• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

DENVER, Colo. – The 20th-ranked Metro State men's soccer team avenged last season's upset road loss with a 3-0 home victory over Seattle Pacific on Friday in a non-conference matchup at Auraria Field.

The Falcons (0-2-1) lost their second straight game, including Monday's 1-0 defeat at Chico State. After holding opponents scoreless for the season's opening 170 minutes, they have allowed four goals in the subsequent 120 minutes.

The Roadrunners (3-0) have still not surrendered a goal this season. They were similarly ranked 20th last year before leaving a Sept. 12, 2009 visit to SPU's Interbay Stadium with a stunning 4-1 setback.

Metro got the only goal it needed just 10 minutes into Friday's contest. Forward Scott Grode gathered the rebound of his own missed shot and pushed it into the goal from inside the six-yard box. His initial shot attempt was deflected by Falcons goalkeeper Zach Johnson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish).

Johnson, a sophomore, was credited with a career-high nine saves for SPU, which was outshot by a 20-10 margin. He nearly matched the 10-save total he accumulated in all four of his 2009 appearances combined.

Metro extended its 1-0 halftime edge with a goal nine minutes into the second period. Defender Oladele Johnson dribbled down the left flank before directing the ball into the SPU goal from 25 yards out at 53:58.

Marc Herschberger capped the scoring at 81:03 after teammate Steven Emory's pass set him up with a one-on-one situation with Johnson in front of the SPU goalmouth.

“It was way closer than the 3-0 final score,” described third-year SPU coach Mark Collings. “It's a tough place to play. Metro is good and they capitalized on our mistakes. We had some great opportunities to score and didn't, while they finished their chances.”

The Falcons, who are averaging 10 shots per game, remained scoreless on the season despite several near misses. Friday's most dangerous scoring chance came from junior Tyler Schultz (Scottsdale, Ariz.) in the 65th minute. He broke into the box on the left side and sent a shot that carried just wide of the right post.

The SPU men stay in Colorado for two more games. They travel to Grand Junction to play Mesa State on Monday at 6 p.m. Pacific Time before concluding the road trip back in Denver against Regis on Wednesday at 2:30 PDT.

“We just need to continue to improve. We didn't have a lot of bright spots today,” Collings said. “In order for us to get better we need to have some guys perform a lot better. We need to get them to believe a little bit.

“There might be some self-doubt and we've got to lift them up and let them know that it's three games and there's a lot more to go. It just takes one to get us going and we'll be fine.”


NCAA Men's Soccer
Friday, September 10, 2010
Auraria Field/Denver, Colo.

(#20) Metro State 3, Seattle Pacific 0

Scoring – 1, MSC, Scott Grode, 10:00. 2, MSC, Oladele Johnson, 53:58. 3, MSC, Marc Herschberger (Steven Emory), 81:03.

Shots – SPU 10, MSC 20.
Saves – SPU 9 (Zach Johnson), MSC 4 (Issa Bissau).
Corner kicks – SPU 1, MSC 4.
Fouls – SPU 6, MSC 10.
Offsides – SPU 3, MSC 3.
Attendance -- 94.

Records –
Seattle Pacific 0-2-1.
Metro State 3-0-0

Next game –
Seattle Pacific at Mesa State
Monday, Sept. 13, 6:00 p.m. PDT