The No. 17-ranked Sea Lions scored a 1-0 Halloween victory on Senior Day over Fresno Pacific. PLNU finished the regular season 11-4-1 overall and 6-4 in conference.
Combined with the tie game of Biola at The Master's and California Baptist's defeat of Concordia, the Sea Lions finished in fourth place in the final conference standings and will host The Master's in GSAC playoff game on Tuesday at 2:00 pm.
PLNU will go into the playoff fueled by the momentum of back-to-back wins after Saturday's match and have won six of their last seven contests.
Versus the Sunbirds (9-6-1, 4-5-1 GSAC) PLNU's defense allowed only three shots, two on goal, compared with the Sea Lions' 17, six of which were on goal. Sea Lions keeper Tiffany Kracy, who was named NAIA Defender of the Week on Oct. 20, stopped both of Fresno's shots on goal.
PLNU controlled its field from the start but only got one goal. That score happened in the 16th minute when Brooke Winklepleck, assisted by Jennifer Tan, knocked a shot into the FPU net.
The Sea Lions did not manage another goal before intermission, however injured senior Amanda Rowand had something to think about after being handed a yellow card going into break.
The Sunbirds were playing physically and pressing the Sea Lions hard at the end of the match in a effort tie the game and force overtime. But PLNU's stingy defense prevented any real FPU threats.
FPU bombarded the net in a last second drive, when Liz Baldwin fired off the team's second shot on goal with one second remaining. But Kracy stepped between Baldwin and overtime, closing the regular season on a high note for the Sea Lions.
Sunbirds keeper Catherine Michaels saved five shots in the 90 minutes of play, but Winklepleck's one that got by was enough for PLNU.
She led the offense with six shots, two of which were on goal. Alex Fuller took three shots, one of which was on the mark and Tan had two shots, both of which were on goal.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
GSAC Tournament First Round
#7 Fresno Pacific at #2 California Baptist, 2:00 pm
#8 Westmont at #1 Azusa Pacific, 2:00 pm
#6 Concordia at #3 Vanguard, 2:00 pm
#5 The Masters at #4 Point Loma Nazarene, 2:00 pm
Friday, November 6, 2009
GSAC Tournament Semifinals
Higher seeds
