SEATTLE – Goalkeeper Riley Travis stopped a penalty kick 11 seconds into overtime and Claire Neder scored a golden goal less than five minutes later for 25th-ranked Seattle Pacific, which defeated No. 6 Western Washington 1-0 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer clash at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (8-1-0) improved to 5-1-0 in league play to draw even with Western atop the GNAC standings. The Vikings (8-1-2) tasted defeat for the first time this season and saw their five-game winning streak snapped.
 
SPU won the last two encounters versus Western, including a 4-1 home win five months ago, on May 12. That halted the Falcons' 21-game winless streak in the series that dated back to 2012.
 
The teams battled through 90 scoreless minutes of regulation Saturday. The game nearly came to an end early in overtime as after Dayana Diaz was fouled in the box by SPU defender Toni Miranda.
 
Darby Doyle stepped to the 12-yard spot for WWU and directed her penalty kick low toward the right post. Travis dove and, with an outstretched arm, managed to get a hand to the ball and push it away from danger to keep the game going.

RILEY TRAVIS PENALTY KICK SAVE

"It's unbelievable what goalkeepers have to go through. I don't mean to be insulting, but they stand around a lot of the game and then we ask them to make probably the biggest play, to be good in the biggest five-second span of the game," said SPU coach Arby Busey. "They don't get to make a ton of plays to find a rhythm, it's just all of a sudden here's a moment, you've got to be great.
 
"Riley was phenomenal, she took a goal away from our opponent. It was a huge save for us that tipped momentum our way and then we went forward and found a game-winner."
 
Travis made a second save during the extra session, stopping an attempt by Jenna Killman in the 92nd minute.
 
Neder halted the game at 94:56, scoring from the left side of the box six yards away from the goal. She received a cross from Lauren Forster on the right flank and took one touch before netting the golden goal. Chloe Gellhaus was also credited with an assist for initiating the play with a pass to Forster.
 
"Chloe is an amazing central midfield player with great vision. She took it forward a little bit to engage our opponent's back line before passing," Busey described. "Lauren did a good job getting wide on the right side and served in a great ball to Claire who still had work to do at the back post.
 
"Claire was calm and composed, at least on the outside because I'm sure her heart was racing, to control that ball and fire it past a goalkeeper who made some huge saves. Natalie Dierickx was on her game tonight and it was going to take something relatively extraordinary to get past her. Claire found a spot to beat her and it was a great moment for us."

CLAIRE NEDER GOLDEN GOAL

The decisive strike came on the first goal of the season for Neder and the 18th of her career. The senior forward increased her career total to eight game-winning goals.
 
Travis stopped three shots en route to her fifth shutout and the 17th clean sheet of her career.
 
Dierickx made five saves for the Vikings, who were outshot by a 19-14 margin.
 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
SPU held a slim 6-4 edge in shots during the first half and had the game's only two attempts on frame to that point.
 
Just 3-minutes, 45-seconds into the contest, Falcons forward Sophie Beadle lined a hard shot that forced Dierickx to dive to her left to smother the ball at the right post.
 
Beadle was responsible for the only other first-half shot that required saving. Her low attempt to the center of the Western goal was gathered by the goalkeeper.
 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
The action picked up considerably in the 82nd minute, beginning with a shot by Western's Sophia Butterfield that was blocked by a defender.
 
The Vikings first shot directly on goal didn't come until 6:29 was left until the end of regulation. Butterfield lofted a 30 yard attempt that Riley Travis didn't even need to move to catch the ball.
 
One minute later WWU's Ellie Busik shot from a sharp angle on the left side. The ball was smothered near the left post by Travis, but was wide of goal and not counted as a save.
 
With 3:35 left in regulation Sophia Chilczuk found herself behind the Vikings defense. Her 20-yard try had pace, but was directed right at the goalkeeper.
 
Exactly one minute later, Chilczuk sent a 12-yard volley that forced Dierickx to dive at the left post to make an outstanding save.
 
SPU nearly found a late game-winner when Makena Rietz found space at the top of the 6-yard box, but her shot was deflected and trickled just wide of the left post for a corner kick. On the ensuing set piece, Chilczuk got a shot off from the right side of the box, but it sailed high and the teams headed into overtime.
 
CLAIRE NEDER INTERVIEW

Busey believes the matchups between these two Northwest women's soccer powerhouses makes each of the combatants better.
 
"Both teams have to be at the top of their game. It's a fun game for the players, a fun game for the coaches and we hope it's a fun game for our fans. It means so much to both of the teams that are out there representing their institution and it's such a great atmosphere to play.
 
"It allows us to grow so much as a team. We are significantly better after having played this game, irregardless of the outcome, than we were coming into the game. That's what we appreciate about playing Western Washington, that they ask so much of us and in order to get results against them you've got to be really good."

NEXT GAME
The Seattle Pacific women embark on a four-game road trip, beginning on Thursday at Central Washington. Kick-off is 7:00 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg.
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 9, 2021
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at #25 Seattle Pacific 1, #6 Western Washington 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Claire Neder (PK), 94:56.
 
                          1   2  OT  --  TOTAL
Western Washington        0   0   0  --    0
Seattle Pacific           0   0   0  --    1
 
Shots – WWU 14, SPU 19.
Shots on Goal – WWU 3, SPU 6.
Saves – WWU 5 (Natalie Dierickx), SPU 3 (Riley Travis).
Corner Kicks – WWU 3, SPU 8.
Fouls – WWU 11, SPU 13.
Offsides – WWU 0, SPU 1.
 
Records
Western Washington 8-1-2,  5-1-0 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 8-1-0,  5-1-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
 (#25) Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
Thursday, October 14, 7:00 p.m.
Tomlinson Stadium / Ellensburg, Wash.