OREM, Utah – Seattle University women’s soccer beat UTRGV, 2-0, in a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament semifinal Friday afternoon. With the win, SU advances to its sixth straight WAC Tournament Championship game on Sunday afternoon at Utah Valley.
“Our back line has been playing so well recently,” said Coach Julie Woodward. “We’ve been working in practice and they’re executing in games right now. I thought we created good chances offensively as well.”
The Redhawks are the lone Division I program to qualify for its last six conference tournament finals. On Sunday, they will look for their fourth WAC Championship against the winner of Friday night’s Kansas City/Utah Valley game.
SU (9-7-3) was the better side in the semifinals, controlling play for the majority of the match with the Vaqueros. Pressure from Emily Zimmer and Leahi Manthei led to an own goal in the 23rd minute, as the Redhawks grabbed the lead.
In the second half, Manthei and Jessie Ray had UTRGV on its heels, and after several strong chances, Ray created a scoring opportunity and cashed in, making it 2-0 in the 83rd minute.
Ariana Romero made one save for her fifth shutout of 2018. She and the Seattle U defense have now allowed just one goal in their last 534:38 of game action.
Seattle U enters Sunday on a seven-game unbeaten streak. It has won three WAC Championships (2013, 2014, 2016).