LACEY, WA — Saint Martin's Women's Soccer (2-11-3, 2-6-3 GNAC) hosted the Simon Fraser Red Leafs at Saints Field this past Thursday.

The Saints would start the game with multiple shot attempts up early from Inara Lopez De Andrade and Hinata Kojima, establishing a quick pace that would stick with SMU through most of the contest. Their early aggressiveness would not be awarded right away, as Simon Fraser would score in the 15th minute, but Saint Martin's would find a quick response thanks to a goal from Taylor Copeland in the 23rd minute off a stellar pass from Eve Charles. Both teams would stall for a bit following the 1-1 scoreline, with multiple attacks being snuffed out before either offense could capitalize on an opportunity. As the half was winding down, the Saints would claim a 2-1 lead after an SFU foul would set up Ravyn Mummey just outside the penalty box to strike in the 41st minute. Mummey would keep the scoring going as just a few minutes later (44'), she would strike again after an SMU corner kick would rebound off multiple SFU defenders into her possession. This was Mummey's first two goals of the season, and the first multi-score game of her collegiate career. The Saints would enter halftime with a 3-1 lead.

The Red Leafs would start the second half with a sense of urgency to put a stop to SMU's scoring run and would find multiple responses in the 48th and 53rd minutes of the match. Despite the quick string of SFU scores, goalkeeper Flavia Burrell would shut down Simon Fraser for the rest of the game, tallying four saves on the day. Keilee Silva and Rose Ivanis would contribute their defensive skills to the backline, playing a full 90 minutes each. The Red Leafs would match the Saints' defensive stand by not allowing any goals in the second half, despite SMU's best offensive efforts. The match would end in a 3-3 draw, with Brianna Yamada finishing the day with two shots, and Payton Aselton, Nora Melcher, and Alia Khoyi recording one shot apiece.

The Women's Soccer team has been making improvements every week, and head coach Derek Faulkner is excited to see how the team will close out the season:

"Good effort from the group... Battled hard and scored some really good goals. Taking strides in the right direction is really encouraging right now; just working on improving game-to-game."

The Saints will host the Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, November 2nd for Senior Day at 2:00 PM. Get tickets here.