UW Dominates Seattle U In Home Opener
August 29, 2015 | Women's Soccer
SEATTLE – UW women's soccer opened its home schedule with a dominant victory over Seattle U, beating the Redhawks 3-0 as three different Huskies found the back of the net.
“The good news about this team is that they really persevere,” UW head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “They don't have too many high moments or too many low moments, they are pretty even keeled when they play. That will be a great attribute as the season wears on. I thought a lot of players have great performances tonight, and on the defensive side of the ball, we slowed them down and made it tough on them.”
The Huskies held the edge in possession from the opening whistle, and outshot the Redhawks 29 to five, forcing Seattle U keeper Brianna Smallidge into eight saves. UW ended the match with 14 corners to Seattle U's one.
UW vs. Seattle U Highlights
Sophomore forward Kimberly Keever scored her first goal of the season in the 27th minute to open the scoring for the Huskies. Fellow sophomore forward Rachel Wheeler found Keever behind the Seattle U back line, where she took a couple touches and beat the keeper. It was Keever's seventh career goal.
“Our goal was to create chances and that's what we've been working on in practice,” Wheeler said. “We had a lot of success out wide and everyone really contributed to a great attacking performance for us.”
After battling throughout the rest of the first half and into the second, the Huskies finally got some breathing room when Wheeler scored a goal of her own in the 79th minute. Sophomore midfielder Shannon Simon found some space on the right side and hit a ball that found Wheeler open in front of the goal. Her header snuck past the keeper and inside the far post to give the Dawgs a 2-0 lead.
“Shannon hit a perfect ball, right to my head,” Wheeler said. “Our main objective tonight was to protect this house, so it feels great to have done that with this team.”
Just one minute later, sophomore defender Dominique Bond-Flasza scored her first career goal with a beautiful strike from distance just off the right corner of the box. She lobbed a shot that arced over the keeper and into the upper far corner of the net for the final count.
“It felt awesome to be able to celebrate with the team,” Bond-Flasza said. “The composure and chemistry, with the runs and second runs – we really connected as a team on offense.”
Defensively, the Huskies recorded their first shutout of the season as the Huskies shut down the Redhawks' attack.
“We really focused defensively on putting pressure on the ball and supporting each other,” Bond-Flasza said. “We have a motto to 'defend to the death', and we did a great job of that. We really limited their opportunities.”
It was senior keeper Megan Kufeld's 17th career shutout, tying her for second-most all-time and leaving her just one shy of Husky legend Hope Solo for most in team history.
UW returns to the pitch this Sunday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m. with an exhibition match against Trinity Western University. Parking and admission for Sunday's match are free. Follow the action online with live updates on Twitter as well as live stats.
For more on UW women's soccer, follow the Huskies on Facebook and on Snapchat, Periscope, Twitter and Instagram at @UW_WSoccer.
