Box Score                  • Final Stats

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – On a warm day in mid August, coach Mark Collings was wondering how well his Seattle Pacific men's soccer team – with nearly a dozen new players jostling to join the lineup – would blend.

On a cold Halloween night in Bellingham, that team officially has blended in record-setting fashion.

Sean Russell blasted in a long shot late in the 18^th minute, and SPU hung on for a 1-0 victory against rival Western Washington, thereby extending their unbeaten streak to a new school standard of 14 games.

The Falcons (11-1-3, 9-0-3 with 30 points for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference) are now 11-0-3 since dropping a 1-0 decision to Chico State in the season-opening game on Sept. 7.

"I think the guys knew a little bit, but we didn't really talk about the record until after the game," Collings said. "I congratulated them on it, and that says a lot about the history of our program.

"For this group to do it was pretty special."

The previous school record of 13 straight games without a loss was hit three times. It was first established by the 1987 team (10-0-3), then was matched in 1991 (12-0-1). The current group of Falcons tied it last Saturday with a 1-0 victory against South Dakota School of Mines at Interbay Stadium.

Along with the veterans, Seattle Pacific opened camp in the late summer with six true freshmen, three redshirt freshmen, and two transfers. All of them were vying to replace some of the 10 lettermen, including seven starters, who graduated in June.

"We definitely knew we had some talented pieces," Collings said. "We're very young, but we refuse to use young as an excuse. I didn't know how quickly this group would jell. … Fortunately, it has come together."

The goal for junior midfielder Russell (Seattle / Garfield HS) came at the 17:50 mark. The ball was played out and was headed down by Falcons senior forward Blaine Carver (Soldotna, Alaska). Russell stepped in and unloaded a 35-yard blast from straight in front of the net, and it sailed into the upper right corner past WWU goalkeeper Keegan Rogers.

That was Russell's third goal of the season and the sixth of his career. It also was his fourth career game-winner.

"It was an absolutely sensational goal," Collings said. "You can't hit the ball any better than that."

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Cody Lang (Spokane, Wash. / Lewis & Clark HS) made four saves to earn his eighth shutout of the season. He got tested early by the third-place Vikings (9-4-3, 7-2-3--24 points GNAC), making two saves during the first three minutes: one on an 18-yard shot by Tye Hastings at 1:45, and then on a header by Jeremy Wentzel at 2:45.

Midway through the second half, Lang came up big again. A hard, low shot by Western's Andrew Weishaar was heading toward the left post. Lang dove to his right and deflected the ball with his fingertips. It spun away from him, but redshirt freshman midfielder Davis Karaica (Snoqualmie, Wash. / Mount Si HS) cleared it off the line.

"I thought we had a really good first half – we moved the ball well and caused them a lot of problems," Collings said. "We were forcing them to defend for long spells. The second half, we really didn't play. I felt like we held on. But overall, it's hard to go on the road and get a result against a very good team, and we did that tonight."

The Falcons won't have much time to bask in the glow of Thursday's accomplishment. On Saturday, they head across the border to take on conference leader and No. 3-ranked Simon Fraser at 7:30 p.m. in Burnaby, B.C. The Clan retained their tenuous one-point hold on first place Thursday night, scoring midway through the second half to beat Saint Martin's 1-0. Simon Fraser is 10-1-1 with 31 points.

When those teams met on Oct. 3 at Interbay Stadium, Seattle Pacific pulled out a 2-1 victory on a night the Clan came in ranked No. 1 in D2. Danny Olivas scored the game-winning goal for the Falcons on a free kick in the 79th minute.


NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Orca Field / Bellingham, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 1, Western Washington 0

Scoring – 1, SPU, Sean Russell (Blaine Carver), 17:50.

Shots – SPU 9, WWU 9.
Saves – SPU (Cody Lang) 4, WWU (Keegan Rogers) 1.
Corner kicks – SPU 2, WWU 4.
Fouls – NA.
Offsides – SPU 3, WWU 0.
Attendance – 175.

Records
Seattle Pacific 11-1-3, 9-0-3—30 points GNAC
Western Washington 9-4-3, 7-2-3—24 points GNAC.

Next game
Seattle Pacific at No. 3 Simon Fraser
Saturday, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Terry Fox Field / Burnaby, B.C.