SEATTLE – Claire Neder tallied Seattle Pacific's first two goals less than 90 seconds apart Friday, igniting a 5-0 women's soccer victory over Western Oregon at Interbay Stadium that also featured a pair of scores by Sophia Chilczuk.
 
The Falcons (4-0) remained undefeated and kept their perfect defensive ledger intact. They have not surrendered a goal this season, totaling 360 scoreless minutes.
 
Backup goalkeeper Kaitlynn Knocke preserved the clean sheet with a brilliant 85th-minute save, just 11 minutes after entering the game in place of starter Riley Travis. Knocke leaped high to her left to snag a shot by WOU's Oregon Nowatzke that appeared headed for the upper right corner.
 
The offense produced its second straight five-goal output after starting the season with consecutive four-goal performances. SPU has outscored opponents by a combined 18-0 tally this year.
 
"Western Oregon poses some different challenges than the teams we have played so far this season," said SPU coach Arby Busey. "Our girls did a really good job of rising to the challenges that were presented to us. We got some good goals, defended well, were resolute in the back again and kept a clean sheet."
 
CLAIRE NEDER INTERVIEW

Neder began Friday's goal explosion at 8:12, exchanging a give-and-go with Chilczuk before driving a 15-yard shot across the goal and inside the right post.
 
The senior struck again just 1-minute, 26 seconds later, this time following up a deflected attempt by midfield mate Chloe Gellhaus. Neder collected the carom from a goalkeeper save and rapidly re-directed the ball into the Wolves goal from seven yards out at 9:38.
 
"It's really good to see Claire get on the board. She hasn't been scoring goals like some of the other players on that front line, but she has been doing every bit as much work, if not more," Busey exclaimed. "It's nice for her to be rewarded and have her name be on the scoresheet because she does so much for us attacking-wise. She has such a great creative mind, and the technical ability to execute what's going on in her mind."
 
At 26:26, Chilczuk increased the lead to 3-0. She rebounded a shot by Lauren Forster that was denied by the goalkeeper and quickly tucked it eight yards into the right side of the goal.
 
SOPHIA CHILCZUK 1ST GOAL

The Falcons forged a fourth first-half score off the foot of Makena Rietz. She pounced on a loose ball and calmly rolled it into the right side of the goal at 41:41, sneaking a shot just under diving goalkeeper Emily Wheeler.
 
SPU's 4-0 halftime margin came on the strength of a 14-2 shot disparity during the opening 45 minutes. A 13-3 margin after intermission gave the Falcons a 27-5 advantage for the game.
 
Wheeler was credited with seven saves for the Wolves (1-4-0), several of them of the spectacular variety.
 
 

Travis and Knocke each stopped one shot to combine for the shared shutout.
 
Chilczuk netted her team-leading sixth goal of the season 20 minutes into the second half, at 65:14, to complete the scoring. Sophie Beadle earned the assist with a cross from the right flank that Chilczuk controlled in the center of the box before sending a 12-yard drive off the left post and into the goal.
 
A senior forward, Chilczuk has scored exactly two goals in each of the three games in which she participated this season. She has compiled 26 career scores and Friday marked her eighth multi-goal game.
 
"She's just been in a really good place so far. At some point logic says that it will dry up, but I don't know when that will be," Busey said of Chilczuk's current scoring streak. "The nice thing is we have a great supporting cast around Sophia. She's been amazing and was really good again today in terms of capitalizing on some of the sequences that we put together."
 
Neder now has 10 career goals and Friday's brace was the first time she struck more than once in a game.
 
The same two teams meet again Saturday afternoon (April 17). Kick-off is 3 p.m. at Interbay Stadium for the SPU-WOU rematch.
 
"It's going to be an interesting one. We turned around and played back-to-back days earlier this winter in exhibition games, but not the same opponent. That's going to be something that's new to us," Busey explained." These are two teams that are full of competitive people competing hard until all the way until the end. They will challenge us and we will have to turn around and do the same thing again tomorrow.
 
"It's going to be about physically, which group can do the best trying to restore all that we put into the game today. We were able to go a little bit deeper into our bench today and that helps out utilizing all those bodies. Hopefully we have enough left in the tank tomorrow to rise up again for what will be a stiff challenge."
 
Spectators are not allowed to attend Falcons home games this season, but fans can watch the action live online at the SPU sports YouTube page -- https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
 
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Friday, April 16, 2021
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 5, Western Oregon 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Claire Neder (Sophia Chilczuk), 8:12; 2, SPU, Neder (Chloe Gellhaus), 9:38; 3, SPU, Chilczuk (Lauren Forster), 26:26; 4, SPU, Makena Rietz (unassisted), 41:41; 5, SPU, Chilczuk (Sophie Beadle), 65:14.
 
                       1   2  --  TOTAL
Western Oregon         0   0  --    0
Seattle Pacific        4   1  --    5
 
Shots – WOU 5, SPU 27.
Shots on Goal – WOU 2, SPU 12.
Saves – WOU 7 (Emily Wheeler), SPU 2 (Riley Travis 1, Kaitlynn Knocke 1).
Corner Kicks – WOU 4, SPU 3.
Fouls – WOU 10, SPU 6.
Offsides – WOU 0, SPU 3.
 
Records
Western Oregon 1-4-0
Seattle Pacific 4-0-0
 
Next SPU Women's Soccer Game
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, April 17, 3:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.