2008 Woodie Awards
Soccer plays tough against No. 2 Seattle Pacific, but falls short
Wolves battle within 2-1 margin, but late SPU goal proves too much to overcome
George Pike
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Head Coach Rod Fretz felt the Wolves women's soccer team would need some luck to pull off a shocker on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 29, against the Seattle Pacific Falcons. Western stayed close throughout the game before losing 3-1 in front of 120 spectators in wet conditions.
The Wolves, playing with a new formation of 4-5-1 instead of their normal 4-4-2, kept the game close with tough defense. However, the loss dropped Western to a 7-11 overall record and 4-6 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Seattle Pacific-ranked No. 2 nationally-managed to rebound after a 1-1 tie on Thursday, Nov. 27, against Humboldt State.
Coach Fretz believes his squad's intensity showed throughout the game.
"The girls like to play these top teams, and I think they took a lot of pride in the game," coach Fretz said.
The scoring started 31:44 into the game when Seattle Pacific forward Megan Lienhard found the net on a breakaway. SPU added another goal six minutes later with the first of two goals by Angie Martinez.
The Wolves answered right back 12 seconds later with a goal of their own. Freshman forward Aly Reamer sent a shot on-goal and a streaking Lisa Munyon fired in the rebound to score. This was Munyon's fourth goal of the year to take over the team lead.
Seattle Pacific added an insurance goal at 69:40 from Martinez in the win. The Falcons outshot the Wolves 22-4 in the game.
A scary play happened with 25 minutes left when Western freshman forward Bryndle Rueck slid into the Western net to attempt to prevent another Falcon goal. Play was suspended for five minutes as Rueck was carried off the field. The ball still found its resting spot in the back of the Wolves' net, but Referee Thomas Brown determine that the ball went out of bounds before it landed in the net.
"Bryndle's injury does not appear to be long-term, but will keep her out for a few days," said coach Fretz. "She will probably make the Humboldt trip unless trainers decide differently."
With 10:25 left on the clock, the Falcons once again threatened to add to their goal tally. Once again, the play found its way near the goal, where the ball went out of bounds. Western defender Amber Thronas was given a red card and sent off for this play for making contact with a Seattle Pacific player.
Seattle Pacific was awarded a penalty kick because the Thronas foul occurred in the penalty box. Senior goalkeeper Amanda Nelson came up with a huge save, one of her 10 on the day. However, Nelson was injured on the play after making the stop. Sophomore Ally Meyer took over in the net for the last 9:58 of the game.
Nelson felt the team more prepared for this game because they knew it was going to be big.
"I think we played hard and didn't give up," said Nelson. "We didn't have anything to lose."
Coach Fretz was pleased with the game despite the loss.
"I think [the girls] left everything out on the field," coach Fretz said.
The Wolves played Humboldt State in Arcata, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 1, losing 2-1 on a late goal. The last game of the season is Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Western soccer field. The team will play host to Northwest Nazarene at 2 p.m.