Box score, play-by-play

SEATTLE – Elliot Morton chased down a ball deep in Montana State Billings territory and shot it into the back right corner 4:19 into overtime, giving Seattle Pacific a 2-1 victory in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer game on Saturday night at Interbay Stadium.

For junior forward Morton (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), it was the fourth goal of the year and his first game-winner.



Seattle Pacific (8-5-2) posted its fifth straight win and eighth in the last nine games. The Falcons are on an 8-1-1 surge since starting the season at 0-4-1.

With the ball rolling toward the top of the Yellowjackets penalty area, Morton gained control, lost it momentarily under defensive pressure, but quickly regained it and broke through two defenders. That set him up for a one-on-one shot that got past goalkeeper Matt Mitchell.

“I slid and stood up and didn't know where the ball went,” Morton described. “It happened to go right towards the goal between people. I took a touch and just put it far post. The keeper got a hand on it, but it went in.”

Junior midfielder Tyler Schultz (Scottsdale, Ariz.) put the Falcons on the board at 16:12 with his fifth goal in the last four games. It came on the second of back-to-back corner kicks by SPU freshman defender Kodiac Gamble (Tucson, Ariz.), this one from the right-wing side. Gamble floated it toward the near post, and Schultz, playing just inside the top corner of the 6-yard box, headed it into the back right corner.

That was the team-high ninth goal of the season for Schultz, one more than his eight-goal total that topped the Falcons in 2009.

“I'm thankful that Elliot had a great little sequence there at the end and was able to finish it off in overtime. And Shultz gets his ninth goal early on a great header,” SPU coach Mark Collings said. “We controlled the game early and I don't think they had a shot on goal in the first half. We just haven't done a good job of putting teams away.”

Billings (7-6-1, 2-5-0 GNAC) put in the equalizer at 63:39. Chris Andre took a free kick from the left side deep in Falcon territory. Senior goalkeeper Kaleb Kuehn (Marysville, Wash./Marysville-Pilchuck HS) came out and got a hand to it, but the ball stayed in the vicinity of the 6-yard box, and Conner Moe, playing 10 yards in front of the right post, headed it into the back right corner.

Seattle Pacific had a 20-9 advantage in shots, a handful of which were near-misses during the second half. Sophomore Caleb Nyone (Happy Valley, Ore.) had two of those – one from close range that was tipped onto the top of the net midway through the 55th minute, and one from 30 yards away that went barely wide right with 3:40 left in regulation.

The Falcons had another great opportunity with 30 minutes remaining when freshman midfielder Anthony Mohammed sent a long through-ball that just eluded freshman forward Blaine Carver (Soldotna, Alaska).

“At the end of the day it's a win and keeps up going toward our goals as a conference champion as well as getting into the postseason,” said Collings. “But we certainly need to start finishing our chances if we're going to go where we want to go.”

Kuehn has a perfect 4-0 record starting in goal this season for the Falcons. He was credited with three saves. Mitchell stopped four shots for MSUB.

The SPU men defeated the Yellowjackets 2-0 on Sept. 30 in Billings. They swept the season series for the first time since MSUB joined the GNAC in 2007. The Falcons own an 8-3-2 advantage in the all-time series.

The Falcons currently reside in second place in the GNAC standings with a 5-1-1 record and 16 points. They are two points behind league-leading Simon Fraser (6-0-0), which has a game in hand.

SPU lost a 3-2 overtime decision at home to the Clan on Oct. 6. They meet again on Nov. 4 in Burnaby, B.C.

Seattle Pacific returns to action next Saturday at home against defending conference champion Saint Martin's at 7 p.m. It will the home finale at Interbay Stadium and will be Senior Night when Kuehn and Andy Wolverton will be saluted for their four years as Falcons.



NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 2, Montana State Billings 1 (OT)

Scoring – 1, SPU: Tyler Schultz (Kodiac Gamble), 16:12; 2, MSUB: Conner Moe (Chris Andre), 63:39; 3, SPU: Elliot Morton (unassisted), 94:19.

Shots – MSUB 9, SPU 20.
Saves – MSUB 4 (Matt Mitchell), SPU 3 (Kaleb Kuehn).
Corner kicks – MSUB 3, SPU 6.
Fouls – MSUB 13, SPU 12.
Offsides – MSUB 0, SPU 3.
Cautions – MSUB: Kyle Moriarty.
Ejections -- None.
Attendance – 423.

Records –
Seattle Pacific 8-5-2, 5-1-1 GNAC (16 points)
Montana State Billings 7-6-1, 2-5-0 GNAC (6 points)

Next game –
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Oct. 30 (Senior Night), Interbay Stadium, 7:00 p.m.