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SEATTLE U TO FACE UCLA IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Seattle University women's soccer will play at fourth-seeded UCLA in an NCAA Tournament first-round match on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. PT at Drake Stadium on the UCLA campus. More details on the match will be announced later this week.
SU (14-5-1) will make its third NCAA Tournament appearance, also claiming the automatic berth with WAC Tournament wins in 2013 and 2014.
UCLA has a 13-5-1 record. It beat USC, 1-0, on Nov. 4 in its most recent outing. The Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament last year, but advanced to the quarterfinals in 2014 and won the 2013 NCAA Championship.
The Redhawks won their third WAC Championship in the last four years, beating UMKC, 2-1, on Sunday. Natasha Howe was named WAC Tournament MVP, scoring a goal in Friday's semifinal win over Utah Valley and then assisting on Jessie Ray's game-winning goal on Sunday. Karli White, Brie Hooks, and Isabelle Butterfield were each named to the all-tournament team.
Coach Julie Woodward is in her 20th season at SU. She has guided her team to four consecutive WAC regular season titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Redhawks are 1-1-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 2-1 double overtime win at Washington State in 2014. Howe scored the game-winner for Seattle U in that match.
This will mark the first-ever meeting between the programs.
SEATTLE U CLAIMS WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE
Seattle U claimed the 2016 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament automatic berth with a 2-1 victory over UMKC. Freshman forward Jessie Ray's first career goal, with 18 minutes remaining, proved to be the difference.
The match began with a flurry of offense, as both teams scored within eight minutes of the kickoff. Sophomore forward Lexie Howard opened the scoring for UMKC, getting a toe on a Kelsey Mothershead cross and deflecting it into the goal. Just a 1:16 after that goal, Karli White equalized for SU, hammering home a shot from just outside the 18-yard box.
The match significantly tightened up in the second half, as there were no shots for the first 27 minutes of action before the Redhawks struck the deciding blow. Senior midfielder Natasha Howe, the Tournament MVP, beat two midfielders on a driving run from half and dished to Ray, whose left-footed effort to the far post beat UMKC goalkeeper Anna Lillig.
With the win Seattle U claimed its third WAC Tournament Championship in the past four years.
SEATTLE U'S RECORD STREAK
The Redhawks' unbeaten streak in WAC regular season play was extended to 23-straight matches with a 3-1 victory over Utah Valley on Oct. 28, making it the longest such streak in WAC history. The last time the Redhawks didn't receive a full three points was a 0-0 tie vs. UMKC on Oct. 4, 2015. The mark tops SMU's 22-match unbeaten streak in regular season play that ran from Oct. 17, 1999 to Nov. 8, 2002.
The win also extended SU's WAC regular season winning streak to 14 matches, just one off the WAC record. SU last lost in the WAC to Grand Canyon on Oct. 10, 2014, which ended the Redhawks' WAC record 15-match winning streak.
Since losing three times in their inaugural WAC campaign in 2012, the Redhawks have lost just once in their last 39 WAC regular season matches.
SEATTLE U UP TO THIRD IN NSCAA WEST REGION, RECEIVING VOTES
Seattle U continued to climb of the NSCAA West Region rankings this week, moving up to the third, the highest position in the poll for a WAC team this season. The Redhawks also became the first WAC team on the season to receive votes in the NSCAA National Top 25, earning two votes. Utah Valley, which had been 10th in the West Region rankings, dropped out.