• STATS (pdf)
• VIDEO: Claire  Neder interview
• VIDEO: Chloe  Gellhaus goal
• VIDEO: Coach Arby  Busey Interview
• PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – The Falcons face a familiar foe in Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer championship game.
 
Claire Neder and Sophia Chilczuk each recorded a goal and assist Thursday night, helping Seattle Pacific earn entry into the GNAC Tournament title tilt with a 4-1 victory over Western Oregon at Interbay Stadium.
 
The second-seeded Falcons (12-7-0) will have the homefield advantage for Saturday's 1 p.m. title clash versus top seed Western Washington. They will meet in the final for the fifth time in the eight-year history of the GNAC playoffs.
 
"It's been the two best teams in the conference thus far. It's the right two teams to match up in the final," said SPU coach Arby Busey.
 
"They've gotten us two times this year so we're excited to have another go at them. We'll be on our home field, which hopefully gives us a little bit of a nudge. It's all to play for on Saturday."
 
The champion receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament that begins next week.
 
Saturday serves as a rubber match of sorts as each team has come out with two championships in their head-to-head meetings in the final. Overall, Western has four GNAC Tournament titles and the Falcons two.

CLAIRE NEDER INTERVIEW

The Vikings (17-2-0) defeated Central Washington 2-1 in Thursday's first semifinal to keep alive a streak of qualifying for every GNAC championship game.
 
Third-seeded Western Oregon (10-6-3) was eliminated from the league playoffs.
 
FIRST-HALF TRIFECTA
Fantastic early offense fueled the Falcons on Thursday.
 
Neder and Chilczuk set up Chloe Gellhaus for a brilliant, 20-yard blast and, four minutes later, Neder converted a 28th-minute penalty kick.

CHLOE GELLHAUS GOAL

SPU sophomore Makena Rietz provided a 3-0 advantage with an unassisted tally 35 seconds before halftime.
 
"Those goals right at the end of the half can be killers," Busey said. "If they are able to see it out and get into halftime at 2-0 you come back out in the second half and cut that lead in half and all of a sudden you are playing a different game.
 
"That was an important one for us to get. It definitely buoyed our spirits and gave us a lot of momentum going into the half as well as coming out in the second half."
 
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
Eleven minutes after intermission, Chilczuk scored off a wonderful ground pass from Sierra Smith that was dummied by Megan Moore.
 
Riley Travis played the entire game in goal for SPU and was not called on to make a save as the only Wolves' shot on target found the back of the net.
 
From the left side of the box with her back to the goal, WOU's Isabelle Creighton flipped a looping ball over her head. Malia Napoleon leaped over a defender to head a shot that snuck between the crossbar and the outstretched hand of Travis at 80:06.
 
Goalkeeper Alex Qualls made 6 saves for the Wolves, who were outshot by a 26-19 margin.
 
RETURN ENGAGEMENT
The Falcons return to the GNAC championship game for the first time since 2016, making their fifth appearance overall. This is the first year that have hosted the tournament, but their two titles, in 2015 and 2016, were won at Starfire Stadium in nearby Tukwila, Wash. Both were wins over the Vikings that required a penalty-kick shootout to determine the champion.
 
SPU and Western Washington played twice already this season and the Vikings were victorious in both. WWU won 3-0 on Oct. 24 in Bellingham and 2-0 on Nov. 7 in Seattle.
 
"We've struggled to score against them. The last time we played them, we created some opportunities, but their goalkeeper is fantastic, their back line is fantastic," Busey said. "It's not going to come easy. We're going to have to be sharp in that final third to create anything of consequence."
 
The Falcons will be carrying significant momentum in the final after an impressive three-goal triumph over a Western Oregon team that defeated them by a 2-0 count in Monmouth and took SPU into overtime in a previous Seattle encounter before succumbing 2-1.
 
The four-goal output tied the GNAC Tournament single-game record established in 2015 by WWU.

COACH ARBY BUSEY INTERVIEW
SPU SCORING SUMMARY
Three quality goals came from the run of play Thursday, and even the penalty kick was created by a brilliant buildup.
 
Gellhaus was a handful on the dribble in the first half, playing a part in the first two goals. That's not surprising as she was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year earlier this week.
 
She started the scoring at 23:17 with a well-placed strike into the top-left corner from two yards outside the 18-yard box. Chilczuk received a long pass from Neder up the middle and quickly distributed out to the left side. Gellhaus took two long dribbles before delivering the opening goal, her seventh of the season.
 
Those two teamed up again four minutes later when Chilczuk played Gellhaus into space in the left side of the box. Wolves midfielder Hannah Rispler took Gellhaus down, earning a penalty kick for the hosts.
 
Neder stepped to the 12-yard spot and calmly directed a low shot past the goalkeeper for her sixth score of the season. That was the fourth game-winning goal for the junior forward.
 
"Claire is a dynamic, attacking player for us and she was able to get a goal and assist," Busey described of Neder who was extremely productive in her 27 minutes of action.
 
"We were able to get her a little bit of rest in hopes that she'll be able to roll again on Saturday. But she's been really good for us all season, somebody that we count on to help us create attacking opportunities and finish herself. Tonight was no different, she was good."
 
After the impactful, late first-half score by Rietz, SPU tacked on a fourth goal at 56:25 off the foot of Chilczuk. Sierra Smith made a dribbling run down the right flank, beating defenders before sliding a low pass across the box. Megan Moore let the ball roll through her legs, creating space for an open 10-yard finish for Chilczuk.

The goal was the team-leading ninth for Chilzczuk and her 20th career score.

NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
GNAC Tournament -- Semifinal
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 4, Western Oregon 1
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Chloe Gellhaus (Sophia Chilczuk, Claire Neder), 23:17; 2, SPU, Neder (penalty kick), 27:22; 3, SPU, Makena Rietz (unassisted), 44:25; 4, SPU, Chilczuk (Sierra Smith), 56:25; 5, WOU, Malia Napoleon (Isabelle Creighton), 80:06.
 
                       1   2   --  TOTAL
Western Oregon         0   1   --    1
Seattle Pacific        2   2   --    4
 
Shots – WOU 19, SPU 26.
Shots on Goal – WOU 10, SPU 1.
Saves – WOU 6 (Alex Qualls), SPU 0 (Riley Travis).
Corner Kicks – WOU 6, SPU 3.
Fouls – WOU 12, SPU 11.
Offsides – WOU 1, SPU 1.
 
Records
Western Oregon 10-6-3
Seattle Pacific 12-7-0
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
GNAC Tournament -- Championship Game
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Nov. 16, 1:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.