SEATTLE – Shots went barely high. Barely wide. Hit the crossbar and the goalpost. Went into the waiting arms or off the sliding feet of a brilliant performance by the Western Oregon goalkeeper.
 
Finally, with the score deadlocked and the clock winding down, two of them finally went in for Seattle Pacific – and Claire Neder factored into both.
 
 

Neder's shot off the right post rebounded right out to Abbie Anderson for the go-ahead goal with 6:16 left. Then, she scored the clincher herself at the 2:58 mark to give No. 4-ranked Seattle Pacific a 3-1 victory against WOU in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer match on Senior Day Saturday at Interbay Stadium.
 
The result gave the Falcons (13-1-1, 10-1-1 – 31 points GNAC) a measure of redemption for their 1-0 overtime loss at WOU on Sept. 30 when the Wolves scored midway through the first 10-minute sudden-death period. That remains the only loss in the past two seasons for Seattle Pacific, which is 21-1-2 during that span.
 
It also kept the Falcons atop the conference standings, four points ahead of Western Washington with two games remaining. The Vikings (9-3-0—27 points GNAC) stayed in title contention with a 6-0 rout at Central on Saturday. Both SPU and WWU already have clinched a spot in the conference tournament, set for Nov. 11 and 13 at Harrington Field in Bellingham.
 
Seattle Pacific thoroughly dominated the game, outshooting Western Oregon by a 37-4 count, including 26-2 in the second half.
 
But after clinging to a 1-0 on Chloe Gellhaus' goal midway through the first half, the Falcons found themselves in a 1-1 tie when one of those four shots by the Wolves (5-9-2, 4-6-2 GNAC went in for the equalizer with 9:33 remaining.

ABBIE ANDERSON INTERVIEW

SCORING SUMMARY
 

The only goal of the first half came at the 19:12 mark. Senior forward Anderson sent a through ball into the penalty area, and senior forward Sophia Chilczuk took possession on the left side of the penalty area just in front of the 6-yard box. She had a wide-open net and shot it toward the far side, only to see the ball bounce off the right post. The rebound came out to junior midfielder Gellhaus about 3 yards in front, and she parked it into the right side for her fourth goal of the season.
 
Just 89 seconds later, Seattle Pacific, which outshot WOU by an 11-2 margin through the first 45 minutes, had a chance for a second goal. Gellhaus was tripped up in the box by Western Oregon's Hannah Rispler, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Senior defender Ava Giovanola took the spot kick, sending it toward the right side, but Wolves goalkeeper Olivia Holdenried dove the same direction and made the save.
 
Alyssa Talkington scored the equalizer for WOU. Erika Moreno sent a through ball into the right side of the box, and it found Talkington about 5 yards in front of the net. In a goalmouth scramble, she poked it high into the right side, out of the reach SPU goalkeeper Riley Travis.
 
The tie didn't last long. Neder nearly broke it herself with a shot from the top left corner of the box that was headed toward the far side, only to see it clang off the post. It came out to Anderson, stationed inside the 6, about 4 yards in front, and she sent across the goalmouth into the back left corner at the 83:44 mark – her first of the season and second of her career.
 
"Storybook there. The kid shows up every day, works her socks off and is as tenacious as they come," SPU coach Arby Busey said of Anderson's game-winning strike. "There couldn't have been a better way to have that game play itself out. I'm super excited for her and her teammates and her fellow seniors for what they got accomplished today."
 
Neder then sealed it with 2:58 remaining. Playing just inside the box on the left-wing side, she sent a shallow shot goalward that eluded the reach of Holdenried and flew into the right side for her third of the year.
 
"She's special. Claire is so creative and has the ability to unlock defenses," said Busey. "She was playing in a phonebooth in the corner and somehow squeezed out between two defenders to score an unbelievable to kind of put icing on the cake for us.
 
"To have it be two seniors with big goals on our Senior Day, it couldn't have been better for all of us today in terms of our program and that class and our team this year. It was great."
 
Seattle Pacific might have put the game away much earlier if not for the work of Holdenried, who finished with nine saves. Along with the penalty kick stop in the first half, one of those saves came with 24:05 left when she leaped to deflect a rising shot by Taylor Menkens just over the crossbar. Another came with 16:15 remaining, a sliding kick save on a breakaway shot by sophomore forward Jacqueline Blakeley.

SPU SENIOR DAY CEREMONY

THROW-INS
• The Falcons extended their unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1).

• The goal by Western Oregon ended SPU's shutout streak at 416 minutes, 7 seconds. The last team to score on the Falcons was Montana State Billings in the 25th minute of a 1-1 tie at MSUB on Oct. 16.

• Ava Giovanola's PK attempt was just the second all season for the Falcons. The only other one was by Claire Neder, which she converted in a 7-0 victory at Central Washington on Oct. 14.

• Sophia Chilczuk, who was credited with the assist on Gellhaus' goal, now has a conference-leading 11 for the season.
 
NEXT GAME
The Falcons wrap up the regular season with two contests this coming week. The home finale is on Thursday, Nov. 4, against Central Washington at 4:30 p.m. Then comes a trip to Northwest Nazarene next Saturday, Nov. 6, kicking off at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at (#4) Seattle Pacific 3, Western Oregon 1
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Chloe Gellhaus (Sophia Chilczuk), 19:12; 2, WOU, Alyssa Talkington (Erika Moreno), 80:27; 3, SPU, Abbie Anderson (Claire Neder), 83:44; 4, SPU, Neder (unassisted), 87:02.
 
                                         1         2        TOTAL
Western Oregon     0    1    - 1
Seattle Pacific    1    2    - 3
 
Shots – WOU 4, SPU 37.
Shots on Goal – WOU 2, SPU 13.
Saves – WOU 10 (Olivia Holdenried), SPU 1 (Riley Travis).
Corner Kicks – WOU 0, SPU 9.
Fouls – WOU 19, SPU 10.
Offsides – WOU 0, SPU 1.
 
Records
Western Oregon 5-9-2, 4-6-2 GNAC.
Seattle Pacific 13-1-1, 10-1-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
Central Washington at (#4) Seattle Pacific
Thursday, November 4, 4:30 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.