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• VIDEO: Makena  Rietz interview
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SEATTLE – Makena Rietz scored the first goal and assisted on the third score Saturday for Seattle Pacific, which shut out Simon Fraser, 4-0, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer game at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (6-5-0) improved their second-place total to 12 points with a 4-1-0 record in GNAC games. Their lead in the all-time series with Simon Fraser increased to 14-1-2.
 
"It was a really good performance tonight," said SPU coach Arby Busey. "We had some ideas of things that we wanted to do and got a lot accomplished so I was really proud of the way the girls performed."
 
Rietz wasn't the only SPU player to contribute to more than one goal as senior midfielder Megan Moore distributed assists on both the second and third scores.


 
The opening goal, at 24:47, was the first of the season for Rietz. A pass from the left side by Claire Neder found the sophomore midfielder open in the center of the box. Clever ball handling by Rietz created a channel for her to send a 10-yard shot into the right side of the goal.
 
"She's fantastic. The amount of work that Makena puts in during the game is remarkable. It would be interesting to put her on a GPS and see how much she runs," Busey said. "She has a massive, physical threshold that we rely upon day-in-and-day-out.
 
"It was really great for her to get rewarded tonight with a goal. She showed her technical ability, some great feet to kind of get it out from underneath her and poke it through and find the goal."
 
Sophia Chilczuk doubled the lead, at 33:28, with a well-placed shot from distance. Moore threw the ball in to Chloe Gellhaus, who quickly touched the ball on. Chilczuk dribbled to her left at the top of the box before directing a 20-yard blast into the top left corner.
 
SPU brought that 2-0 lead into halftime after outshooting the visitors by a 7-2 margin during the opening 45 minutes.
 
Eleven minutes after intermission, Sierra Smith put the hosts ahead 3-0 with her team-leading fourth goal of the year. Rietz sent a pass to Moore on the right wing, leading to a low cross toward the near post. Smith beat the goalkeeper to the ball and slipped a seven-yard shot inside the right post at 55:54.
 

 
Two Falcons freshmen combined for the final goal, with 3:42 left to play. Brooklyn Morrison lofted a long pass toward the box that Toni Miranda settled and fired into the upper left for her first collegiate goal.
 
"It's great. It's really fun for them and for all of us to have the game finish in that way," Busey exclaimed. "We had Toni playing in a different spot and just moved her up front. She had done it as a youth player so we gave her the opportunity and she capitalized. It was a great finish. She showed a lot of poise for a freshman in that moment, to look up and chip the goalkeeper."
 
Miranda and Morrison are roommates as is the tandem of Smith and Moore, who teamed up for SPU's other second-half tally.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Riley Travis was required to make just two saves en route to her third clean sheet. The shutout was the fifth for the Falcons this season, four of them coming against GNAC opponents.
 
"We try to defend with the ball as much as we can and on nights when we're able to keep possession really well, which we were able to tonight. It helps make the job of defending a little bit easier," Busey explained.
 
"That's not to understate the ability and the work that our defenders and goalkeeper put in. But they were really prepared for the opportunities that our opponents created tonight. We had the ball in the other end of the field quite a bit, which gave our defenders time to react and respond to the situations as they were being created."
 
Goalkeeper Nicole Anderson made one save for the Clan (1-7-1), who dropped to 1-4-0 in conference play. Simon Fraser was on the short end of a 14-2 shot count after being outshot 7-0 during the second half.
 
Hollis Roeske was the only SFU player with an attempt. Her low drive from the top of the box, exactly one minute into the game, was easily gathered by Travis. Roeske's second shot came in the 10th minute and carried wide of the right post.
 
The SPU women remain home for their next game, Thursday against Saint Martin's. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. That is a rematch of the Sept. 28 meeting in Lacey, Wash. that the Falcons won 2-0.


NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 4, Simon Fraser 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Makena Rietz (Claire Neder), 24:47; 2, SPU, Sophia Chilczuk (Chloe Gellhaus, Megan Moore), 33:28; 3, SPU, Sierra Smith (Moore, Rietz), 55:54; 4, SPU, Toni Miranda (Brooklyn Morrison), 86:18.
 
                        1   2  --  TOTAL
Simon Fraser            0   0  --    0
Seattle Pacific         2   2  --    4
 
Shots – SF 2, SPU 14.
Shots on Goal – SF 1, SPU 6.
Saves –SF 2 (Nicole Anderson), SPU 1 (Riley Travis).
Corner Kicks – SF 0, SPU 2.
Fouls – SF 11, SPU 12.
Offsides – SF 0, SPU 4.
 
 
Records
Simon Fraser 1-7-1, 1-4-0 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 6-5-0, 4-1-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 17, 7:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.