• FINAL STATS   |   • VIDEO:  KAYTLIN  WILLIS   

SEATTLE – Karli White scored with 8:42 left to play Thursday as second-ranked Western Washington edged Seattle Pacific 1-0 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer clash at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (8-6-0) suffered their second 1-0 setback this season against the defending NCAA Division II champions, matching the score of the Oct. 5 meeting in Bellingham. SPU dropped to 6-4-0 in league play.
 
Western (13-0-0) maintained its perfect GNAC ledger, improving to 9-0-0. The Vikings won their 37th consecutive game and are unbeaten in their last 62 conference contests, compiling a 56-0-6 mark since Oct. 13, 2013.
 
As they did in the first meeting, the WWU women capitalized on a corner kick for their lone goal. Malia Maack served the kick from the left corner well past the far post to Sierra Shugarts, who headed the ball back across the goalmouth. White gathered the ball near the left post before firing it into the back of the net at 81:16.
 
"It was a great game. The margin between these two teams is very small," said SPU coach Arby Busey. "Unfortunately we were on the wrong end of that one again tonight.
 
"That's what great teams do. Western found a chance on a re-start and they buried it for the second time this year. It's something that, if we're fortunate enough to see them again we're going to have to be a little better on those re-starts defensively."
 
That was the eighth goal of the season for the junior forward who transferred from Seattle University. White is the step-daughter of former SPU men's standout Peter Hattrup, who amassed 59 goals between 1982-85 to rank third among all-time Falcons.
 


Goalkeeper Molly Stinson was credited with one save for the Falcons, who were outshot by an 11-6 margin. The senior shot-stopper has 270 career saves, just one away from the school record of 271 established by Jennifer Hull from 2001-04.
 
Ashley Homer stopped one shot en route to her eighth shutout. She has surrendered just two goals this season.
 
The Vikings compiled a 6-1 shot advantage in the first half, but sent just one shot directly on goal. That 17th-minute attempt by Gabriela Pelogi was easily collected by SPU goalkeeper Molly Stinson.
 
Western's nearest miss before halftime came when Zoe Milburn chipped the goalkeeper from distance, but the ball carried just high and wide to the left in the 40th minute.
 
The lone first-half try for the Falcons came in the eighth minute when Kaytlin Willis got a head to a corner kick from Megan Nielsen, but it went wide of the right post.
 
The second half shot count was even at 5-5 with one attempt directly on goal for each side. The Vikings' found the back of the net on theirs, from a corner kick. SPU's on-target attempt, an 85th-minute header by Kasey Reeve off a Sydnee Smith corner kick, was snagged by Homer.
 
Western is averaging over three goals per game, but managed just two in 180 minutes this season against the Falcons. Neither goal came from the run of play.
 
"I don't know why the matchup is good for us. Our kids get up for this game and they do to. It's obviously a big rivalry game. The climate of these games is big and it keeps everybody in tune and in check. We've been at our best defensively against this opponent, who is probably the best attacking team that we see.
 
"It's a testament to our kids, they rise to that challenge. They were very, very focused tonight and very dialed in. There's a lot of questions to be answered in terms of what Western presents to you. They've got some dynamic attacking players and to keep them off the board in the run of play, we can be proud of that."
 
The SPU women close out their regular-season schedule with two more home games. They host Montana State Billings on Saturday at 2 p.m. as the opener of an Interbay Stadium doubleheader with the men, who battle Billings at 4:30 p.m.
 
Busey isn't concerned about a letdown for Saturday's game against the Yellowjackets even after Thursday's hard-fought battle with the defending champions.
 
"To us it's another three points that are out there up for grabs and we need points right now to make sure that we get into the GNAC Tournament. We're still fighting tooth and nail to get our way in there, so I'm not sure it matters who we play at this point.
 
"When there's three points out there for somebody to win, we've got to be hungry for them like we were tonight. We certainly were hungry and got pretty close to getting something out of this game tonight."
 
SPU is currently fourth in the GNAC standings with 18 points with Simon Fraser sitting six points back with one game in hand. The Falcons can secure a berth in the four-team conference championships by adding three points to their total during the last two outings.
 
The Falcons final game is next Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. against Western Oregon at Interbay Stadium.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash
 
(#2) Western Washington 1, at Seattle Pacific 0
 
Scoring – 1, WWU, Karli White (Sierra Shugarts, Malia Maack), 81:16.
 
                       1   2  --  TOTAL
Western Washington     0   1  --    1
Seattle Pacific        0   0  --    0
 
Shots – WWU 11, SPU 6.
Shots on goal – WWU 2, SPU 1.
Saves – WWU 1 (Ashley Homer), SPU 1 (Molly Stinson).
Corner kicks – WWU 6, SPU 2.
Fouls – WWU 5, SPU 9.
Offsides – WWU 2, SPU 1.
 
Records
Western Washington 13-0-0, 9-0-0 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 8-6-0, 6-4-0 GNAC
 
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.