GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team's season ended on Thursday afternoon in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, as a furious second-half comeback effort fell short against Point Loma 2-0.
"Today's game was a tough one, didn't get off to start we had hoped to, and had to fight our way back into it," head coach Arby Busey said. "But this group did exactly that, fought their way back into it. We got better and better as the game went on, and our belief grew."
The Falcons were chasing a goal early when the Sea Lions scored first. PLNU's Nicki Friedman scored in the fifth minute off an assist from Bethany Arabe. The Sea Lions stayed offensive in the first half. They gained a 12-3 advantage in shots in the first 45 minutes.
Mercedes Cullen was spectacular for the Falcons throughout the first half and beyond. She finished the day with seven saves, six coming in the first half.
The Falcons turned up the pressure in the second half. In the 55th minute, Marissa Bankey ripped a shot toward the bottom right corner that was saved by PLNU's Julia Pinnell.
Shortly after, Moira MacKay sent one in that missed just right of the goal. MacKay followed with four more shots for the Falcons. Unfortunately, none found the back of the net.
The Falcons had three more shots in the final 10 minutes of the match. Taylor Krueger and Jacqueline Blakley had close shots that didn't fall in the 83rd and 87th minutes respectively.
The Sea Lions sealed it in the 87th minute. Alana Diaz scored on a cross from Nikki Ross to put PLNU up 2-0.
Mia Mahaffey sent a shot on a goal in the 88th minute of the match that was saved. SPU couldn't get any more attempts off as their season came to a close.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't find a way through, we had some very close chances and we all felt a goal was coming," Busey added. "But, credit Pt Loma for keeping us off the scoreboard. It hurts today, and we all had hoped to advance to play against Saturday. But I think deep down we all recognize how much we accomplished this fall."
The Falcons closed the book on a fabulous 2023 season. A season that features a 13-4-5 overall record, and an undefeated 9-0-5 record in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
SPU captured its 10th GNAC women's soccer title with consistent quality throughout 2023. They closed out the regular season leading the conference with 95 points, 36 goals, 1.89 goals per game, and 23 assists.
The Falcons earned recognition for their efforts in the classroom and on the field by both the conference and west region. SPU women's soccer collected 36 awards in 2023 (20 academic, 16 athletic).
Awards included Arby Busey's GNAC Coach of the Year, Sophie Beadle's GNAC Player of the Year and First Team All-Region Recognition, Krueger's GNAC Newcomer of the Year, and many more. 15 Falcons earned GNAC All-Academic honors, while five more were named Academic All-District.
"It was such a fun and amazing season," Busey said. "This group exuded joy every day, and had such a genuine love for each other, it's sad to see that end. But this team will be remembered as one of the great ones. They had an unbelievable run during conference play and kept finding ways to get results. We were very blessed to have enjoyed such a wonderful journey together this fall."
