• FINAL STATS   |   • PHOTO GALLERY

PORTLAND, Ore. – Finishing on the front foot, Seattle Pacific found a two-goal deficit too deep to escape in falling to 17th-ranked Concordia, 2-1, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer semifinal at Tuominen Yard on Thursday night.
 
Megan Moore scored late, and Sierra Smith saw a golden opportunity go awry in the final two minutes for the Falcons (12-5-2), whose postseason fate will now be decided by the NCAA tournament selection committee on Monday. SPU was ranked seventh in the most recent regional poll and the West bracket has exactly seven slots.
 
Getting goals from Kasey Ames and Quinn Williams early in each half, Concordia (13-1-3) advances to host top-seeded Western Washington on Saturday. Western defeated Simon Fraser, 2-1, in the first semifinal. The sixth-ranked Vikings are playing in a seventh straight GNAC championship game and seeking a fifth consecutive title.
 
The Cavaliers' attacking quartet of Williams, Sydney Van Steenberge, Kyra Radcliffe and Gabrielle Ewing was constantly probing and stretching the visitors' back four, creating cracks for which goalkeeper Riley Travis repeatedly tried to plaster.
 
Concordia dominated the shot count, 22-6, with Travis making nine saves – five off Williams alone. Still the Falcons, who managed a 1-1 draw on the same field on Saturday, found their way back into the game in the final few minutes.
 
Moore halved the lead with 5 minutes, 4 seconds remaining on her third goal of the season.
 
With two minutes to go, Smith saw daylight and the chance to force overtime snuffed out by Cavs keeper Rose Houser.
 
The Falcons found themselves fortunate to only be one goal down at the interval. Their defense was under siege for the first half-hour as the Cavaliers were clicking on the attack and closing down before SPU could mount an offense.
 
However, the game's first goal was not so much a clean strike as a stroke of luck. In the seventh minute, Ewing deftly brought down a Williams corner and laid it back for a wide-open Ames. She steered her 10-yard shot toward the left corner, but Kasey Reeve's attempt to block redirected it into the vacant center, with Travis already diving the other direction.
 
Seattle Pacific appeared rattled by the early score and spent much of the next 20 minutes trying to clear its lines. Travis got her hands on seven of Concordia's 13 first-half shots. Two near-misses less than five minutes apart proved the most dangerous, both from Sydney Van Steenberge.
 
First, she fired from the top of the box, the ball sailing just above the crossbar. Then Van Steenberge surprised Travis from 30 yards, the keeper watching helplessly as the ball soared overhead, nearly catching the top corner. Concordia peppered the SPU goal with 10 shots in the first 30 minutes.
 
Toward the end of the period SPU began to gain a toehold on the match, and in the 37th minute came the first clear chance. Emma Young collected a loose ball and fed Smith deep in the penalty area, but she rushed her shot from 10 yards and it flew wide.
 
Nine minutes into the second half, Concordia got the all-important second goal. Shortly after Travis leaped to deny Ewing's looping effort, Williams doubled the lead. Radcliffe's low, driven cross from left side of the box by was poked home by Williams from four yards.

 

The Cavaliers had opportunities to put the game out of reach before SPU mounted its late rally. They had four shots and two corners in the 10 minutes after scoring.
 
Reeve finally tested Hauser in 63rd minute, when her 20-yard chip forced the first save. Later, advancing forward, Julia DeVere shot from close range only to have a defender block it.
 
The breakthrough finally came with 5:04 left to play, following a one-touch sequence out of midfield. Smith and Brooke Lancaster connected at the top of the box and found Moore slicing through the left flank for a 14-yard, first-time hit past Hauser.
 
Last Saturday, SPU got a late equalizer to keep Concordia from earning a share of the GNAC regular season title. Three minutes after Moore's goal, the Falcons nearly did it again. A give-and-go found Smith open with only the keeper to beat from nine yards, but her volley went straight into the clutches of Hauser.
 
While the Cavaliers-Vikings pairing represents a rematch of last year's GNAC championship game, the Falcons were eliminated in the semifinal round for the second year in a row. On Monday, they hope to receive an at-large bid which would be their 15th NCAA berth in 16 seasons. The tournament selection show begins at 3:30 p.m.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
GNAC Tournament -- Semifinal
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018
Tuominen Yard / Portland, Ore.
 
at Concordia 2, Seattle Pacific 1
 
Scoring – 1, CU, Kasey Ames (Gabrielle Ewing) 6:47; 2, CU, Williams (Kyra Radcliffe, Sydney Van Steenberge) 53:44; 3, SPU, Megan Moore (Brooke Lancaster, Sierra Smith) 84:56.
 
Seattle Pacific      0   1  --   1
Concordia            1   1  --   2
 
Shots – SPU 6, CU 22
Shots on Goal – SPU 3, CU 11
Saves – SPU 9 (Riley Travis), CU (Rose Hauser) 2
Corner kicks – SPU 0, CU 6
Fouls – SPU 8, CU 13
Offsides – SPU 2, CU 1
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 12-5-2
Concordia 13-1-3
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Action
NCAA Tournament Selection Show
Monday, Nov. 5, 3:30 p.m. PST