College Scoreboard: Redhawks Women double up Wolverines, Loggers Men run streak to seven

SEATTLE, Washington—Seattle University women’s soccer (5-5-0) came out attacking from the beginning and was able to come away with the win, topping Utah Valley, 4-2, in their final non-conference match of the season. This extended a four-game home winning streak for the Redhawks. Dale Garvey was at the match and shares a gallery at Facebook.com/goalWA.

In other action for Washington schools, Western crushed Simon Fraser’s Women 6:0.  In Lacey the Saints Women edged Western Oregon.  The Lutes Men of Pacific Lutheran scored two late tallies to win at Willamette. The PLU Women fell at Linfield. The Gonzaga Men won in Oregon over Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Washington State Cougars fell 3:0 at ranked Santa Clara. Whitworth’s red-hot Pirates Men won again in Oregon. The Whitworth Women won as well. See more recaps below.

The Redhawks attacked the Utah Valley Wolverines goal all match long on Sunday, eventually winning 4:2 at Championship Field. (Dale Garvey)

“Overall, I think we did some really great things in the first half and I like that we were pretty focused on keeping the ball in good possession,” said head coach Julie Woodward. “Heading into the Western Athletic Conference, I think we’ve prepared ourselves well, in terms of our scheduling. I think we’ve seen varied levels of teams, and I think we’ve seen some of our strengths exposed as well as some of our weaknesses. Hopefully that has better prepared us for next weekend.”

The Redhawks struck early, as Stephanie Verdoia (Salt Lake City, Utah) scored the first goal of the game, unassisted, in just the fourth minute of the match. This was her third goal on the season.

In the 16th minute, Utah Valley (1-8-1) tied the game, 1-1, on Regan Benson’s fourth goal of the season, assisted by Haley Curtis.

Seattle U struck back and regained the lead, adding two goals in the following 13 minutes of the match.

Melissa Busque (St. Bruno, Quebec, Canada) scored her fourth goal of the season, unassisted, in the 23rd minute. Heather Thomas (Woodinville, Wash.), assisted by Busque and Carlee Norquist (Boise, Idaho), added a goal a short time later in the 29th minute to put Seattle U back on top, 3-1. This remained the score through the halftime break.

In the 60th minute, the Redhawks increased their lead, 4-1, on an unassisted goal by Kiana Kraft (Kent, Wash.), the first of her career.

“It’s always nice to be able to get up in the attack, but I think it was a team effort,” said Kiana Kraft. “If my teammates hadn’t been able to get me the ball, then I wouldn’t have been able to shoot.”

The Wolverines fought back, as Kali Stubbs scored her first goal of the season in the 64th minute, but this proved to be the final scoring margin as Seattle U won, 4-2.

Verdoia led all players with five shots for the Redhawks. Kristen Nakagawa (Mililani, Hawaii) saw her first action this season, recording one shot. For the Wolverines, Curtis, Kim Stratford, and McKell Salmon led the team with two shots apiece. Overall, Seattle U outshot Utah Valley, 23-13, including 15-5 in the second half alone.

In goal, Brianna Smallidge (Port Orchard, Wash.) recorded the start for the Redhawks, earning the win. Brittany Lott (Fort Collins, Colo.) entered the game for the final nine minutes, recording one save, in her first action in goal this season. For the Wolverines, Lauren Sack got the start, playing the entire first half, and Jessica Duffin entered the game for the second half.

The Redhawks hit the road to begin conference play, as they will face University of Texas-San Antonio on Friday Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. PST before facing Texas State on Sunday Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. PST.

Loggers Record Third Straight Shutout In Win At Willamette

SALEM, Ore. – Robin Vieira scored twice in the second half to help push the Puget Sound women’s soccer team to a 3-0 win at Willamette on Sunday. The win is the third straight for the Loggers (4-2-1, 3-0-1 NWC) and their third straight shutout.

For the second consecutive match, the Loggers defense proved to be stingy in allowing just four shots. None of those shots found their way on goal on goal as Kara Merfeld ran her scoreless streak to 290 minutes.

The Loggers held a 16-4 shot advantage in the match and didn’t waste much time in finding their first goal. Liz Blonden settled Kylie Beeson’s corner kick from 19 yards out and fired it to the upper left corner for a 1-0 Logger lead.

It wasn’t until the second half that Vieira was able to get on the board. She scored from 15 yards out on a through pass from Cassie Winter in the 72nd minute to give the Loggers a little breathing room. In the 89th minute, Vieira struck again from 12 yards out. Beeson earned her second assist of the match on the play.

Nicole Price had four saves in the match for the Bearcats (3-5-0, 1-3-0 NWC).

The Loggers head east next weekend to take on Whitman and Whitworth.

Zisette’s Goal Runs Logger Win Streak To Seven

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Sam Zisette scored for the second time this weekend to lift the 24th-ranked Puget Sound men’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over Linfield on Sunday. Chris McDonald made a pair of saves to secure the shutout, his sixth of the season.

Zisette’s goal came in the 21st minute. Landon Gauthier played a ball into the middle of the box and Zisette lifted his shot over the keeper’s head for the game-winner.

The Loggers (7-1-1, 4-0-0 NWC) held a 7-4 shot advantage in the first half but Linfield came out strong after halftime. The Wildcats (3-4-0, 1-3-0 NWC) peppered 10 shots toward the Logger goal while holding the Loggers to just one shot. However, none of those 10 shots were put on goal as the Loggers held on for the shutout and the win.

The Loggers have now won seven straight matches, allowing just one goal in that stretch. After starting the season with a goals against average over two, McDonald now owns 0.64 GAA and is one shutout shy of second all-time on the Loggers shutout list.

Next up for the Loggers is a trip to Eastern Washington to face Whitman on Saturday and No. 11 Whitworth on Sunday.

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