MONMOUTH, Ore. –
Ashlyn Valdovinos has been on the winning side of a lot of women's soccer games during her four years at Seattle Pacific. But none of those wins had ever come in Monmouth against Western Oregon …
… until Thursday.
Valdovinos scored the go-ahead goal on a penalty kick with 3:10 left in the first half, and the Falcons fended off some added offensive pressure from the Wolves during the second half and went on to a 3-1 victory in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at WOU Soccer Field.
It was the first win for SPU (7-3-1, 4-2-1—13 points GNAC) in Monmouth in nine years. The last time they had beaten the Wolves on the road was 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 30, 2017.
Logann Dukes and
Haley Teofilo also scored for the Falcons.
FROM COACH ARBY BUSEY
"This has been a challenging place, a very difficult place for us to get results," coach
Arby Busey said, then adding with a laugh, "it's one of those places where maybe they have kryptonite in the ground.
"They did a great job of gutting one out. It was very warm and that asked a lot of us. But I'm proud of the way we found a way."
That was especially true during the second half when Western Oregon made numerous threats in SPU's half of the field.
"There were a couple of saves that our freshman goalkeeper (
Celia Ramos) made that were fantastic," Busey said. "We just kept them away from hitting our net. We sustained a little bit of pressure and then found a moment late in the game to put that third one in, which was great. There are times when you get caught up in defending, defending, defending. We were trying to find that moment late to spring Haley free to go and tuck that one in."
He was particularly pleased with the way that Valdovinos, who normally doesn't take penalty kicks, came through.
"She's a senior, she's a captain, she's a leader. That's a moment individually where she sees an opportunity to lead and says, 'I'm going to put you guys on my back and go draw a penalty,' and then step up and go put it away. She really seized on that one for us."
HOW IT HAPPENED
--With the score tied at 1-1, Valdovinos took the ball into the left side of the penalty area. With two Western Oregon defender on her, she was knocked down, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. The senior defender sent her PK into the back left center of the net for her fourth goal of the year.
--Seattle Pacific took a 1-0 lead just 6:34 into the game on another set piece, this one a corner kick from the attacking left side. Freshman midfielder
Natalie Carroll sent the ball toward the far post, and senior defender Dukes sent a header into the back left side. That was her fourth of the season.
--Western Oregon (2-6-3, 1-4-2—5 points GNAC) tied it just 1 minute, 49 seconds later. Bailey Boyd, playing just over the midfield line on the right side, got the ball ahead to Maya Courtenay. From the right side of the box, her high cross sailed just over the outstretched hands of Falcons goalkeeper
Landry Schoennauer and into the upper left side of the net at 8:23.
--SPU thought it had a go-ahead goal with 17:35 left in the first half, but it was flagged offside.
--With the lead still a precarious 2-1 as the Wolves kept the heat on throughout the second half, sophomore forward / midfielder Teofilo sealed it when she scored with 2:14 left. Junior midfielder
Maddie Cooke took the ball away at midfield and went all down the right side, She sent it all the way across to Teofilo, who drilled her 18-yard shot into the back right corner for her third of the year.
FROM DEFENDER ASHLYN VALDOVINOS
"All my time, we haven't beat them here, so this feels awesome – what a relief," Valdovinos said of the win in Monmouth. "That's a hard place to play, but we found a way."
She acknowledged being a bit nervous on the penalty kick.
"PKs are one of my biggest fears," she said. "Nora (Patterson) usually takes them, but she had been subbed out. So I just had to put on my big-girl pants and take it."
Valdovinos liked the way the Falcons were able to get back into their offensive half of the field in the latter stages of the game.
"Toward the end, we got a little bit of momentum and were able to score off of it," she said. "I think our passing has improved throughout the season so far. We're starting to find what combinations are working for us, and now we just have to start working and put it all together."
FROM THE BOX SCORE
--The shot count finished at 14-14. After having a 9-6 advantage in shots through the first half, the Falcons were outshot 8-5 by the Wolves through the second 45 minutes.
--Senior Schoennauer and freshman Ramos split SPU's goalkeeping duties. Schoennauer was credited with one save and Ramos came up with five.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
--Valdovinos' penalty kick was the game-winning goal, her GNAC-leading third of the season. The others were at Jessup on Aug. 29 (a 2-1 Falcons victory) and at Saint Martin's on Sept. 17 (a 3-0 win).
Natalie Carroll
--Carroll's corner kick that led to Dukes' goal was the first assist of her career.
--It was the second time this fall that she has factored into a score off a corner kick. Last Saturday in a 3-1 home victory against Central Washington, she curled a corner directly into the right side of the net.
--Teofilo's goal was her third of the season.
--SPU swept the season series from Western Oregon, having won 3-0 in Seattle on Sept. 19.
--Between Thursday and the September 2017 win, the Falcons had gone 0-4-2 in Monmouth.
UP NEXT
The Falcons are back on the road again Saturday, visiting
Montana State Billings. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time.
