Huskies Earn Tough Win Over Seattle

Monday, September 5

Seattle, Wash.

7:00 PM

University of Washington

4-1-0

Seattle

2-2-1

Washington WSOC

Seattle

September 05, 2016 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Final Box Score

SEATTLE – In the fourth and final match of the Husky Nike Invitational, the Washington women's soccer team survived a close one, defeating Seattle 1-0 on Monday night at Championship Soccer Stadium.

"We're happy to come across the road and get the win and take our tournament title," said Washington head coach Lesle Gallimore. "It was a little bit odd having the away game for the Husky Invitational but based on scheduling, and the double-header yesterday we prefer to play a Monday night game here in town."

The first half was a battle for possession and a series of back and forth offensive runs by each team, as Washington took six shots compared to Seattle's five. Junior goalkeeper Sarah Shimer continues to impress and come up big for the Dawgs, making a huge double-save with 26 minutes remaining in the first half. On a ball shot to her left, Shimer dove out for the block before Seattle quickly sent a rebound back at the goal, and Shimer responded with a second stop immediately.

"I thought Sarah Shimer came up huge defensively in the first half with that double save," said Gallimore. "Our defense did a great job of holding and not letting them get in behind and have a lot of space in the second half."

The Huskies turned the aggression up on offense in the second half, which ended up paying off ten minutes in. Captain Shannon Simon sent a pass in front of a sprinting Kimberly Keever, who collected the ball in the box before being tackled and drawing a foul. On the ensuing penalty kick, Simon sent a rocket to the upper left corner, bouncing off the keeper's outstretched fingers and striking the back of the net to give Washington a 1-0 lead. The goal was Simon's third on the season, and second converted via penalty kick.

"We made a little tactical adjustment in the second half and went with two forwards," said Gallimore. "Shannon played a great ball through that Kimberly got to and I think it was a legitimate penalty or she was in on goal. I thought we did a good job adjusting at halftime to try and create more in the attacking half."

With Washington leading, and only 30 minutes remaining, Seattle pressed hard for an equalizer. On a Redhawk attack, midfielder Hope Fleckner headed a ball towards the goal, only to bounce off the top crossbar and sail out of bounds. With each team going back and forth on offensive runs, forwards Brie Hooks and Karli White threatened multiple times for Seattle, each taking strikes at the goal only to either sail out of bounds or get scooped up by the keeper Shimer.

"This game is always a battle, Julie Woodward has done a great job with her team, and I think Karli White and Brie Hooks are two of the most dangerous players in Division I soccer," said Gallimore. "They began pushing numbers forward so it became a little bit stressful when you take your eye off of number 23 or 11 since they can get behind you so quickly."

In the end however the Huskies were able to hold onto the victory and take the team title for the Washington Nike Invitational for the second straight year. Shimer recorded her third shutout on the season and was credited with three saves in the match.

"I thought we had a good crowd here and Seattle U has a great facility so it was fun," said Gallimore. "It was really a solid, all around team effort and that's the kind of win you have to grind out."

Washington will hit the road next weekend to play in the Nike Portland Invitational, where they will face St. John's on Friday and Southern Utah on Sunday. You can keep up to date with the team on Facebook and Twitter, or by checking out their team home page on GoHuskies.com.