SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team played its final regular season home match on Thursday night against Western Washington. An early goal from Ashlyn Valdovinos with a staunch defensive effort led to the Falcons and Vikings drawing 1-1.
"Both teams got after it tonight," head coach Arby Busey said. "I loved how hard we competed tonight. We got off to a great start which created momentum for us. Unfortunately, we conceded early in the second half, and as the game wore on Western found more confidence and put us under a lot of pressure. We stuck together and withstood a lot. It takes a great deal of concentration against these types of opponents, they are capable of taking advantage of any mistakes. When mistakes happened, we did an amazing job of covering for each other's backs."
It didn't take long for the Falcons to get on the scoreboard in Thursday's match against the Vikings. Kayla Wallace attacked the WWU keeper before dumping the ball to Valdovinos. Valdovinos sent one on goal from 2 yards out that snuck past the keeper and into the net. It was her third goal of the season and gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead in the second minute.
Taylor Krueger tried her best to add to the SPU lead, shooting four times before the 24th minute. Taylor Heit nearly doubled the SPU lead in the 36th minute, but the shot was saved. SPU went into halftime up 1-0.
The Vikings applied pressure in the second half. They shot nine times in the final 45 minutes to just one from SPU. They broke through early in the second half when Emily Holdridge scored from 8 yards out in the 49th minute.
Kailalani Ahuna, Nathryn Nyone, and Landrey McCann played well along SPU's backline. Still, Merceds Cullen faced 22 shots, with seven being on frame. Cullen kept the Falcons in the match all night, making five saves.
The Falcons put a stop to an eight-match win streak from the Vikings. Both teams have qualified for next week's Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament in Seattle and could meet again at Interbay Soccer Stadium.
The Falcons hit the road for their final regular season match of the 2024 season. They'll head north to Simon Fraser for a 5 p.m. match at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby B.C.
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