Box Score    |     VIDEO: Mickayla  Mury

SEATTLE – This time, the Falcon had the higher shot total and came out on top.
 
Hannah Huesers netted a pair of goals and Isabel Farrell added a penalty kick Saturday as the 24th-ranked Seattle Pacific women avenged a recent defeat with a 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference soccer win over Northwest Nazarene at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (6-2-1) improved to 2-2-1 in league play. They lost 1-0 in Nampa, Idaho on Sept. 24 despite outshooting NNU 18-5.
 
The shot count was lopsided again Saturday, at 30-6, but this time the Falcons had goals to show for their efforts.
 
"It was good to put the ball in the net. It just feels like a relief to get some of the rewards that have been deserved over the past few weeks in regards to the chances that we created," said SPU interim coach Arby Busey.
 
The Falcons failed to score a goal in three of their previous four games, drawing two losses, a draw and win. They outshot their foe in three of those outings.
 
"We missed on a few more than we would have liked, but it feels good to get a couple in there," Busey added. "Hopefully this is something that now we can build on and continue to put the ball in the net."


 
SPU got on the board first Saturday, scoring 7:37 into the game on its second shot. Mickayla Mury fed a through pass from the right flank to Laura Moore, who dribbled toward the end line before sending a low cross across into goalmouth. Huesers beat two defenders to the ball and tapped it in at the right post.
 
"It was great to get an early one. We had talked about trying to see if we couldn't find something early in the game to build some momentum for ourselves," said Busey, who commended the trio that combined for the initial goal.
 
The Crusaders equalized five minutes later when Ashley Cook-Cox slipped a pass through to Nicole Nsa, who dribbled into the box and beat the goalkeeper with a low, eight-yard shot inside the left post. That strike, at 12:35, increased Nsa's team lead to five goals.
 
The Falcons had numerous near goals before halftime, including back-to-back, 34th-minute attempts by Farrell and Huesers, but both were stopped by NNU's Daniele Ortiz as part of her nine saves. The game was tied 1-1 at intermission despite a 16-2 shot lead by the hosts.
 
The shot count was 25-2 before SPU broke the game open midway through the second half, tallying goals just over two minutes apart on consecutive attempts.
 
Julia DeVere was fouled on the left side of the box by an NNU defender, setting up Farrell's (Interlake HS) penalty kick at 70:53. She deposited the free shot high to the center of the goal for her first score of the season.
 
The insurance goal came at 72:59 when Huesers (Lake Stevens HS) collected a pass from Simon Herzberg and blasted a 17-yard shot that carried just under the crossbar for her team-high sixth goal of the season.
 
"Hannah was great. That's a huge goal to put it at two and create a little distance between us and them," Busey said. "She worked extremely hard for that goal. She was all over the front third of the field, putting herself in good spots, serving balls to teammates, doing a lot of unheralded work. So it was nice for her to find that ball in the box and stuff it in the upper corner."
 
Sophomore Molly Stinson (Woodinville HS) was credited with one save for the Falcons en route to her sixth victory in goal.
 
The Crusaders (4-5-1) dropped to 1-3-1 in GNAC games.
 
The SPU women return to action on Thursday to conclude their four-game homestand against newest GNAC member, Concordia. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.  Then they embark on a four-game road trip that begins Oct. 10 at Western Oregon.
 
"We put ourselves in a position where all of our games are critical now. With the goals and aspirations that this program has, every game is critical and the most important one on our schedule is Concordia," Busey said.
 
"They are a team that was very successful at the NAIA level and has come to NCAA Division II with a ton of confidence. That is a very good team, very well coached and very talented. We're going to have to play really well to get a result on Thursday night."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at (#24) Seattle Pacific 3, Northwest Nazarene 1
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Hannah Huesers (Laura Moore, Mickayla Mury), 7:37; 2, NNU, Nicole Nsa (Laura Seymour), 12:35; 3, SPU, Isabel Farrell (PK), 70:53; 4, SPU, Huesers (Simone Herzberg), 72:59.
 
Shots – NNU 6, SPU 30.
Saves – NNU 9 (Daniele Ortiz), SPU 1 (Molly Stinson).
Corner Kicks – NNU 3, SPU 8.
Fouls – NNU 7, SPU 6.
Offsides – NNU 1, SPU 1.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 6-2-1, 2-2-1 GNAC
Northwest Nazarene 4-5-1, 1-3-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Women's Game
Concordia at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 8, 7:00 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.