“This was terrific and it’s what you want out of a collegiate soccer game between cross-town rivals,” said WAC Coach of the Year Pete Fewing. “We had packed stands and six goals, which is a lot. I’m proud of our guys for never giving up. They have a terrific team, the Huskies are a very good team and it’s fun to play in a game like this. I’m proud of the fact that we didn’t give up. I give credit to the Huskies with four goals and I expect they’ll do great things in this tournament.”
Washington opened up with the first five shots in the first eight minutes, drawing two corner kicks, but Jake Feener (Rocklin, Calif.) came up with three big early saves for the Redhawks.
One of the best early scoring opportunities for Washington came at the end of the sixth minute on back-to-back shots by James Moberg and Taylor Peay following a Darwin Jones corner kick, but the first was blocked and the second flew wide.
Feener came up with another big save in the 24th minute on a shot by Mason Robertson to keep the game scoreless.
In the 28th minute, Jones went one-on-one with Feener after a horizontal pass from Cristian Roldan, edging the ball into the back right of the net to put Washington ahead, 1-0.
Seattle U drew their first corner kick in the 36th minute after a shot from near the center circle by Ian Hines-Ike (Littleton, Colo.) but the Huskies held on to a one goal lead at the half.
In the 48th minute, Josh Heard put the Huskies ahead 2-0, collecting a rebound off a blast from Moberg. In the 57th minute, Heard and Moberg combined to pass the ball to Roldan, who put Washington ahead, 3-0.
Heard slipped the ball through to Robertson in the 66th minute, who shot the ball into the upper corner of the goal to extend their lead, 4-0.
Seattle U answered back with a pair of goals in the 72nd minute to close the margin, 4-2. Chase Hanson (Kent, Wash.) scored first on assists by Brady Ballew (Marysville, Wash.) and Miguel Gonzalez (Yelm, Wash.), before Ballew added a goal just 27 seconds later on an assist by Michael Roberts (Issaquah, Wash.).
Hanson and Gonzalez added back-to-back shots, both on goal in the 74th and 75th minutes, but Ryan Herman came up with key saves for Washington as the Huskies came away with the 4-2 victory.
Gonzalez, Ballew, and Hanson led Seattle U with two shots apiece as the Huskies outshot the Redhawks, 23-11. In goal, Feener and Herman each made four saves.
Seattle U (11-9-4) ends their historic season in which they became the first SU men’s team to win an NCAA Division I Tournament game since March 1964 with a first round win at Creighton on Nov. 21. The career of four Redhawks comes to a close, including Gonzalez, Bobby Segal (Portland, Ore.), Renato Bandeira (Sammamish, Wash.), and Feener, the DI leader in saves and saves per game. The WAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions will look to build upon their success in their second season in the Western Athletic Conference in 2014.