Orca Field was a tight affair. Neither team has defeated the other by more than one goal in the last eight meetings, a span that includes two ties and three overtime contests. SPU increased its series advantage to 15-4-3 despite winning for just the third time in the last eight meetings.

Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) set up the lone goal, racing down the right side behind the defense to track down a ball at the end line. Her low, hard cross got pass WWU goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs at the near post. Young (Lacombe, B.C.) was waiting at the far post and shielded a defender while pushing the ball in from two yards out at 61:46. That was her team-leading third goal of the season.

“They're both playing like veterans and they are making great decisions right now. They're confident and they're playing great,” Coach Chuck Sekyra exclaimed about the play of his freshman duo. “You go with the hot hand and they're the hot hand right now. They're the ones that are playing well and being aggressive.”

Young scored three times in the last two games, including a two-goal performance against NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday. Martin leads the Falcons with three assists, recording those along with two goals during the past three outings.

Sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Harold (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage HS) made five saves for the Falcons, who were outshot 17-15. She had a sensational diving stop to her right in each half, flicking the ball around the post on both occasions.

The Vikings had a 5-3 edge in shots on goal. Their best chance came in the 54th minute when Megan Chapin hit the base of the right post from 15 yards out.

Arthurs was credited with two saves and continued to face pressure from the Falcons after yielding a goal.

“We probably had three clear open-net chances to put the game away. I was proud of that,” Sekyra said. “Obviously we're disappointed we didn't put one of those in, but I loved our mentality which was 'we scored a goal, we're going to come back and put you away.'”

SPU senior Brandi Hamre, who was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Monday, took a game-high six shots. She attempted five of the team's six first-half shots.

“Tonight was one of the best matches I've ever seen Brandi Hamre play in the history of her time here at SPU,” said Sekyra. “Brandi Hamre was unbelievable, she was fun to watch.”

The Falcons remain on the road to play Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. on Saturday at 7 p.m.

NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011
Orca Field/Bellingham, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 1, at Western Washington 0

Scoring – SPU, Heather Young (Ali Martin), 61:46.

Shots – SPU 15, WWU 17.
Saves – SPU 5 (Natalie Harold), WWU 2 (Jamie Arthurs).
Corner kicks – SPU 3, WWU 3.
Fouls – SPU 8, WWU 6.
Offside – SPU 0, WWU 0.

Records
Seattle Pacific 4-1-0, 1-0-0- GNAC
Western Washington 1-2-2, 0-1-0 GNAC

Next Game
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
Saturday, Sept. 17; Burnaby, B.C.