August 29, 2009
SEATTLE -- Sophomore
Tyler Schultz scored in the 11th minute Saturday and
Alec Nelson added an insurance goal for the Seattle Pacific men with four minutes left in a season-opening 2-0 NCAA soccer victory over San Francisco State at Interbay Stadium.
The Falcons (1-0) improved their all-time record in season openers to 30-7-5. San Francisco State, which beat Saint Martin's on Thursday, saw its record drop to 1-1.
“Our effort was great. The guys worked really hard and we were able to play quite a few players,” said second-year SPU coach
Mark Collings. Just five of the 19 players who saw time for the Falcons were upperclassmen. Seven SPU freshmen made their collegiate debuts on Saturday.
“We got a lot of these inexperienced players an opportunity to get out there, get a run in and get their first touches,” Collings said. “We did a good job of creating some great chances. San Francisco State put a great effort in, but I thought that we just happed to be a little sharper today.
Schultz (Scottsdale, Ariz.) netted what proved to be the game-winning goal at 10:59. He collected a through pass from sophomore
Drew Williams (Bend, Ore.) in the middle of the box and slipped a low 12-yard shot into goal at 10:59.
That same tandem combined again for a near goal in the 32nd minute. Williams sent a through ball into the top of the box, but the ensuing shot by Shultz caromed off the crossbar.
“The two of them have been good really since last year,” Collings said of the Schultz-Williams duo. “They have a good chemistry and are starting to develop an idea of where each other are going to be at any given time.”
The Gators were forced to play shorthanded for the game's final 26 minutes after Josh Kuluris was issued a red card. He stopped a breakaway opportunity by tackling SPU's
Ryan Brand (Portland, Ore.) from behind just past midfield.
“Ryan was definitely in and that was a clear scoring opportunity for us,” said Collings, who downplayed the effect of the Falcons having one more player after the ejection. “To be really honest I felt like we didn't play that well in the second half, so regardless of how many guys they had we were just trying to find any sort of rhythm we could. I didn't try to change too much because regardless of what our opposition was doing we needed to be able to sort things out on our own.”
The Falcons continued to pressure the goal, outshooting SFSU 9-2 after halftime. That pressure forced a Gator defend to commit a hand ball infraction inside the box, setting up Nelson's successful penalty kick at 86:17. Nelson led SPU with five goals last season.
Junior goalkeeper
Kaleb Kuehn (Marysville, Wash./Marysville-Pilchuck) was credited with his second career shutout. Kuehn saved one shot for the Falcons, who outshot SFSU 16-5.
Mike McNeil registered five saves for the Gators, who now trail 12-1-1 in the all-time series with SPU.
Saturday started a hectic eight-day stretch for the Falcons, who play five games during that span. SPU hosts 17th-ranked Sonoma State on Monday, Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. before entertaining Cal State East Bay the following night, Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.
“Certainly we have a lot of work ahead of us. We get to come back Monday and get a shot at Sonoma, which is always going to one of the top teams in the region, and the country for that matter,” Collings said. “We've got a big task ahead of us and we can't look beyond that. All of our energy and time is going to be put into getting the best result we can on Monday.”
NCAA Men's Soccer
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 2, San Francisco State 0
Scoring -- 1, SPU,
Tyler Schultz (
Drew Williams), 10:59. 2, SPU,
Alec Nelson (pk), 86:17.
Shots -- SFSU 5, SPU 16.
Saves -- SFSU 5 (Mike McNeil), SPU 1 (
Kaleb Kuehn).
Corner kicks -- SFSU 4, SPU 3.
Fouls -- SFSU 17, SPU 17.
Attendance -- 219.
Records --
Seattle Pacific 1-0-0
San Francisco State 1-1-0
Next Game -- #17 Sonoma State at Seattle Pacific, Monday, Aug. 31, 1 p.m.
