BILLINGS, Mont. – The Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 2-1 victory over host Montana State University Billings on Thursday, powered by goals from
Maya Parman and
Taylor Krueger.
Thursday's meeting between the Falcons and Yellowjackets pitted the top-scoring GNAC teams against each other. SPU and MSUB entered the match with 11 goals, tied for the most in the GNAC. The Falcons scored a goal in each half and withstood a late charge from the Yellowjackets to secure a 1-0 start to conference play.
"Gritty performance today," head coach
Arby Busey said. "We were forced to dig deep. But it is an amazing job by our women to get the job done today. We didn't create as many chances as we'd hoped to but made the most of the ones we had. Then, we held on for our lives at the finish. Hard fought to win, these games help expedite growth."
Maya Parman and
Taylor Krueger supplied the offense for the Falcons on Thursday. Parman broke the scoreless tie in the 26th minute. She snuck a shot into the lower right corner to put the Falcons up 1-0.
Krueger scored in the 63rd minute of the match.
Lauren Snedeker set it up with an assist on Krueger's goal. The goal was the second of the season for Krueger, who is halfway to her 2023 total of four goals.
Mercedes Cullen and Landrey Schoennauer split time in goal for the Falcons. Cullen made three saves in her 45 minutes between the posts. Schopenhauer played the second half and made four saves.
The Falcons face another tough test on Saturday when they meet Western Washington at 7 p.m. on Harington Field in Bellingham, Wash.
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