Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – With a wicked wind in their faces, the Falcons knew a 1-0 halftime lead was unlikely to hold up. They resisted the urge to bunker back and fought forward instead.
 
Laura Moore netted a 19th-minute goal and Isabel Farrell scored four minutes after halftime Thursday for fifth-seeded Seattle Pacific, which overcame dismal weather and No. 4 seed UC San Diego for a 2-1 opening-round win in the NCAA Division II women's soccer tournament.
 
"It was a good game between two good teams," said SPU interim coach Arby Busey. "The conditions certainly played a huge role in how the game was played. But a lot of kids worked their tails off on that field for both teams, making it hard for either one to get a win."
 
The Falcons (14-4-2) remain in Bellingham to meet second-ranked Western Washington (18-1-1) in a 1 p.m. game on Saturday at Harrington Field. The top seed in the West Region, the Vikings clash with SPU for the fourth time this season. Western won all three previous encounters, including a 3-1 decision last Saturday in the GNAC Tournament championship game.
 
UC San Diego, winner of the California Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, completed its campaign with a 15-6-1 record. The Tritons had won the last two playoff matchups, ending SPU's 2010 and 2012 seasons.
 
The Falcons won the coin toss and elected to play with the favoring weather during the first half as they were backed by a steady 25-mile-per-hour wind that gusted up to 40 on occasions during driving rain.
 
SPU got off five shots before UCSD managed its first attempt. The fifth foray, by Farrell at 11:21, forced Tritons goalkeeper Kelcie Brodsky to make her first save.
 
San Diego's first shot, at 13:05, was its only attempt during the first 45 minutes as the shot count was 11-1 in SPU's favor.
 
The Falcons capitalized on the conditions in the first half, scoring a wind-aided goal at 18:33. Moore (Kentwood HS) served a corner kick from the left side that floated and curved high inside the far post for a 1-0 lead. That was her sixth score of the season.
 
"She's good at them," Busey said of Moore's free kick prowess. "We've tweaked some things with those re-starts and given her a bit more opportunity on those because we've seen some things in training that lead us to believe that she'd be someone that could provide good service.
 
"I don't know that the idea was necessarily for her to whip balls into the net, but we'll take it."
 
The Tritons figured to get the better of things in the second half with the wind at their backs. They matched their first-half shot count just 12 seconds after intermission with a 20-yard blast by Bocchino that carried over the crossbar.
 
An Elisa Martinez shot drew a save from SPU goalkeeper Molly Stinson 57 seconds later, and UCSD notched its third try 3:08 into the period.
 
"We talked about it at the half that most days one goal can be enough, but with the weather being what it was it wasn't going be enough to hold up," said Busey. "We weren't going to play to win 1-0 unless it was 1-0 late in the game. We were going to try to see if we could sneak out and get at least another one, if not more."

 

Just when it appeared SPU would spend the entire half defending after giving up three quick shots, Hannah Huesers (Lake Stevens HS) initiated a counter attack into the wind. The junior forward dribbled down the right flank and darted inside the box toward the end line before chipping a cross to Farrell (Interlake HS) for an easy volley from seven yards at 49:11. The senior midfielder tallied her fifth goal of the year and her fourth game-winning strike.
 
"Hannah held one defender off physically and kind of turned the corner, beat another one and then just cut the ball back across the face of goal for Izzy who buried it," Busey described. "Izzy was in a good spot and put herself in position to score, but Hannah did more of the heavy lifting."
 
UCSD continued to play predominantly in its offensive half and was finally rewarded, at 83:39, with a goal. Jordyn McNutt sent a corner kick into the box that bounced around before Bocchino poked it in for her fifth score of the season.
 
The Tritons did not get a shot an equalizer during the final 6:21. They earned a corner kick with 23 seconds remaining, but were unable to deliver it into the box before it was cleared by a defender.
 
Stinson (Woodinville HS) was credited with five saves for the Falcons, who finished with a 15-13 shot edge.

 

Busey credited his goalkeeper, along with central defenders Taylor Hauck and Shayla Page, with keeping San Diego at bay.
 
"Taylor and Shayla were both fantastic, Molly as well. They controlled that area and kept them from getting anything that was quality, which was difficult.
 
That wind was blowing something fierce and it was not an easy task to keep them out in the second half. They just fought and scrapped and got in the way of things."
 
Brodsky stopped three SPU shots.
 
The Falcons are making their 13th consecutive postseason appearance. They have now won their first game in nine of those and drew two others that were decided by tiebreakers.
 
Their only two opening-round losses were a 2-1 setback versus Cal State Dominguez Hills in their inaugural entry in 2003, and a 2-1 double-overtime defeat against Cal State Stanislaus last season.
 
Now it's on to the regional semifinal where a familiar foe awaits. Western Washington was a 1-0 winner in this season's first meeting on Oct. 1 in Seattle. The Vikings were 3-1 victors in the subsequent two encounters, on Oct. 17 in Bellingham and Nov. 7 in Burnaby, B.C.
 
"There won't be much scouting going on at this point between these two teams. We probably know each other as well as we know our own teams," Busey said of the Northwest rivalry.
 
"It will be another good one. They've taken us to the shed the last two times on the scoreboard and we're hoping to ride a bit of momentum from tonight to see if we can't change our fortune in the fourth matchup between the two teams."
 
Saturday marks the 11th meeting between the Falcons and WWU during the last three seasons alone. They clashed four times in 2013 and three in 2014.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Division II Tournament – First Round
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Harrington Field / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 2, UC San Diego 1
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Laura Moore, 18:33; 2, SPU, Isabel Farrell (Hannah Huesers), 49:11; 3, UCSD, Kiera Bocchino (Jordyn McNutt), 83:39.
 
Shots – SPU 15, UCSD 13.
Saves – SPU 5 (Molly Stinson), UCSD 3 (Kelcie Brodsky).
Corner Kicks – SPU 8, UCSD 6.
Fouls – SPU 8, UCSD 4.
Offsides – SPU 0, UCSD 0.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 14-4-2
UC San Diego 15-6-1
 
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
NCAA Tournament – West Region semifinal
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, Nov. 14, 1:00 p.m. PST
Harrington Field/Bellingham, Wash.