PORTLAND, Ore. – After traveling to and beating second-ranked Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference team of the week.

"Our team had a great week," head coach Arby Busey said. "The whole group prepared together for the opportunity we had on Saturday night, and it was great to see all of them be rewarded for the hard work they put in all week. We were blessed to be part of an amazing college soccer game on Saturday night, and very happy to have gotten a result against a high-quality opponent." 

The Falcons traveled to Golden, Colo. to take on #2 Colorado School of Mines last Saturday. SPU answered their toughest challenge of the young 2023 season with a 2-1 victory over the Orediggers. 

SPU trailed 1-0 before Taylor Krueger leveled the match in the 36th minute. The goal was the first of her career. In the second half, Kruger created an opportunity for Andie Buckley to score what proved to be the game-winner. Like Krueger, Buckley's goal was the first of her career. At the final whistle, Krueger had a part in each goal of a 2-1 victory over the second-ranked team in the country.

The Falcons got everything they could have hoped for out of their defense on Saturday. Kathryn Nyone, Landrey McCann, and Mackenzie Aiken stood firm in front of Cullen. Saturday was Cullen's first start in goal for the Falcons of 2023.

Cullen was superb for SPU. She played the full 90 minutes in goal, faced 17 shots, and made seven saves throughout the game. Cullen touted a .875 save percentage against Mines.

Krueger and Cullen swept the GNAC Weekly Awards. Krueger was named Offensive Player of the Week while Cullen brought home the defensive honors. 

The Falcons open GNAC play this weekend at home. It starts on Thursday at 2 p.m. when the SPU hosts MSU Billings. On Saturday, the Falcons welcome the reigning national champions in Western Washington at 5 p.m.