SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team played host to No. 7 Western Washington on Thursday evening as the Falcons chased early goals from the Vikings and couldn't close the gap as they fell to the visitors 3-0.
"We ran into a buzzsaw tonight," head coach Arby Busey said. "It's a very good team that we played and we'll be better for having played that game and seeing what they look like. It doesn't feel that way right now, and ultimately there's not much we can do to change the result from tonight. We have plenty we can change moving forward. We have to get our wounds healed up from this one, but I think this group has been resilient all year long, and I think they'll be able to make this a blip in the radar."
The Vikings got on the board in the 10th minute. Claire Potter took advantage of a ball bouncing near the box and flushed it through the right side. The goal put her team up 1-0. Later, Minji Rauch made good on a pass from Estera Levinte with a three-yard tap-in during the 30th minute. The Falcons trailed 2-0 at halftime.
The Vikings added on in the 67th minute. Livente ripped a shot from 26-yards out that sailed just over the reach of Mercedes Cullen. Jayden Nguyen earned the assist.
Cullen had 19 shots sent her way during the match. She was able to save seven of them. The mark is one shy of her season-high eight saves that came during the first meeting between the Falcons and the Vikings.
The Falcons tried to work their way back into the match. They sent seven shots at the Vikings, with two coming on goal. Sophie Beadle and Kathryn Nyone had shots saved by the keeper.
"We came out in the second half and pushed hard," Busey added. "They didn't crack and showed a ton of character. We had some bits and pieces that were things we talked about of what we wanted to get out of this game. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the ball in the net to change the dynamics of the game. I loved the way our team fought and stayed committed to it until the whistle blew. That's what gives us hope that we'll be able to rebound from this. We continued to stand proud and fight, and that quality and that character will be useful moving forward."
The Falcons are back in action on Saturday when they host Simon Fraser. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
