The Seattle University women’s soccer team kept rolling along Friday evening, extending its shutout streak to over 620 minutes with a 5-0 victory over Grand Canyon in a Western Athletic Conference match at GCU Soccer Field.
Seattle U’s offense pressured the Grand Canyon defense right from the start of the match, taking six shots in the first 26 minutes. The Redhawks finally broke through in the 27th minute when Taylor Ritzman (Holladay, Utah) drove down the right side and sent the ball into the box, where Natasha Howe (Mission Viejo, Calif.) converted on her sixth goal of the season.
Late in the first half, Stephanie Verdoia (Salt Lake City, Utah) continued her goal-scoring prowess, taking the ball near the midfield line and driving towards the net before earning her ninth goal of the season. Midway through the second half, Verdoia picked up her second goal of the match, this time taking a long pass from Mary Hill (Mercer Island, Wash.) and burying her shot into the back of the net.
Less than three minutes later, the Redhawks extended their advantage as Ritzman and Kiana Kraft (Kent, Wash.) combined with Jacqui Wallis (Lake Oswego, Ore.) as Wallis scored her fourth goal of the season by lofting the ball over the Antelope goalie’s head. Wallis assisted on Seattle U’s final goal of the match, sending a long cross from the left side to Julia Moravec (Spokane, Wash.) in the box for Moravec’s third tally of the season.
“I was very proud and impressed with the maturity in which we played today. GCU did a great job getting numbers behind the ball, and we showed good patience in our attack,” Seattle U head coach Julie Woodward said. “It was a great team win with multiple players getting a point. I give big credit again to both goalkeepers and our backline for the shutout.”
Seattle U has now scored 22 unanswered goals since giving up a goal to Grand Canyon four minutes into the first meeting between the two teams at Championship Field Sept. 20. Brianna Smallidge (Port Orchard, Wash.) earned her ninth victory of the season, while Aris Coover (Bellevue, Wash.) made a save in almost 14 minutes of action.
The Redhawks outshot the Antelopes, 17-7, and earned five corner kicks while not allowing the home team to take any corner kicks. Verdoia led the Redhawks with six shots, five of them on goal, while Grand Canyon’s Chelsea Santos was the only member of her team credited with more than one shot, taking two during the match. Catherine Lena made five saves for Grand Canyon (2-10-1, 1-5-1 WAC).
Seattle University (9-2-2, 6-0-0 WAC) returns to Championship Field for its first-ever night match, hosting Utah Valley next Friday, Oct. 18, with kickoff now scheduled for 7:15 p.m. The Redhawks will conclude the home weekend with its annual Pink Match against Bakersfield next Sunday, Oct. 20, starting at 12 noon, raising awareness about breast cancer research.