Gonzaga Women's Soccer Scores 3 Unanswered Goals to Stage Senior Night Comeback Win vs. Seattle
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Amelia Severn works around Seattle U defenders on Oct. 25, 2025 at Luger Field. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics/Twitter [/caption]
Gonzaga women’s soccer (6-8-2, 4-2-2) and Seattle University (7-3-6, 3-3-2) entered play on Saturday tied with Washington State for fourth in the WCC standings, setting the stage for a pivotal conference matchup in late October.
Boasting a top 20 offense in the country heading into action, the Redhawks showed their prowess scoring the ball early, netting two goals in the first 12 minutes of the match. But the Zags battled back, adjusting defensively to resist the potent SU offense while giving their own playmakers opportunities to get them back in the game, rattling off three straight goals unanswered to pull off a 3-2 victory on Senior Night.
In a crucial contest for the lasting stretch of the season, the Bulldogs almost immediately had their backs to the wall. As an effort to honor as many last-year players as possible on Senior Night at Luger Field, Katie Benz mixed things up with her starting lineup despite the game’s significance. GU’s leading scorer, Amelia Severn, came off the bench for the first time this season. Even though Katelyn Rigg was a part of the Senior Night festivities, she didn’t start for the second consecutive game, not coming in until about midway through the first half. Seniors Erin Ewers and Hannah Gray started the night on the pitch, but both were pulled from the game after the Redhawks’ second goal.
Just four minutes in, Taylor Gentry attempted to clear the ball, but it was blocked and quickly stolen by SU’s Zoe Hopkins, who got free down the right side afterward. She crossed to Caroline Penner right in front of the goal, whose shot was kicked away on a phenomenal save by GU keeper Michaela McCollum. But the ball bounced back out to Kailee Wilson on the left side, who knocked it in on the rebound with McCollum scrambling to recover.
Hopkins initiated the second Seattle U score as well, taking it up the right endline before dishing it to Penner once more. Penner worked her way into the box patiently, dribbling around Gentry before unleashing a beautiful left-footed drive into the net. It was her conference-leading 10th goal of the season, as Penner made her presence felt against the Zags throughout the first 45 minutes. In fact, she nearly scored a similar-looking goal on the ensuing sequence but just missed the mark. She took a team-leading six shots in the game, twice as many as the next closest Redhawk (Hopkins), with many of the attempts coming in the first half.
Gonzaga was reeling in the early going, with the usual creators on offense not in rhythm, while Penner and the Seattle U offense consistently penetrated the attacking third. When the Bulldogs did get on the board, it was thanks to true freshman Samantha Snorsky, who finally notched her first collegiate goal with less than five minutes to go in the first half.
In an attempt to cross the ball to a cutting Severn in front of the net, Snorsky served it up from the left end line. But she put more power and spin on the ball than presumably intended, as it curved away from Severn and over the head of Redhawk keeper Kassidy Kirgan into the back corner of the goal. It cut the SU lead in half and gave the Zags a much-needed spark right before halftime.
Even with the early pressure the Redhawks applied and winning time of possession, GU won the shot battle 15-14, spearheaded by dominating the ball in the final 45 minutes. Defensively, the Zags did a much better job of not allowing Penner to get to her spots. And on the other end, it was Severn and Rigg willing their team to a win, even after first being denied on facilitating tries.
On a corner kick at 66’, Severn boomed the ball to the far post, where Alexis Parker was positioned. It tailed out of bounds, although at first glance, Parker pushed it back in play, where it bounced off two Redhawks before being headed in by Gentry. But officials nullified the goal due to the ball indeed crossing the white line. It was all a preview to the Bulldogs actually knotting the game at two just three minutes later.
Annie Boyden took the ball past midfield freely before dumping it off to Severn, who wasted no time. With her body parallel to the post, she delivered a firm turnaround strike that Kirgan got a fingertip on as she leaped, but it bounced off the crossbar and in. Severn raced and slid in front of her sideline in celebration and relief as her sixth goal of the year was her biggest yet.
In the 80th minute, Rigg got away with a lot of contact matched up with Juju Barker on the right side. She presumably pushed Barker down in a fight for the ball after a nutmeg, but officials held their whistles. Rigg then crossed the ball to an open Olivia Lester, but her shot was knocked away on a great play by Kirgan.
Three minutes later, Snorsky kicked a through ball to Rigg, who had nothing but space in front of her on the left side. She had time to settle the ball and size it up, chipping it perfectly into the back corner of the net, to tally the team’s third unanswered goal while tying Severn with six scores on the season.
The Redhawks made things dicey in the last two minutes, pushing the ball downfield and getting it into GU territory three times in that span. But they were denied each time, with the final try being a Penner turnaround shot in a buzzer-beater attempt, but Kylie Jones blocked it with her body to seal the victory for the Bulldogs.
Next up on the docket for Gonzaga is Portland (6-3-6, 3-1-3), as the Pilots sit in fourth in the WCC, right behind the Zags. The two teams will face off in Oregon on Friday, October 31, at 7 PM PT.
