Box Score    |    Final Stats

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A change in scenery only served to make an already daunting task darn near impossible for underdog Seattle Pacific on Saturday night. Pitted against No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Western Washington in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference the Falcons fell, 3-1, in a soaking rain at Harrington Field.
 
Sophomore forward Gabriela Pelogi blew open the game with a pair of goals less than four minutes apart as the Vikings (19-0-1), by claiming their 19th win in a row, earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II tournament.
 
Despite the loss SPU (11-4-4) remains very much in contention for an at-large postseason bid. The Falcons, fifth in last week's West Region ratings, will learn their fate Monday at 3 p.m. Pacific Times when the 48-team NCAA field is announced.
 
For Seattle Pacific, Hannah Huesers tallied her 12th goal of the season and third in as many games with 23:31 left, averting the shutout. The senior forward was momentarily denied on a breakaway, but the ball bounced off a defender and WWU keeper Ashley Homer. Huesers, collecting the rebound, sent a slow roller into the open net from 25 yards.

 

Originally the game was scheduled for earlier in the day at Burnaby, B.C. However, it was moved south across the border after Terry Fox Field was deemed unplayable due to dense fog.
 
The change in venue to the WWU's home field did the Falcons no favor. Western is unbeaten in 13 (10-0-3) consecutive meetings with SPU, including three wins this season, and has now won a GNAC record 24 consecutive home games.
 
It marked the fourth straight year the Falcons and Vikings were meeting in the championship contest. Western has won the last two.
 
From the outset Western Washington was relentless in pressuring the SPU backline and wasted little time going in front. In the 5th minute Elise Aylward was brought down in the box and Emily Wagner buried the resulting penalty kick in the right corner.
 
Molly Stinson leaped to bat away a Liv Larson header in the 13th minute, but then the sky fell, both literally and figuratively, on the Falcons. Finishing off a through ball from the top of the box, Pelogi doubled the lead on her first score, and subsequently a steady rain turned to a driving downpour. Pelogi made it 3-0 at 19:11 following a corner.

 

SPU was not only outshot 12-0 in the first half, it rarely crossed the halfway line in possession. The Falcons had scored eight goals in going undefeated (3-0-1) in their previous four outings.
 
Stinson made six saves in all, going to ground to snuff two attempts in the final 10 minutes.
 
A 30-yard left-footed free kick by Brooke Pingrey with 28 minutes remaining not only constituted Seattle Pacific's first shot of the match but caromed off the underside of the crossbar before being grabbed by Homer.  Shortly thereafter Huesers pulled the visitors a goal back. Her 47 career goals are two short of the school record held by Sarah Martinez.
 
SPU had reached the GNAC title game after beating Central Washington, 2-0, on Thursday. Western had eliminated Simon Fraser, 3-0, in the other semifinal.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
GNAC Tournament – Championship Game
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Harrington Field / Bellingham, Wash.
 
Western Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Scoring – 1, WWU, Emily Webster (penalty kick) 4:50 ; 2, WWU, Gabriela Pelogi (Elise Aylward) 15:38; 3, WWU, Pelogi (Caitlyn Jobanek) 19:11; 4, SPU, Huesers (unassisted) 66:29.
 
 
                       1   2  --  TOTAL
Seattle Pacific        0   1  --    1
Western Washington     3   0  --    3
 
Shots – SPU 5, WWU 22.
Saves – SPU 6 (Molly Stinson), WWU 2 (Ashley Homer).
Corner Kicks – SPU 2, WWU 8.
Fouls – SPU 9, WWU 10.
Offsides – SPU 1, WWU 2.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 11-4-4
Western Washington 19-0-1
 
Up Next for SPU Women's Soccer
NCAA Division II tournament Announcement
Monday, Nov. 7, 3 p.m. PST, www.NCAA.com