SEATTLE – Thursday night's match at Interbay Soccer Stadium put two nationally ranked teams against one another as 18th-ranked Seattle Pacific University hosted #23 Simon Fraser, as the Falcons and the Red Leafs settled for a hard-fought tie.

FROM THE COACH
"It was a great game tonight," head coach Arby Busey said. "Two really good teams playing great soccer. I thought we had some great ideas with the ball, but they had answers for us all night, and we couldn't sneak anything past their goalkeeper. SFU put together some really good sequences and actions that forced us to be at the top of our game defensively, and tonight we were able to resist all of those moments. The score was 0-0, and both teams were up to the task defensively, but there was a lot of attacking from both sides throughout the night. I loved how we played tonight in all 90 minutes we had together."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The SPU defense came up big early, as keeper Mercedes Cullen made three saves in the first 20 minutes of the match.
• In the 27th minute, Taylor Krueger ripped one on goal, but it was saved by Sarah Loewen.
• Ashlyn Valdovinos sent a shot on goal in the 36th minute, but it was saved by Loewen.
• The Falcons and Red Leafs went into halftime tied 0-0.
• Like the first half, the Red Leafs came out aggressively on offense, sending in six shots in the first five minutes.
• Landry Schoennauer took over in goal, saving two of those six early shots from the Red Leafs.
• Grace Gouran took a shot in the 72nd minute, but it was blocked by the SFU defense.
• Kayla Wallace put a shot on goal in the 79th minute that was saved.
• Krueger had another good look in the 83rd minute, but her low line drive was kept out of the back of the net.
• Nora Patterson had a shot on goal saved in the 85th minute, and another in the 90th that missed left.
• The Falcons and Red Leafs settled for a 0-0 draw.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons sent 16 shots, compared to 13 from the Red Leafs.
• Patterson led the Falcons with five shots.
• Valdovinos, Krueger, and Wallace tied for a team-high two shots on goal.
• Cullen played the first half in goal for the Falcons and led the team with four saves.
• Schoennauer finished the game in goal for SPU, making three critical saves down the stretch.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Cullen and Schoennauer teamed up for their second shutout of the season, their first since the Falcons beat Cal State East Bay 1-0 on Sept. 18.

UP NEXT
The Falcons square off against another tough opponent on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. when they host RV Western Washington. The Vikings enter the match receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches National Poll.

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