DALLAS, Texas – Fourth-ranked Seattle Pacific surrendered a goal just over six minutes after halftime Saturday and couldn't respond with one of its own despite a late barrage of shots, getting eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II women's soccer tournament with a 1-0 loss to No. 5 Dallas Baptist at Patriot Field.
 
DBU's Delaney Schmidt netted her 15th goal of the season and none was bigger than her header at 51:12. Melanie Castelan spun and fed Patriots teammate Summerlyn Heller on the left flank. Heller first-timed a left-footed cross from just outside the box that Schmidt nodded to the ground and into the goal from five yards out.
 
"It was a hard-fought game and what you expect at this level in this tournament," said Coach Arby Busey, whose Falcons made their fourth playoff appearance in his seven seasons. "They were really hard to play against. We gave it a run there at the end and had some opportunities.
 
"I thought we were going to snatch one and see if we couldn't extend the game a little bit. But they showed a lot of character and a lot of grit in seeing that thing out at 1-0. Our hats are off to them, they were a worthy opponent today and got the best of us."
 
The Falcons (19-2-1) finished one game shy of the program's fourth Final Four appearance, losing for just the second time this season. Their first setback was also a 1-0 result, on September 30 at Western Oregon, which was the only other opponent to shut them out.
 
Since that last loss 66 days earlier, the SPU women had put together a pair of impressive streaks that were snapped Saturday. Their winning streak was halted at 10 games and their undefeated stretch stopped at 15.
 
The Falcons reached the Elite Eight with a 2-1 victory over Western Washington in Thursday's West Region championship game.

RILEY TRAVIS SAVE

DBU (20-3-0) becomes the first team from the Lone Star Conference to advance to the Final Four. The South Central Region champion Patriots meet the winner of Sunday's clash between Lenoir-Rhyne and Florida Tech.
 
The national semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 9 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the championship game will be played on Dec. 11.
 
FRENETIC FIRST HALF
The opening 45 minutes featured end-to-end action, but didn't produce a goal.
 
It took just 27 seconds for SPU to generate a quality chance. Sophie Beadle dribbled down the right flank and served a low cross to the center of the box for Claire Neder, who delivered a first-timer that required a diving save by the goalkeeper to the left side of the goal.
 
That tested Breanna Bowen, making her second start between the posts for the Patriots. The novice netminder, with two NCAA playoff games and two clean sheets, was credited with four saves Saturday.
 
The Patriots parlayed their first foray into a dangerous opportunity as well, before one minute had expired. A close-range shot by Ashley Merrill carried just wide of the right post.
 
The teams continued to race back-and-forth without putting any shots on frame until Chloe Gellhaus launched the game's second on-target attempt with 14:36 left in the period. Her 27-yard free kick went directly at the goalkeeper for an easy catch.
 
Two minutes later, Schmidt booted a quick, 12-yard attempt at goal that was grabbed by SPU goalkeeper Riley Travis on the right side of her line.
 
Jacqueline Blakeley notched the final try of the half, giving the Falcons a 7-3 first-half shot advantage. Her blast from distance sailed wide to the right.
 
SCHMIDT STRIKES AGAIN
The Patriots got the game's lone goal on the first shot by either team after halftime. They took 32 minutes to put their only first-half shot on frame. Just 6:12 elapsed before they did damage in the second period.
 
Schmidt was the hero again. Her 81st-minute goal on Thursday sent DBU into the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over UC Colorado Springs. Saturday's strike was her fifth game-winning tally.
 
DELANEY SCHMIDT GOAL

Travis prevented the Falcons deficit from doubling with a stellar save less than two minutes after the goal. A long free kick toward the goalmouth was flicked by Schmidt, but the SPU goalkeeper dynamically dove to her left to push the ball past the right post for a corner kick.
 
Travis finished with two saves as the Patriots sent just three shots directly on goal.
 
Seattle Pacific, which was held without a second-half attempt until the 73rd minute, assaulted the DBU goal with seven shots over the final 18 minutes.
 
The one SPU shot that found the back of the net didn't count. Beadle headed a right-side cross inside the left post with 7:24 remaining, but was flagged for offside and the goal disallowed.
 
The best opportunity for an equalizer came off the foot of Gellhaus, who quickly struck a liner from the center of the box that was smothered by Bowen.
 
With 3:24 to play, GNAC Player of the Year Makena Rietz dealt a right-footed shot from 13 yards that the DBU goalkeeper caught before falling to the ground to secure the ball.
 
The Falcons final hope came from Neder, whose shot with 89 seconds remaining traveled wide of the right post.
 
SPU lost despite doubling the Patriots shot total, 14-7.
 
"They found the net first and that's something we're all trying to do. That changes the game," Busey said. "Their focus becomes, 'Yes if another opportunity presents itself, we'll take it and go 2-0, but we also need to manage the other side of the game.' They did a really good job of that, kept us at bay.
 
"We did get some pretty good opportunities late in the game and the goalkeeper rose to the challenge and made a few good saves. We could have done better with some of the opportunities that we created, but it's the game. Sometimes it just comes down to a moment here or there. They capitalized once and we couldn't find the back of the net today."
 
Three previous Falcons teams participated in the Final Four. They advanced to the 2005 NCAA title game, lost in the 2007 national semifinals and won the 2008 national championship with a 1-0 double-overtime victory over West Florida on a 108th-minute golden goal by Janae Godoy.
 
 

FLYING THE COOP
Saturday marked the final game of the SPU team in its current configuration. A large cadre of nine seniors, two of them fifth-year players, played their final game in a Falcons uniform.
 
That group includes six starters from Saturday's game: Sophia Chilczuk, Ava Giovanola, Madison Ibale, Taylor Menkens, Claire Neder and Riley Travis. A seventh, Samea Aljundi, came off the bench to play 63 minutes on defense. Mariah Alexander and Abbie Anderson did not play, but were regular contributors throughout the season.
 
After the game, Busey put their contributions to the program in perspective.
 
"Everybody's intention in coming back for a fifth year, and the seniors, is to try to come back and do something special. And while it finishes earlier than we wanted, earlier than we had all hoped, we were successful in doing something really special this year. They leave a legacy here that has created a ton of momentum.
 
"I couldn't be more excited about where the program is, couldn't be more disappointed about the people, the character, the quality human beings that we lose. But we lose them in our program, we still have them in our hearts, we still have access to them. The relationships we've created, those will still be there and those things last forever. That's the true reward of the journey that we've taken this year."

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

COLLEGE WOMEN'S SOCCER
NCAA Division II Tournament -- Quarterfinal
Saturday, December 4, 2021
Patriot Field / Dallas, Texas
 
(#5) Dallas Baptist 1, (#4) Seattle Pacific 0
 
Scoring – 1, DBU, Delaney Schmidt (Summerlyn Heller, Melanie Castelan), 51:12.
 
                       1   2   TOTAL
Seattle Pacific        0   0  -  0
Dallas Baptist         0   1  -  1
 
Shots – SPU 14, DBU 7
Shots on Goal – SPU 4, DBU 3.
Saves –SPU 2 (Riley Travis), DBU 4 (Breanna Bowen).
Corner Kicks – SPU 8, DBU 6.
Fouls – SPU 14, DBU 5.
Offsides – SPU 1, DBU 0.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 19-2-1
Dallas Baptist 20-3-0