August 31, 2009
SEATTLE – Junior Kaleb Kuehn made three saves to earn his second consecutive shutout, helping the Seattle Pacific men play to a 0-0 double-overtime soccer tie against 17th-ranked Sonoma State on Monday afternoon at Interbay Stadium.
The Falcons (1-0-1) pulled out the draw despite getting outshot 18-5. Most of Sonoma's shots were from distance and never threatened the goal. The three attempts that were sent on frame were denied by Kuehn, who has not surrendered a goal in 200 minutes between the posts this season.
“Sonoma is very organized, very quick and technically solid all over the field. I thought we did a good job of defending,” said SPU coach Mark Collings. “Elliot Morton and Jon Pearman were excellent in the center back. Kaleb was very good. We left him isolated quite a bit one-on-one and he was exceptional today.”
Kuehn's biggest save came with 14:30 left in the second half when he came off his line to make a sliding save on a shot by Sonoma's Casey Bernard in the left side of the penalty area about eight yards up from the net.
A product of Marysville-Pilchuck (Wash.) High School, Kuehn now has doubled his shutout total from 2008, when he had one in 11 games.
The Falcons thought they had a goal 15 minutes into the game when sophomore Ryan Brand (Portland, Ore.) capped a breakaway with a low shot into the back of the Sonoma net. The goal was disallowed by an offside flag 30 yards back up the field.
“We had a chance early and it will be interesting to see that goal on film,” Collings said. “We had a couple other chances that just didn't quite materialize for us.
The game's most dangerous scoring opportunities occurred during overtime, one for each team.
Just over four minutes into the first 10-minute overtime session, Sonoma's Ben Langwith headed a shot that glanced off the crossbar.
Inside the final minute of the second overtime, the Falcons were awarded a free kick from just outside the box. Senior Alec Nelson sent a 25-yard strike to the left post, but goalkeeper Brook Johnson deflected it out of play to turn back the scoring chance. SPU was unable to capitalize on the ensuing corner kick and the game ended in a draw after 110 minutes.
“A young team, we were a little too frantic today,” said Collings, who sent 13 underclassmen onto the field in his 18-player rotation. “We needed to have some composure, get the ball down and play. We just didn't find a rhythm and that's a tribute to them. They put us under a lot of pressure.”
Sonoma State, which scored a 2-1 overtime victory at Western Washington this past Saturday, is 1-0-1.
“All in all it was a good game between two good teams,” Collings concluded. “We have to come back tomorrow so we'll see what we can do.”
The Falcons return to Interbay Stadium on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against Cal State East Bay. That is the third of five home games in eight days for SPU.
NCAA Men's Soccer
Monday, August 31, 2009
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 0, (#17) Sonoma State 0, 2ot
Scoring -- None.
Shots – SSU 18, SPU 5.
Saves -- SPU 3 (Kaleb Kuehn), SSU 1 (Brook Johnson).
Corner kicks – SSU 7, SPU 3.
Fouls – SSU 17, SPU 11.
Offsides – SSU 5, SPU 4.
Attendance -- 178.
Records –
Seattle Pacific 1-0-1.
Sonoma State 1-0-1.
Next game -- Cal State East Bay at Seattle Pacific, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
