“I’m really pleased with where we’re at, on top of the WAC, and today’s game for me was pretty special because I couldn’t think of a better way for our eight, amazing, wonderful seniors to end their careers here on their home field,” said head coach Julie Woodward. “I think a big part of the reason we’re here today, why we won the WAC, why we’re headed to the conference tournament is because of that group and, today, I think, was a wonderful way to honor them. Looking forward, I’m just excited about the opportunities and the conference tournament.”
The Redhawks controlled possession early, with a shot on goal by Stephanie Verdoia (Salt Lake City, Utah) in the first minute of play, as she added another in the 8th minute, which sailed wide.
In the 28th minute, Verdoia crossed the ball to Taylor Ritzman (Holladay, Utah) directly in front of the net, as Idaho goalkeeper Marina Siegl came out and to the right of the goal, to put SU ahead, 1-0.
In similar fashion, in the 38th minute, Ritzman crossed to Natasha Howe (Mission Viejo, Calif.) who slipped the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
SU’s next best chances to score came in the 50th minute as Verdoia’s shot was blocked and in the 53rd minute as her next shot sailed wide.
In the 71st minute, Verdoia broke through with her team-leading 13th goal of the season for insurance, assisted by Heather Thomas (Woodinville, Wash.) and Kiana Kraft (Kent, Wash.), as the Redhawks topped the Vandals, 3-0.
Prior to the match, this year’s graduating class was honored as Thomas, Ava Ames (Seattle, Wash.), Kat Prati (Moorpark, Calif.), Julia Besagno (Maple Valley, Wash.), Monique Escalera (Riverside, Calif.), Alyssa Campagna (Las Vegas, Nev.), Jacqui Wallis (Lake Oswego, Ore.), and Mary Hill (Mercer Island, Wash.) played their final home match in Seattle U uniform.
“It feels great and it was good to get that last goal in there,” said Thomas. “It’s really exciting [to be the regular season WAC champions] and it’s great we could clinch it early. It’ll be fun to go to Idaho, now, and finish off the regular season.”
In goal, Brianna Smallidge (Port Orchard, Wash.) earned the win in the team’s 10th shutout of the season, while Siegl made two saves in the start for Idaho, and Torell Stewart made one save in the appearance for the Vandals.
As a team, the Redhawks outshot the Vandals, 15-4, as Verdoia added a team-high eight shots, tying her career-high vs. Louisiana Tech in the 2012 WAC Tournament (Nov. 1, 2012) and earlier this season vs. New Mexico State (Sept. 29, 2013).
Seattle U faces Idaho for a second time on the weekend, this time in Moscow, on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. Next weekend, on Nov. 8 and 10, the Redhawks will enter the WAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, with the tournament champion advancing to the NCAA Tournament.