BELLINGHAM, Wash. –
Mercedes Cullen put herself in the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer program's record books against Western Washington on Saturday night. However, a 90th-minute equalizer sent the Falcons and Vikings home with a 1-1 tie.
Mercedes Cullen was busy in the first half. The Vikings were relentless offensively, sending 17 shots, with seven being on goal. Cullen's first-half performance was historic. Her seven saves tied the program record set by Jennifer Hull against Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2001.
Cullen stayed active in the second half. The Vikings continued to attack with 13 shots with seven more shots on goal. Cullen tied the single-game save record with 13 saves. Molly Stinson made 13 saves on Oct. 29, 2016, against Concordia Portland.
"Mercedes was brilliant," head coach
Arby Busey said. "She came up huge quite a few times for us tonight. Gutty performance from our group. We've been under the weather this week and logged a ton of travel miles. It hurts to give up a goal so late, but we showed how big our hearts are tonight."
Taylor Krueger put the Falcons on the board in the 21st minute. Krueger gathered the ball near midfield and took it down the middle of the field, dribbling through multiple defenders. She used the right foot to get it past the keeper. Krueger's goal gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
The Vikings stayed constant with their offensive attack. They broke through in the 90th minute. Sophie Bearden Croft scored a gut-wrenching equalizer for the Vikings. SPU could not answer in the final 35 seconds, and the match ended in a tie.
SPU produced eight shots against the Vikings, five of which were on goal.
Lauren Snedeker,
Kayla Wallace, and
Jen Merri all had shots on frame against the Vikings. The Falcons had four corner kicks in the match.
The Falcons and the Vikings entered the season as the favorites in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Both teams received three first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll, with the Vikings taking the top spot by four points over the Falcons. SPU and VWU proved there is not much separation between the two teams with the ninth tie in series history on Saturday. They'll meet again on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in Seattle.
The Falcons are back at Interbay Soccer Stadium on Thursday, Oct.3, when they host Northwest Nazarene at 4 p.m.
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