• Boxscore & Play-by-Play
     • VIDEO: Riley Dopps

SEATTLE – Three different players scored second-half goals for Seattle Pacific, which vaulted into second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 3-0 women's soccer victory over Montana State Billings on Saturday at Interbay Stadium.
 
The three-time defending champion Falcons (10-2-2) improved to 7-1-2 in league play and switched spots in the standings with now third-place of Billings. SPU's fifth consecutive win stretched its unbeaten streak to nine games with a 7-0-2 mark during that span.
 


The Yellowjackets (11-3-0) saw their GNAC record drop to 7-3-0.
 
Laura Moore, Riley Dopps and Megan Lindsay netted goals for the Falcons. Including Thursday's 4-1 home win over Northwest Nazarene, all seven SPU goals this week were scored by different players.
 
“I like our rhythm up top,” SPU coach Chuck Sekyra said about the balanced offensive attack. “We're starting to be dangerous from different spots. It's nice to get some scoring from midfielders.”
 
The teams battled through a scoreless first half during which MSUB had a 7-5 shot edge.
 
“In the first half we did fine and moved the ball around. But in the second half we really found ourselves,” Sekyra explained. “We had a good rhythm, put pressure on them a little more and had more urgency to get to goal.”
 
SPU got on the board just over six minutes into the second half.
 
A freshman midfielder, Moore (Kent, Wash./Kentwood HS) scored her first collegiate goal. Heather Young slipped a through ball to Ali Martin at the right side of the box. Martin dribbled toward the right post before sending a low ball across the goalmouth. Moore was standing at the left side of the goal for the easy tap in at 51:12.
 
Less than eight minutes later, Dopps (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap HS) made it 2-0 with her second goal of the season. The Yellowjackets cleared a corner kick out of the goal mouth, but the sophomore midfielder gathered it at the top of the box and sent a 16-yard strike into the right side of the goal at 58:54.
 
“(The ball) was kind of pinging around the box, it came out and I just finished it,” Dopps described. “I'm surprised that it went in honestly. I just drilled it and hoped that something good would happen, and it did.”
 
Senior forward Lindsay (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) capped the scoring with a well-placed shot into the open goal at 73:47. She received a pass from Annie Thomas at the right side of the box and dribbled toward the end line before delivering a low shot past the onrushing MSUB goalkeeper. The ball traveled the length of the goal line before nestling into the left side netting.
 
Lindsay, who tied for the team lead with her sixth score, ranks No. 3 among all-time SPU players with 35 career goals.
 
Sekyra believes that his team is peaking at the right time and the numbers support him. The Falcons outscored opponents 12-2 during the last five games.
 
“I love how we played today. We're just going in a great direction as these kids get more and more confident. We're hitting our stride at the right time that's for sure, and these girls are fun to watch.”
 
SPU is doing it with a youth movement as nine of Saturday's 11 starters were underclassmen, including six sophomores and three freshmen.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Hughes remained perfect with wins in each of her three starts. She registered her second shutout and the team's fourth of the season.
 
Hughes was credited with two saves for SPU, which edged the Yellowjackets 11-10 in the shot count.
 
“Alexa is good. She gives us confidence and she's a presence,” Sekyra said. “She's such a great vocal leader it makes a difference in our back. Our back line was calm today and she was a big part of that.”
 
MSUB goalkeeper Aiko Johnson stopped two shots and teammate Teegan Koster denied another, clearing a header by SPU's Shayla Page off the goal line in the 31st minute.
 
The Falcons return to action Thursday with a visit to Saint Martin's. Kick-off is 2 p.m. at SMU Soccer Field in Lacey, Wash.
 
The SPU women play their final regular-season home game at Interbay Stadium next Saturday at 1 p.m. against Western Oregon.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 3, Montana State Billings 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Laura Moore (Heather Young, Ali Martin), 51:12; 2, SPU, Riley Dopps, 58:54; 3, SPU, Megan Lindsay (Annie Thomas), 73:47.
 
Shots – MSUB 10, SPU 11.
Saves – MSUB 3 (Aiko Johnson 2), SPU 2 (Alexsa Hughes).
Corner kicks – MSUB 2, SPU 5.
Fouls – MSUB 10, SPU 8.
Offsides – MSUB 1, SPU 3.
 
Records:
Seattle Pacific 10-2-2,  7-1-2 GNAC
Montana State Billings 11-3-0,  7-3-0 GNAC
 
Next Women's Soccer Game:
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2:00 p.m. PDT, Lacey, Wash.