Box Score                  • Final Stats     |     • VIDEO: Ian Adams
 
SEATTLE – Sophomores Ian Adams and Garrett Jones each tallied a second-half goal Saturday for the Seattle Pacific men, who notched an impressive 2-0 non-conference soccer victory over Notre Dame de Namur at Interbay Stadium.
 
"That was maybe the best I've seen SPU soccer play in quite some time. I thought we made a very good team look very average tonight," said Coach Mark Collings.
 
"It started with our pressure up top and our ability to possess the ball. Normally Notre Dame has quite a bit of possession and tonight we really dominated the ball. They didn't have many shots and we had quite a few opportunities to score."
 


The Falcons improved to 2-1 with their second straight win while NDNU fell to 1-3.
 
The first half was scoreless despite an 11-2 shot advantage for the hosts. SPU had several narrow misses, including a 21st-minute attempt by Blaine Carver that slammed off the crossbar.
 
Was Collings worried about being kept off the scoreboard despite numerous dangerous chances?
 
"It's always a concern because soccer is such a foolish game sometimes. But our guys were confident," he said. "We talk about getting not just shots, but quality opportunities. We felt like we were getting those."
 
So what did Collings tell his team at halftime?
 
"We just told the guys that sometimes in soccer you just have to stick to what you are doing,
 
"This was really a night for us to kind of solidify our identity. Are we going to stick to the game plan and what we're trying to do or are we going to deviate because it hasn't quite got us the final product? We stuck to it and it paid off early in the second half."
 
SPU grabbed the lead 3:01 after halftime when Adams (Shoreline, Wash./Shorecrest HS) sent a 12-yard shot into the upper right corner. Sean Russell started the scoring play with a pass to Carver, who delivered a through ball to the right side of the box that broke Adams free.
 
Jones (Boise, Idaho) added an insurance tally at 80:28 on his first collegiate goal. He received a pass from Stephen MacDonald and delivered a 25-yard blast into the upper right corner.
 
"Fortunately Ian scores a great goal early in the half and then Garrett, boy what a great shot that was," Collings exclaimed.
 
The Falcons got the better of a 17-5 shooting margin, including a 9-2 lead in attempts directly on goal. Argonauts goalkeeper Nico Charvet made seven saves.
 
Red-shirt freshman Cody Lang (Spokane, Wash./Lewis & Clark HS) stopped two NDNU shots to secure back-to-back shutouts in goal. He has not surrendered a score in the last 237 minutes.
 
The SPU men hit the road next week, starting Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday in Rapid City, S.D. They will meet the league's newest member, South Dakota School of Mines.
 
"We talked about the importance of the non-conference and getting above .500. Now hopefully we can start rolling here in South Dakota and North Dakota next week in the conference season," said Collings.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013
Interbay Stadium /Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 2, Notre Dame de Namur 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Ian Adams (Sean Russell, Blaine Carver), 48:01; 2, SPU, Garrett Jones (Steven MacDonald), 80:28.
 
Shots – NDNU 5, SPU 17.
Saves – NDNU 7 (Nico Charvet), SPU 2 (Cody Lang).
Corner Kicks – NDNU 1, SPU 3.
Fouls – NDNU 12, SPU 10.
Offsides – NDNU 2, SPU 5.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 2-1-0
Notre Dame de Namur 1-3-0
 
Next SPU Men's Game
Seattle Pacific at South Dakota Mines
Thursday, Sept. 19, 5:30 p.m. PDT
Sioux Park Sports Complex / Rapid City, S.D.