SEATTLE -- Jarred Weisen scored a hat trick on Thursday night, offsetting two goals by Seattle Pacific's Tyler Schultz, as Montana State Billings downed the Falcons in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer match at Interbay Stadium, 4-2.
The loss, coupled with Western Washington's 6-0 rout of Saint Martin's, ended Seattle Pacific's hopes of winning the GNAC championship. The Falcons are now 4-3-0 in conference play (6-9-3 overall) with only Saturday's season finale at Western Washington remaining. The Vikings' win on Thursday pushed their GNAC-leading record to 6-1-0, with their only loss coming at the hands of Seattle Pacific, 3-1 on Oct. 8.
Billings, which began the season as the GNAC favorite, improved to 3-4-0 in the conference, 10-7-0 overall.
SPU outshot the Yellowjackets for the game, 15-9, including 10-4 in the second half.
After the teams went the first 10 ½ minutes of the game without even getting off a shot in the steady rain, each side put one into the net during a two-minute span late in the first half.
Montana State Billings struck first. Sam Charles, whose 18 goals lead the GNAC and rank in a tie for sixth nationally in Division II, was on the assisting end this time, passing the ball back to Tyler Moriarty, playing outside the top left corner of the penalty area. From 22 yards away, Moriarty unleashed a shot that zipped into the back right corner of the net at 29:44.
Barely two minutes later, the Falcons were back into a tie. Freshman defender Griffin Fahling (Tupelo, Miss.) took a free kick just over the midfield line on the left wing side. He sent a target ball into the box that initially was punched away by Yellowjackets goalkeeper Matt Mitchell. But the ball came right out to Schultz, who fired it in from eight yards in front of the left post at 31:25.
Billings snapped the 1-1 tie at 40:12. SPU gave the ball away deep in its own territory, and Jarred Weisen, wide open against Falcons goalkeeper Ben Lovelace (Cupertino, Calif.) one-on-one, poked it in from 12 yards straight in front.
Schultz, for the second time in the game, got Seattle Pacific back into a tie. Drew Williams (Bend, Ore.) set up this equalizer, crossing the ball into the box from the right corner. Schultz got it 12 yards straight in front and blasted it in at 64:23 for a 2-2 deadlock.
But Weisen responded almost immediately for Montana State Billings, taking the ball downfield by himself, getting around two SPU defenders, and beating Lovelace from 12 yards away one-on-one at 66:55.
Lovelace preserved the one-goal difference at the 78:02 mark when he went to his left to slap away a penalty kick try by Charles. But with SPU playing a man down after senior defender Colin Kosco (Edmonds, Wash., Meadowdale HS) was sent off following the whistle that led to the PK, Weisen scored an insurance goal at 85:11 to put the game out of reach at 4-2.
Prior to Thursday's match, Kosco and four other seniors were honored on Senior Night. Besides Kosco and Lovelace, the group of honorees included Jono Henness (Casa Grande, Ariz.), Ben Pliskin (Corvallis, Ore.) and Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone (Burnaby, B.C.).
Kickoff for the season-ender in Bellingham on Saturday is at 7 p.m.
NCAA Men's Soccer
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
Montana State Billings 4, Seattle Pacific 2
Scoring -- 1, MSUB: Tyler Moriarty (Sam Charles), 29:44; 2, SPU: Tyler Schultz (Griffin Fahling), 31:25; 3, MSUB: Jarred Weisen (unassisted), 40:12; 4, SPU: Schultz (Drew Williams), 64:23; 5, MSUB: Weisen (unassisted), 66:55; 6, Weisen (Charles), 85:11.
Shots -- MSUB 9, SPU 15.
Saves -- MSUB (Matt Mitchell) 4, SPU (Ben Lovelace) 1.
Corner kicks -- MSUB 4, SPU 5.
Fouls -- MSUB 15, SPU 12.
Offsides -- MSUB 2,SPU 2.
Cautions -- MSUB: Jurrell Linford, 31:21; Moriarty, 72:51. SPU: Colin Kosco, 25:10; Alec Nelson, 69:07.
Ejections -- SPU: Kosco 78:02.
Attendance -- 185.
Records --
Seattle Pacific 6-9-3, 4-3-0 GNAC.
Montana State Billings 10-7-0, 3-4-0 GNAC.
