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• VIDEO: Chloe  Gellhaus goal
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SEATTLE – Familiar foes fashioned another memorable matchup to add to their lengthy list of championship-game clashes.
 
Karli White scored with just over nine minutes left to play Saturday afternoon, helping seventh-ranked Western Washington rally for a 2-1 win over Seattle Pacific in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer final at Interbay Stadium.
 
"It was the two heavyweights in this league going back-and-forth," said SPU coach Arby Busey. "Unfortunately, they got the break and we weren't able to find one in the second half so we walked away with second place."
 
The top-seeded Vikings (18-2-0) won their record fifth GNAC Tournament, reclaiming the crown they surrendered in overtime last year at Concordia-Portland. WWU captured four of the last five league playoff championships.
 
Gellhaus Gets Another Goal
It wasn't easy, as SPU struck first on a 19th-minute goal by Chloe Gellhaus, the GNAC Freshman of the Year.
 
Gellhaus collected the ball in the left side of the box off a WWU defender and lined a 14-yard lazer into the right-side netting at 18:40. That snapped a long scoreless drought in the series as SPU breached the Vikings goal for the first time in 581-minutes, 51-seconds dating to the 2016 GNAC championship game.

CHLOE GELLHAUS GOAL
"It came in a moment that was good for us. We were under it a little bit at the very beginning of the game and it was a good response from our team to weather that storm a little bit and claw our way back into that game and get forward," said SPU coach Arby Busey. "Chloe is certainly somebody that has come up time-and-time again for us in big moments and it was no different today.
 
"To have a freshman step up in that situation in a game of this magnitude is phenomenal. She does a good job of picking her spot and just putting it past the goalkeeper."
 
Gellhaus registered her second score of the tournament, including the opening salvo in Thursday's semifinal.
 
The Equalizer
Western equalized seven minutes later on a headed put-back by Jordyn Bartelson.
 
Makenzie Burks served a corner kick from the right side that was cleared out of box to Peyton Chick who settled the ball before firing a 27-yard shot off the crossbar. The rebound bounced to the ground and into the air again where Bartelson raced to head it in from four yards. The goal, at 25:59, snuck past goalkeeper Riley Travis near the right post.
 
The game remained level, at 1-1, for the next 65 minutes before White got the game-winner in the 81st minute. Like the first WWU goal, the go-ahead strike came from a rebound.
 
The Game-Winner
Makenzie Burks fired a high shot from the left side of the box that goalkeeper Riley Travis managed to knock down with an airborne dive. White was there for a quick putback from the top of the 6-yard box for the decisive tally at 80:56.
 
"They're not the champions by accident. They do those things time-and-time again," Busey said of the put-back goals. "From the outside it can look like it's fortune or luck, but they create those situations and they finish those situations frequently. They do a good job of getting numbers in and around the box so any little bobble or bounce, they've got bodies close to it.
 
"We did a really good job today managing most of those situations and keeping them at bay, but unfortunately they found another one in the second half and tucked it away. She's a great player and worked her socks off all game."
 
A transfer from Seattle University in her third season at Western, White was named the GNAC Tournament MVP. Earlier this week, she received the conference Player of the Year award.
 
White picked up her sixth goal of the season on Saturday after netting her fifth in Thursday's semifinal. She leads the league with eight assists.
 
The Vikings forward was active all game. She nearly found the goal exactly four minutes in, while the game was still scoreless.

 

Travis had to rush out to the top of the box to clear the ball. White reached the clearance and lofted a high shot toward the SPU goal that was manned only be a defender on the goal line. The 21-yard shot bounded off the crossbar.
 
Less than four minutes before she did score, White put the Falcons in jeopardy. She received the ball at the left sideline and dribbled toward the top of the box to deliver a high, 23-yard attempt. Travis turned away the chance, managing to rise and tap the ball off the crossbar to preserve the 1-1 tie for a few more minutes.
 
The Falcons first attempt of the game came in the 10th minute on a 35-yarder by Sophia Chilczuk that was easily gathered at the right post by goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx.
 
The was the only save of the game for Dierickx and Travis stopped three shots for SPU.
 
Western finished on top in the shot count at 15-9, and led 5-2 in shots directly on goal.
 
Regular Championship Combatants
The Vikings completed a sweep of three games this season and have won the last 13 meetings versus SPU. They compiled a 17-0-3 record since last losing to the Falcons on Oct. 27, 2012.
 
WWU came out on top in both regular-season encounters, winning 3-0 on Oct. 24 in Bellingham and 2-0 on Nov. 7 in Seattle.
 
Saturday's final featured familiar faces as these same two teams have met in five of the eight championship games since the playoff format was implemented in 2012. SPU defeated the Vikings in 2013 and 2014, while Western got the better of the Falcons in 2015, 2016 and now 2019.
 
SPU had reached this year's GNAC title game after beating Western Oregon, 4-1, on Thursday. The Vikings eliminated Central Washington, 2-1, in the other semifinal.
 
Playoff Picture
Saturday's victory guaranteed Western will participate in the NCAA Division II Tournament after receiving the GNAC's automatic berth.
 
Second-seeded Seattle Pacific (12-8-0) must wait until Monday to discover if an at-large invitation to next week's playoffs is in the offing.
 
The Falcons will discover their NCAA playoff fate on Monday when the 56-team field will be revealed. The women's soccer selection show airs at 3 p.m. Pacific Time online at www.ncaa.com
 
"We've got our fingers crossed and we're praying to get another opportunity because we are peaking at this time. It would be a blessing for us to be able to get to continue," Busey said. "I think we'd be a pretty tough out in the NCAA Tournament if we got the opportunity to continue to play."
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
GNAC Tournament -- Championship Game
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
(#7) Western Washington 2, at Seattle Pacific 1
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Chloe Gellhaus (unassisted), 18:40; 2, WWU, Jordyn Bartelson (Peyton Chick), 25:59; 3, WWU, Karli White (Makenzie Burks), 80:56.
 
                       1   2   --  TOTAL
Western Washington     1   1   --    2
Seattle Pacific        1   0   --    1
 
Shots – WWU 15, SPU 9.
Shots on Goal – WWU 5, SPU 2.
Saves – WWU 1 (Natalie Dierickx), SPU 3 (Riley Travis).
Corner Kicks – WWU 5, SPU 2.
Fouls – WWU 11, SPU 7.
Offsides – WWU 1, SPU 1.
 
Records
Western Washington 18-2-0
Seattle Pacific 12-8-0
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Action
NCAA Division II Tournament Selection Show
Monday, Nov. 18, 3:00 p.m. PDT
www.NCAA.com