Box Score      |     Final Stats

CHICO, Calif. – Sophomore Shelby Lanksbury netted her first collegiate goal in the 63rd minute Wednesday, leading host Chico State to a 1-0 upset of 24th-ranked Seattle Pacific in a non-conference women's soccer game.
 
The Falcons (1-1) saw their record evened after defeating UC San Diego 2-1 at home last week. Chico (1-1-1) posted its first win of the season in the home opener at University Soccer Stadium.
 
The first half was scoreless despite the Falcons forging an 11-4 shot advantage. They had back-to-back chances in the 24th minute as Isabel Farrell served a corner kick in for a Hannah Huesers header that was deflected by goalkeeper Brianna Furner. Farrell collected the rebound and had a putback attempt blocked by a defender.
 
The Wildcats came out aggressively to start the second half, firing the first three shots after intermission. SPU answered with a 55th-minute chance by Farrell that was saved by Furner.
 
"It was a tough game," SPU coach Chuck Sekyra said. "We weren't as sharp as we usually have been, but certainly created enough chances to score a few goals. They capitalized on mis-clear and it was just one of those off nights for us."
 
Chico broke the deadlock at 62:08 when Lanksbury delivered a 12-yard blast inside the left post. Passes from Katie Brown and Lindsey Dias set up the decisive goal.
 
The Falcons responded quickly with consecutive shots by Huesers and Alexa Diaz, but both carried high over the crossbar. The visitors were held without a shot for the next 19 minutes, until Huesers had an attempt blocked in the 84th minute. That was SPU's final effort at an equalizer.
 
"You have to give Chico credit for coming out and playing really direct, physical, hard soccer," Sekyra said. "We've got to be able to deal with that."
 
The Wildcats were victorious for the first time in 12 all-time meetings with SPU, which leads the series 8-1-3.
 
Furner was credited with three saves for Chico State, which was outshot by a 15-11 margin.
 
SPU goalkeeper Alexa Hughes (Everett, Wash./Archbishop Murphy HS) did not have a save.

"We have a very, very good team, but we're going to have to learn from this game," said Sekyra. "Our approach has got to be a little better as far as our mentality in the box to put away chances and get things on frame.

"We need to play a good balance of high-level soccer, which we've done consistently thus far, and also have a little bit of bite to us."

The Falcons women return to Seattle to host Notre Dame de Namur at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Interbay Stadium. Their final non-conference game is the opener of a doubleheader with the SPU men's team that plays at 7 p.m.
 
"Saturday's game means everything. We will stress the importance of having a winning record in non-conference games." Sekyra concluded.

 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014
University Soccer Stadium/Chico, Calif.
 
at Chico State 1, (#24) Seattle Pacific 0
 
Scoring – 1, Chico, Shelby Lanksbury (Lindsey Dias, Katie Brown), 62:08.
 
Shots – SPU 15, Chico 11.
Saves –SPU 0 (Alexa Hughes), Chico 3 (Brianna Furner).
Corner Kicks – SPU 5, Chico 5.
Fouls – SPU 5, Chico 5.
Offsides – SPU 1, Chico 3.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 1-1-0
Chico State 1-1-1
 
Next SPU Women's Game
Notre Dame de Namur at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Sept. 13, 4:30 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.