SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team hosted Northwest Nazarene on Thursday evening when the Falcons rode tow first half goals from Kayla Wallace and Kathryn Nyone to a 2-1 victory over the Nighthawks.
The Falcons withstood an early flurry from the Nighthawks in Saturday's match. NNU sent seven shots toward SPU in the first 18 minutes. Landry Schoennauer started in goal for the second consecutive game. She came up with three critical saves during that stretch.
"It took us a little while to grow into that game against a good opponent,' head coach Arby Busey said. "They were a team that was fresh and excited to play. They showed that energy in the first few minutes. We understood we'd need to fend off a rush from them, and we did that."
SPU settled into the match and went on the attack. Wallace, Nyone, and Mia Mahaffey all put shots on goal during the middle of the first half. Mahhafey's 28th-minute shot was blocked and rolled in front of Wallace. Wallace smashed it into the back of the net from close range to put the Falcons up 1-0.
The Falcons added on to their lead in the 36th minute. Lauren Snedeker won the ball and sent it downfield to Nyone. Nyone beat her defender one-on-one and punched the ball past the keeper from 17 yards out and into the net. It was Nyone's second goal of the season and put the Falcons up 2-0.
"It starts and ends with Kathryn in a lot of ways tonight with the performance she had," Busey added. "It was great to get it in this moment because it was something we needed. That spark she provided lit the whole thing up tonight and got everyone going. She elevated everyone's play, and it's amazing for the individual and group to use that as a catalyst."
The Nighthawks got back into the match in the 66th minute. Nicole Lewis set up Madison Grande for a scoring opportunity. Grande launched a 20-yard rocket and scored. Still, the Falcons owned a 2-1 lead.
Mackenzie Aiken, Kailalani Ahuna, Marissa Bankey, and the rest of the defense stood firm against the Nighthawks. They held the visitors to five shots on goal.
"It was a good game for us," Busey said. "It's great to have to see it out and have some tension in the end. We had to dig and claw and fight because they brought it to the end. It took everything we had tonight to get out of here with a win."
The Falcons look forward to their most crucial match of the season next Thursday, Nov. 2. The Falcons and Vikings kickoff at 7 p.m. in a match that puts the conference's top two teams against one another.
