Capping its undefeated, untied regular season, the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team rode its rapid-fire play into the NCAA Final Four Nov. 17, with a 4-0 win over Incarnate Word University, of San Antonio, Texas, at Interbay Stadium.
SPU (23-0-0) scored nine goals and yielded none in its three NCAA regional games.
SPU will now travel to the NCAA Final Four at the Orange Beach Sportsplex, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where it aims to bring home the national championship that eluded it in the title game two years before. The 2007 semifinals are set for Nov. 29, and the championship match follows two days later, on Dec. 1.
SPU coach Chuck Sekyra told his charges all year that they can't control the outcome of matches - only their level of effort and quality of play. "Our goal every game," he says, "is to outwork and outplay the other team."
His players embrace a team-first approach that reflects Sekyra's crisp, aggressive style of play. Its practices, which emphasize quick ball movement, pinpoint passing and stubborn defense, sharpen skills that translate well to game situations.
Throughout a long season, Falcon players' motivation has never flagged. "We play for each other," sophomore midfielder Janae Godoy says of her teammates. If this sounds like a credo, it is. The Falcon women show a camaraderie and work ethic that coaches dream about.
All season long, Sekyra has said that he would put his team up against any in the country. Now he will.
The game that sent the Falcons on to the Final Four was perhaps the sweetest of all.
SPU 4, INCARNATE WORD UNIVERSITY 0 (NOV. 17)
Sophomore Jocelyn Charette was a shooting and scoring machine for SPU in this Super Regional Final.
Charette had eight of SPU's 22 shots and scored its first two goals just a minute apart, only 3 and 4 minutes into the match, respectively. SPU dominated the first half, with 11 shots against just one for the Cardinals, champion of the NCAA Midwest Region. The match was little in doubt after that.
Charette's first goal kissed the far right corner of the net at 2:52, after passes from senior co-captain Sarah Martinez and sophomore Janae Godoy. Charette's second goal, 56 seconds later, skidded past the Cardinals' keeper from 25 yards in front of the goal. Junior midfielder Shannon Oakes had the assist.
In the final 10 minutes of the second half, after Sekyra had substituted for many of his starters, freshmen Amanda Johnson and Ali Winje added to SPU's total.
Johnson's goal, driven into the upper right corner of the net from 15 yards out at 84:15 minutes, came on a feed from freshman Karen Hosler. Winje's score, a header on a corner kick from Johnson, came with just 7 seconds left in the match. Both scores were thus all-freshmen affairs.
The final totals tell the story. SPU had 22 shots overall and 12 shots on goal to its opponent's 3 and 2, respectively.
SPU 2, CAL STATE LOS ANGELES 0 (NOV. 15)
Despite SPU's first-half dominance under a steady rain, the period ended in a 0-0 tie. SPU stepped up the tempo in the second half, scoring twice to put the game out of reach. The visiting Golden Eagles from Los Angeles were outshot 9-0 in the second period.
Eight minutes into the period, senior defender Jessica Gerstmann, whose speed and powerful kicks kept the visitors on their heels throughout, set up a score with a cross to Martinez in the box. Martinez then fed the ball back to Oakes, who blasted it past the Eagles' keeper for the score.
With 16 minutes left in the match, Gerstmann and Godoy combined to salt the game away. Gerstmann's free kick from 35 yards out on the right side nearly curved into the upper left goal, but struck the crossbar. Godoy headed the rebound alertly into the net.
What was the difference in the second half? "We brought our outside backs forward, and that put pressure on [CSULA] and opened things up for us," Sekyra said.
"When we play quickly, we're hard to defend," Gerstmann added.
Eagles coach Chris Chamides said he was proud of his team, but admitted, "SPU puts a lot of pressure on you. They don't have just one or two people that can hurt you. They have four of five different people that can hurt you from different parts of the field."
SPU 3, CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS 0 (NOV. 10)
On a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon, junior midfielder Meredith Teague assisted on all three goals, each scored by a different forward in the Falcons' multi-pronged attack.
SPU seized the advantage quickly. Martinez, SPU's all-time goal and points leader, sprinted past a Toros defender, following Teague's pass and a feed from Charette, to score just 4 minutes into the match.
Teague had another assist six minutes before the half, as Amanda Johnson took Teague's corner kick in front of the Toros' goal and booted it home for a 2-0 lead.
SPU's third goal, in the 59th minute, was textbook perfect. After Martinez passed up the right sideline to Teague, Teague's cross into the box found Charette, who headed it into the net.
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