• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

CARSON, Calif. – They learned a lesson the hard way.

The 22nd-ranked Seattle Pacific men's soccer team lost 2-0 on Friday against a determined, veteran Cal State Dominguez Hills team that last season won the NCAA Division II national championship.

John Sherman scored the first of two second-half goals for Dominquez in the non-conference encounter at Toro Stadium.

“We played a really experienced team that knew what they needed to do to win a game. They brought it,” said SPU coach Mark Collings. “I don't fault our work ethic and don't necessarily think that we were bad. They just got to a lot more balls than we did and were able to stick to their game plan a little better than we were.”

The Toros improved to 12-5-1 with their sixth straight win. SPU was swept on its tough two-game trip to southern California, dropping to 10-4-3. The Falcons lost 2-1 on Wednesday at No. 10 Cal State L.A. on an own goal with 1:08 left to play.

“I told the guys after the game that we've got to find a way to win games like this,” said Collings. “When you don't have your best stuff and you are playing against quality opponents like we did on this trip, you have to find ways to score goals and keep balls out of your net. We came up a little short, but I'm not discouraged. We learned a lot and we're going to get better.”

The teams battled to a scoreless standoff during the opening 45-minute period. Junior goalkeeper Kaleb Kuehn (Marysville, Wash./Marysville-Pilchuck HS) kept the Falcons in the game with three first-half saves.

The SPU offense suffered the loss of two starters during the first half, both due to injuries. Freshman Richie Evoy departed in the 25th minute and sophomore Tyler Schultz went off 10 minutes later. Schultz  (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is the Falcons' leading scorer with eight goals, including five scores in the previous four games. Evoy (Bend, Ore.) is third on the team with four goals.

“That really changed us. Not having them disrupted our rhythm,” Collings said. “We had some other guys who came in and played well, but it's tough when you lose two of your top goal scorers. It puts more pressure on other guys.

“Take nothing away from Dominguez. They are very good defensively and their goalkeeper came out and snapped up some balls, getting to some things that we were just a step late on.”

The Toros' first goal came 15 minutes into the second half. Sherman collected pass from Brian Alvarez and fired a 20-yard shot into the SPU goal at 59:58.

Kevin Gallaugher added an insurance tally for Dominquez off a corner kick by Andrew Marinez. The ball got loose in the goalmouth and Gallaugher headed it in from close range at 80:03.

The Falcons lost despite five saves from Kuehn, who faced a 21-shot barrage from the Toros.

SPU countered with just five shots, all from different players. None of those required a save by Toros goalkeeper Markus Dickerson, who registered his seventh shutout.

Dominguez continued its mastery of the Falcons, winning for the eighth consecutive time to extend its series advantage to 10-4-1.

The SPU men close out the regular season with a pair of home games, beginning on Thursday, Oct. 29 against Western Washington. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium, where they host Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 7.

Collings hopes to parlay the lessons learned Friday into a successful conclusion to the campaign.

“We still have a lot to play for. We're going to come home and really try to finish out strong and win a conference championship. Ultimately our goal is to get into the postseason. Both of those things are still attainable.”


NCAA Men's Soccer
Friday, October 23, 2009
Toro Stadium/Carson, Calif.

Cal State Dominguez Hills 2, (#22) Seattle Pacific 0

Scoring – 1, CSUDH, John Sherman (Brian Alvarez), 59:58. 2, CSUDH, Kevin Gallaugher (Andrew Marinez), 80:03.

Shots – SPU 5, CSUDH 21.
Saves – SPU 5 (Kaleb Kuehn), CSUDH 0 (Markus Dickerson).
Corner kicks – SPU 2, CSUDH 13.
Fouls – SPU 7, CSUDH 15.
Offsides – SPU 3, CSUDH 4.
Attendance -- 207.

Records –
Seattle Pacific 10-4-3
Cal State Dominguez Hills 12-5-1

Next game –
Western Washington at (#22) Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 29, 7:00 p.m., Interbay Stadium