• FINAL STATS   |   • VIDEO: Brooke  Lancaster
• PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – Gabrielle Brissette scored a golden goal early in the final overtime Thursday to cap a two-score rally for Simon Fraser in a 2-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer victory over Seattle Pacific at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (6-2-1) suffered their first GNAC setback, moving their league ledger to 2-1-0. They had surrendered only two combined goals in their first eight games of the season, but matched that total against SFU (4-3-0), which has a similar 2-1-0 conference record.
 
A free kick from the left flank, 30 yards from the goal initiated the decisive score. Jenna-lee Baxter served the ball into the 6-yard box where it rattled around at the feet of several players. Brissette tapped it in during the goalmouth scramble for her second goal of the season and both of them were game-winners.
 
"It's one of those ones where they did the work to create a foul down in our area, put the ball in there and cross your fingers. They got one," SPU coach Arby Busey said "We need to be better about getting that ball out.
 
"We did a lot of really good things. Obviously we we did some things that we need to improve upon, but we kind of found ourselves on the wrong end of the score tonight."
 
Despite an 8-4 shot advantage, SPU was unable to breach the goal during the first half.
 
The scoreless standoff didn't last long after halftime.
 
Brooke Lancaster received a pass from Claire Neder and first-timed a 14-yard shot high into the left side of the goal to put the Falcons ahead 1-0 at 45:53. That was the first goal of the season for the senior midfielder and the fifth of her career.


 
"We jumped right on it in the second half and got off to a great start with a good finish from Lancaster," Busey said. "Unfortunately we couldn't add another goal or two here or there, which would have made all the difference in the world once the final outcome is known."
 
The Clan nearly answered four minutes later, but Christina Dickson's attempt was cleared off the goal line by Falcons defender Megan Nielsen.
 
Each team had a quality opportunity in the 68th minute. Simon Fraser's Teagan Mackay blasted a shot that was deflected by Travis and it bounced around the goalmouth in traffic before the SPU goalkeeper could pounce on it near the right post.
 
At the other end, a through ball freed Falcons midfielder Megan Moore for a breakaway into the box. Her low, 15-yard shot was smothered by charging Clan goalkeeper Nicole Anderson.
 
Simon Fraser's Emma Pringle evened the score in the 80th minute with her team-leading sixth goal. Teammate Katelyn Erhardsen lofted the ball into the box from 40 yards away. Pringle found herself alone behind the defense, barely beating Travis to the ball for an 8-yard, headed finish at 79:40.
 
"Pringle is the real deal, that's not something that's unknown to us. She does that more often than not," Busey said. "We didn't come into this game thinking we could bottle her up for 90 minutes, she was going to get her chances. She did a great job winning a header and it was well-earned on her part."
 
Neither team attempted a shot in the first, 10-minute overtime session.
 
The visitors had the only two shots in the second-overtime, including the Brissette golden goal at 101:28. Baxter had an opportunity 44 seconds into the final overtime, but her low shot traveled just wide of the left post.
 
"It's a tough game for us, tough pill to swallow. We had some really good moments tonight and unfortunately the game can be cruel sometimes," said Busey.
 
"We just were on the wrong end of it and there's nothing that drastically needs to be changed moving forward because I liked a lot of things that we did today."
 
Anderson made five saves for the Clan, who were out-shot by a 17-12 margin. Travis stopped two shots for the Falcons.
 
The SPU women stay home to host Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Kick-off is 3 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
Simon Fraser 2, at Seattle Pacific 1 (ot)
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Brooke Lancaster (Claire Neder), 45:53; 2, SF, Emma Pringle (Katelyn Erhardsen), 79:40; 3, SF, Gabreielle Brissette (unassisted), 101:28.
 
                       1   2   3  -- Total
Simon Fraser           0   1   1  --   2
Seattle Pacific        0   1   0  --   1
 
Shots – SF 12, SPU 17.
Shots on goal – SF 5, SPU 6.
Saves – SF 5 (Nicole Anderson), SPU 3 (Riley Travis 2, Team 1).
Corner kicks – SF 2, SPU 5.
Fouls – SF 9, SPU 15.
Offsides – SF 0, SPU 0.
 
Records
Simon Fraser 4-3-0,  2-1-0 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 6-2-1,  2-1-0 GNAC
 
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Sept. 29, 3:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.