Box score, play-by-play
SEATTLE -- The Falcons won't have much time to lament Thursday's loss, their first of the season.
The 24th-ranked Seattle Pacific men's soccer team squandered a two-goal lead, giving up three unanswered goals in a 3-2 home setback against Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Saint Martin's.
Victor Kelmel redirected a Vlad Voin corner kick into the net at the 59:07 mark, capping the Saints comeback.
The defeat spoiled SPU's undefeated record. The Falcons, who had allowed just five goals in their first nine games, slipped to 6-1-3 overall, 0-1-1 in the GNAC.
Saint Martin's won for the second straight year at Interbay Stadium, climbing to 7-5-0 overall, 2-1-0 in GNAC play.
The schedule doesn't afford the SPU men time to ponder the disappointing outcome. They travel to Bellingham on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. game at Western Washington.
“We come back tomorrow to practice and get right back after it Saturday, which might not be a bad thing to go out and right the ship,” said Falcons' coach Mark Collings. “We've got a team in Western waiting for us and they've been off all week.
“We don't have time to think about what we did wrong tonight. We really have to move forward and prepare for a very good Western team who is a lot better than their record shows. We'll have our hands full.”
The defending GNAC champion Vikings have a 1-1 conference ledger. They are 4-6 overall, with half of their losses coming against nationally ranked opponents.
Sophomore defender Elliot Morton's first career goal and freshman Richie Evoy's third gave Seattle Pacific an early 2-0 lead against SMU.
Morton (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep HS) put the Falcons on the board just 7:46 into the game. Senior Alec Nelson (Lynnwood, Wash./Meadowdale HS) floated a corner kick from the right side across the penalty area, and Morton went up for the header from three yards in front of the net, placing it into the back right side.
“We've been trying to get Elliot isolated for two years and finally it worked,” Collings said. “The key there was the service. We've had Elliot open at other times, but just haven't been able to find him. Alec hit a good ball and we found him.”
That was SPU's first goal of the season off a set piece.
Evoy (Bend, Ore.) doubled the lead to 2-0 at the 18:35 mark. He won the ball beyond midfield, then raced down the right wing side toward the top corner of the penalty area. Evoy let fly with a 20-yard shot that zipped past Saints goalkeeper Zac Lubin into the back left corner.
Collings was pleased with the Falcons early energy.
“We were excited to play and we came after them like we talked about. For some reason we stopped playing when we got up two.”
Saint Martin's struck back with two goals just 13 minutes apart later in the first half. Xan Nixon netted his team-leading sixth goal to make it 2-1 at 20:22. He went on a counterattack down the right side, took the ball into the box and beat Falcons goalkeeper Kaleb Kuehn one on one with a low shot to the left corner.
The Saints got the equalizer at 33:17 off a long throw-in by Brandon Scott. His throw from the right side flew toward the near post, and Gabe O'Hara went up through a traffic jam of bodies in the six-yard box, getting enough of a head to the ball to poke it into the back left corner.
The game was tied at halftime when Collings hoped his team would regroup.
“It was 2-2. Sure we gave up the lead, but we just needed to get back to what we had been doing, which was getting the ball down and finding feet. We didn't want to get into a kick ball match, which is exactly what happened.
“We're not going to succeed playing other people's style. We need to play the way that we do and concentrate on that. We didn't have enough discipline and composure to do that tonight. Give all the credit to Saint Martin's. They forced us to do things that we didn't want to do and were more successful at it.”
The teams combined for 19 first-half shots, 12 of them by the Falcons. SPU finished with 21 shots for the game to 13 for the Saints.
Kuehn (Marysville, Wash./Marysville-Pilchuck HS) was credited with two saves for the Falcons, while his SMU counterpart Lubin had eight.
Saturday's game in Bellingham is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus. That is the nightcap of a doubleheader that opens with a women's game between the defending national champion Falcons playing last year's GNAC titlist WWU at 5 p.m.
NCAA Men's Soccer
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
Saint Martin's 3, (#24) Seattle Pacific 2
Scoring -- 1, SPU, Elliot Morton (Alec Nelson), 7:46. 2, SPU, Richie Evoy (unassisted), 18:35. 3, SMU, Xan Nixon (unassisted), 20:22. 4, SMU, Gabe O'Hara (unassisted), 33:17. 5, SMU, Victor Kelmel (Vlad Voin), 59:07.
Shots-- SMU 13, SPU 21.
Saves -- SMU 8 (Zac Lubin), SPU 2 (Kaleb Kuehn).
Corner kicks -- SMU 3, SPU 4.
Fouls -- SMU 12, SPU 14.
Offsides -- SMU 0, SPU 4.
Attendance -- 275.
Records --
Seattle Pacific 6-1-3, 0-1-1 GNAC
Saint Martin's 7-5-0, 2-1-0 GNAC
Next game --
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, Oct. 3rd, 7:30 p.m., Orca Field (Bellingham)
