• FINAL STATS

LACEY, Wash. – Kasey Reeve's trio of goals were scored in drastically different fashion. The lone similarity was that all three ended up in the back of the net.
 
Reeve registered a hat trick, scoring the first three goals Saturday to ignite the Seattle Pacific women's 6-0 triumph over Saint Martin's in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at SMU Soccer Field.
 
The junior forward struck in the 15th and 22nd minutes to provide a 2-0 lead the Falcons held at halftime. Reeve scored a third time, 12 minutes into the second half, for her team-leading 10th goal of the season.
 
"Kasey was fantastic today," exclaimed SPU coach Arby Busey. "She did a good job the other night, on Thursday, putting herself in some good spots, but she left some on the table that she wanted to get taken care of. Today she was brilliant.
 
"She took her chances well, put herself in some dangerous areas and was quality in front of goal. She showed a lot of composure and was a pure finisher today."
 
Reeve achieved the 19th hat trick in SPU women's soccer history and the first since Hannah Huesers had three goals at Western Oregon on Oct. 10, 2015.
 
Three other Falcons got into the scoring column Saturday, including Claire Neder in the 67th minute and Madison Ibale in the 79th. Those were the first collegiate goals for each of those freshmen. Senior Mickayla Mury capped the scoring in the 82nd minute.
 
Starting goalkeeper Molly Stinson made four saves before being replaced by Abby Smith with six minutes remaining. They combined for SPU's second clean sheet.
 
Stinson increased her career total to 269 saves. The senior shot-stopper is two saves away from the school-record total of 271 compiled by Jennifer Hull from 2001-04. Stinson already owns the SPU records for saves in a game (13) and season (106 in 2016).
 
"When we're firing on all cylinders, in possession of the ball, that alleviates a bit of the pressure defensively for us. We were very good today in possession of the ball," Busey said. "The attacking side of things presented us with a relatively comfortable day defensively.
 
"There were certainly some chances that our opponents created, but we responded to them really well. A lot of times in a game where the score starts to elevate, you can lose focus and start to become a little complacent. We stayed on the task and did a great job of finishing things out and keeping them off the scoreboard."
 
The Falcons (8-5-0) improved their league ledger to 6-3-0. They amassed nine goals this week, including Thursday's 3-2 overtime home win over Central Washington, after being shut out the previous two outings.
 
Goalkeeper Ali Koehler was credited with six saves for SMU, which was outshot by a 25-10 margin.
 
The Saints (1-11-1) fell to 1-6-1 in GNAC games.
 
Reeve got the opening goal 14:34 into the game after chipping the goalkeeper from 35 yards out after receiving a pass from Neder.
 
"Kasey showed great awareness on the first one," Busey described. "She got it and looked up and the goalkeeper was well off her line. Kasey showed technical quality in her ability to finish from a good distance out over the top of a goalkeeper."
 
In contrast to that shot from 17 yards outside the box, Reeve's second score came from the goal line. Sophia Chilczuk sent a low pass from the right flank that got past Koehler and set up Reeve for the tap-in at 21:07.
 
Reeve put her dribbling skills on display for the third tally. She ran on to a long through pass from Brooke Lancaster and tapped the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper at the top of the box. Reeve dribbled into the left side before slipping a shot into the open goal at 57:01.
 
"She makes what is relatively difficult look very easy," said Busey. "If scoring goals were easy, we'd have a lot higher scores in our games. That's just not the way that it is. Kasey made it look easy today."

 

At 67:53 Julia DeVere served a cross from the right side of the box that Neder flicked over the goalkeeper with her head.
 
Ibale's inaugural SPU goal was initiated by a corner kick. The ball was headed to the ground in the congested goalmouth and she finished with her foot at 78:51.
 
"Madison has really come on in the last month as a freshman and has now a great handle on the college game," Busey said. "She has been contributing greatly, so it is really nice to see her get up and find a ball on a cross. She is feeling confident in herself and her ability to be somebody that can influence and impact the game."
 
The final goal came at 81:20 on a breakaway by Mury, set up by Emma Young's long through ball. Mury beat the goalkeeper on the dribble as she sprinted into the box and shot low into the open goal from 12 yards.
 
The six-goal output was the Falcons' finest in three seasons, since beating Northwest Nazarene 6-1 on Oct. 11, 2014. That was their widest margin of victory since Sept. 25, 2010, a 6-0 win at Western Oregon.
 
The SPU women complete their regular-season schedule with three straight home games, beginning on Thursday against defending national champion Western Washington. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium as the nightcap of a doubleheader with the Falcons men, who host Northwest Nazarene at 4:30 p.m.
 
The third-ranked Vikings won this season's first meeting, a 1-0 decision on Oct. 5 in Bellingham. Busey hopes the recent offensive explosion carries over into the upcoming matchup.
 
"It's certainly going to be a steeper challenge come Thursday, but we've got a lot of confidence coming off this weekend where we scored a ton of goals. We hit a bit of a dry spell there so it's nice for the girls to feel like we can score, and score in bunches.
 
"It would be nice to save a few goals and put them in our pocket for Thursday night, but hopefully we're in a good run of form and can create some chances. Hopefully we can be as clinical as we were today with the chances that we do create."
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017
SMU Soccer Field / Lacey, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 6, at Saint Martin's 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Kasey Reeve (Claire Neder), 14:34; 2, SPU, Reeve (Sophia Chilczuk), 21:07; 3, SPU, Reeve (Brooke Lancaster), 57:01 4, SPU, Neder (Julia DeVere), 67:53; 5, SPU, Madison Ibale, 78:51; 6, SPU, Mickayla Mury (Emma Young), 81:20.
 
                     1   2  -- TOTAL
Seattle Pacific      2   4  --   6
Saint Martin's       0   0  --   0
 
Shots – SPU 25, SMU 10.
Shots on Goal – SPU 12, SMU 4.
Saves – SPU 4 (Molly Stinson), SMU 6 (Ali Koehler).
Corner kicks – SPU 6, SMU 2.
Fouls – SPU 7, SMU 3.
Offsides – SPU 6, SMU 2.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 8-5-0, 6-3-0 GNAC
Saint Martin's 1-11-1, 1-6-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
(#3) Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 19, 7:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.