• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

NAMPA, Idaho – Coach Mark Collings was thrilled with the first-half showing by the Seattle Pacific men's soccer team. The second half? Not so much.

Tyler Schultz assisted on the second goal and scored the game-winner one minute later for SPU, which held on to defeat Northwest Nazarene 3-2 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest on Thursday at NNU Soccer Field.

The Falcons (7-5-2) are on a season-best four-game winning streak and have been victorious in seven of their last eight games. They drew within two points of league-leading Simon Fraser (5-0-0, 15 points), improving to 4-1-1 in GNAC play with a second-place total of 13 points.

“We were really sharp in the first half. We created a lot of chances and felt like it probably should have been 5-0 at the half,” Collings described. “It was just a dominating performance.”

SPU scored all three of its goals during the opening 26 minutes. The Falcons started the scoring at 3:45 when sophomore Jon Pearman (Glendale, Ariz.) sent a six-yard volley into the goal off a corner kick from junior Drew Williams (Bend, Ore.) for his first goal of the season.

At 24:41 SPU scored again when Dillon Ballard (Corbett, Ore.) served a far post free kick into the box that Schultz flicked across the goal on with his head. Blaine Carver (Soldotna, Alaska) headed the ball into the goal from three yards away. That was the fifth goal of the season for the freshman forward, who had a hat trick on Saturday in SPU's last outing.

Just 1:01 after the second goal, the third came on a five-yard shot from Schultz after a long throw-in by Brandon Kuenzi (Silverton, Ore.). Schultz tallied his team-leading eighth goal, matching his total from last season. The junior forward netted a goal in five of SPU's last six games.

SPU outshot the Crusaders 8-3 during the first half. The second half was the opposite as NNU (6-6-0, 2-4-0 GNAC) had a 9-3 advantage en route to a 12-11 shooting edge for the game.

“The second half was a different story. We just didn't even show up in the second half,” Collings said. “That's probably the worst half of soccer I've seen us play in a long time. It was almost like we played tentative and didn't want to give up our three-goal lead.

“Give some credit to NNU, they stepped up their game a bit, but I felt like our energy level dropped off. We were pretty bad and hopefully we got that out of our system.”

The Crusaders scored on a 12-yard shot from Brock Ogami at 70:53 and drew within 3-2 on an eight-yard strike from Stephen Davidson at 82:30.

The Falcons faced two late shots during the final 7:30, but were able to prevent NNU from equalizing.

SPU senior Kaleb Kuehn (Marysville, Wash./Marysville-Pilchuck HS) stopped three shots to claim his third win in as many starts in goal this season.

Goalkeeper Zander Engeman was credited with five saves for the Crusaders.

The Falcons return home to host Montana State Billings on Saturday, Oct. 23. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.
Collings expects his “first-half” Falcons to show up Saturday.

“We're looking forward to the opportunity to come out and play on Saturday night and get back to doing what makes us successful.

“We have goals as a team. We'd like to win our conference and ultimately would like to get to the NCAA postseason. In order to do that we need to win.”

SPU SOCCER TICKETS...

Tickets for SPU soccer games can be purchased on game day at Interbay Stadium (3027 17th Ave. W., Seattle 98119). Ticket windows open one hour prior to kickoff. All seats are general admission and priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. SPU students and staff are admitted free. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for reduced ticket rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010
NNU Soccer Field/Nampa, Idaho

Seattle Pacific 3, Northwest Nazarene 2

Scoring -- 1, SPU, Jon Pearman (Drew Williams), 3:45. 2, SPU, Blaine Carver (Tyler Schultz, Dillon Ballard), 24.41. 3, SPU, Tyler Schultz (Brandon Kuenzi), 25:42. 4, NNU, Brock Ogami (Daniel Clark), 70:53. 5, NNU, Stephen Davidson (Chris Arellano), 82:30.

Shots – SPU 11, NNU 12.
Saves – SPU 3 (Kaleb Kuehn), NNU 5 (Zander Engeman).
Corners – SPU 4, NNU 5.
Fouls – SPU 11, NNU 7.
Offsides – SPU 2, NNU 1.
Cautions – SPU 1 (Richie Evoy), NNU 0.
Ejections – None.
Attendance – 149.

Records –
Seattle Pacific 7-5-2, 4-1-1 GNAC
Northwest Nazarene 6-6-0, 2-4-0 GNAC

Next game –
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Oct. 23, 7:00 p.m., Interbay Stadium