• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

BURNABY, B.C. – Seattle Pacific scored early and often Thursday against an unlikely foil.

Anthony Mohammed set the tone with a goal in the fourth minute Thursday as SPU dealt Simon Fraser its first loss with a 4-0 shutout in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer game at Terry Fox Field.

The second-place Falcons (10-5-2) drew within two points of SFU, which sits atop the GNAC standings with an 8-1-0 record and 24 points. The Clan had put together a perfect 16-0 record, outscoring opponents 52-8, before being blanked for the first time all season by the Falcons.

“As great as we were offensively, we were just as good defensively,” said SPU coach Mark Collings. “Jon Pearman and Brandon Kuenzi were absolutely fantastic at center back tonight and Kaleb Kuehn came up with a big save early in the second half to keep them scoreless.”

SPU now has 22 points, improving to 7-1-1 in conference play with its seventh straight win. The Falcons are still in contention for the league title with one game remaining. They need to get a road win at Western Washington and hope that the Clan either ties or lose to Saint Martin's.

SPU converted its first two shots of the game, scoring twice inside the opening 13 minutes.

Mohammed (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) lofted a 25-yard shot from the left flank that carried over goalkeeper Hide Ozawa and into the goal at 3:39 for his third score of the season.

“The early goal was huge on our first shot of the game,” said Collings. “It was great recognition by Anthony that the keeper was out and he hit it over him. As soon as he hit it I knew it was in.”

Less than nine minutes later Blaine Carver (Soldotna, Alaska) picked up the ball during a goalmouth scramble and sent it into the side netting at 12:29. That was the eighth goal for the first-year forward, the highest total for a Falcons freshman since Grant Falco scored 11 times in 1999.

Junior Elliot Morton (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) was credited with an assist on SPU's second goal. He netted the third score himself, blasting a 30-yard free kick into the lower right corner at 55:01.

“It was a bomb. He hit an absolute rocket,” Collings exclaimed about Morton's fifth goal of the year.

Junior Tyler Schultz (Scottsdale, Ariz.) capped the scoring at 79:33 with his team-leading 10th goal. That is the highest total by an SPU player since Brent Egbert had 13 goals in 2004.

Kuehn (Marysville, Wash./Marysville-Pilchuck HS) stopped four shots for SPU to pick up his second shutout. His counterpart Hide Ozawa made seven saves for the Clan, who were outshot 15-10.

SPU won for the 10th time in its last 11 games. The lone loss during that stretch was a 3-2 overtime setback against the Clan on Oct. 6 in Seattle. The Falcons led 2-1 in that game before SFU equalized with less than four minutes left regulation.

Collings hopes Thursday's result sends a message to the NCAA Tournament selection committee that SPU deserves an invitation.

“Certainly I hope the team gets credit for what they just did. We went up and beat the No. 2 team in the NAIA. They were undefeated and hadn't lost in the league,” said Collings.

“No disrespect to anybody else we've played, but Simon Fraser is the most talented team we played all year. We made it very difficult for them tonight. I hope the regional committee will recognize this and recognize the roll this group is on right now.”

The Falcons complete their regular-season schedule on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Western Washington. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus. The Vikings and SPU played to a 2-2 tie on Sept. 20 in Seattle.

“We've got one more game to go to prove to everybody that we belong and that's where our energy is going to be focused,” Collings concluded.


NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010
Terry Fox Field/Burnaby, B.C.

Seattle Pacific 4, Simon Fraser 0

Scoring -- 1, SPU, Anthony Mohammed, 3:39. 2, SPU, Blaine Carver (Elliot Morton), 12:29. 3, SPU, Morton, 55:01. 4, SPU, Tyler Schultz, 79:33.

Shots – SPU 15, SF 10.
Saves – SPU 4 (Kaleb Kuehn), SF 7 (Hide Ozawa).
Corners – SPU 3, SF 7.
Fouls – SPU 13, SF 11.
Offsides – SPU 3, SF 2.
Cautions – SPU 2 (Mohammed, Caleb Nyone), SF 1 (Juan Sanchez).
Ejections – None.
Attendance – 200.

Records –
Seattle Pacific 10-5-2, 7-1-1 GNAC
Simon Fraser 16-1-0, 8-1-0 GNAC

Next game –
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, Nov. 6, Orca Field, 7:00 p.m.