• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

LACEY, Wash. – With a huge game looming, there was a risk of players looking ahead. But a goal by Tyler Schultz less than two minutes into Saturday's game showed that Seattle Pacific was focused.
 
Schultz posted his second straight multi-goal game and Zach Johnson got his sixth consecutive shutout for the 20th-ranked SPU men, who defeated Saint Martin's 3-0 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference clash at SMU Soccer Field.
 
The second-place Falcons (11-2-2) will bring a 5-1-1 conference record into Thursday's home game against unbeaten and top-ranked Simon Fraser, the league leader. That battle of ranked rivals is slated for 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.
 
“We'll do our best to be ready for it, but it's a big challenge. They haven't been beaten up to this point,” said coach Mark Collings, whose SPU squad lost 4-3 at Simon Fraser on Oct. 1.
 
“They got us the first time up there and Thursday's matchup has implications for winning the conference championship. If we want to go to the postseason and continue to grow as a team we need to be able to play with teams of Simon Fraser's caliber.”
 
A junior goalkeeper, Johnson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS) was much busier Saturday than he was two days earlier when the Falcons held the University of Mary without a shot in a 5-0 rout. Schultz tallied two goals in that game.
 
Johnson stopped three of Saint Martin's shots en route to his 10th save. He has not surrendered a goal in the last 577 minutes.
 
Schultz (Scottsdale, Ariz.) scored on the game's first shot after just 1:51 had ticked off the clock. He took a quick touch before directing an eight-yard strike into the left side of the goal off the team-leading eighth assist from Drew Williams (Bend, Ore.).
 
“We're relieved to get through this one,” Collings said. “Certainly the early goal really helped us settle in and get some confidence. It was really wet and the conditions didn't promote the best soccer at times, but we were able to adapt and get it done today.”
 
In the second half, Schultz capped the scoring with 3:15 left to play, converting a penalty kick after being fouled while dribbling past a defender in the box. The SPU senior leads the league with 13 goals and five of them came during the last three outings.
 
He has 35 career goals and will become one of the Seattle Pacific's top-10 all-time goal scorers with his next one.
 
“To me he is playing like the player of the year in our conference. He's scored a lot of timely goals for us and he's always a threat when he gets the ball,” Collings said. “He's doing all this even with teams keying on him and being aware of him. I couldn't be more happy for him and of the effort that he's putting in.
 
“The biggest thing is he's been very opportunistic. Tyler finished the chances that he's been getting. Even stuff he hasn't scored he's created well for us.”
 
Junior Kyle Smurdon (Sherwood, Ore.) netted the Falcons second score, finding the goal for the second straight game. He won the race to a loose ball and slipped a 10-yard shot in at 37:37 after a pass from Evan Robicheau (Puyallup, Wash./Puyallup HS).
 
Goalkeeper JJ Olson made five saves for the Saints, who were outshot 16-6. SMU (4-9-2) dropped to 3-3-1 in GNAC games.
 

NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 22, 2011
SMU Soccer Field/Lacey, Wash.

(#20) Seattle Pacific 3, at Saint Martin's 0

Scoring – 1, SPU, Tyler Schultz (Drew Williams), 1:51; 2, SPU, Kyle Smurdon (Evan Robicheau), 37:37; 3, Tyler Schultz (PK), 86:45.

Shots – SPU 16, SMU 6.
Saves –SPU 3 (Zach Johnson), SMU 6 (JJ Olson 5, Team 1).
Corner kicks – SPU 3, SMU 2.
Fouls – SPU 11, SMU 12.
Offsides – SPU 1, SMU 1.
Ejections – None.
Attendance – 91.

Records
Seattle Pacific 11-2-2,  7-1-1 GNAC
Saint Martin's 4-9-2,  GNAC 3-3-1

Next game
(#1) Simon Fraser at (#20) Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 27, 7:00 p.m., Interbay Stadium