Box Score    |     Final Stats

SEATTLE – The lights went out Saturday night at Interbay Stadium. But Stephen MacDonald had already provided all the energy Seattle Pacific needed.
 
The sophomore forward netted the lone goal 4:49 into the contest for third-ranked SPU, which defeated the University of Mary 1-0 in a men's soccer game shortened by a power outage at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference game was called after 81:29 had been played as the power went out at the facility, situated between Queen Anne and Magnolia, as part of an outage throughout Seattle. The entire stadium went dark at 8:40 p.m. and the teams waited 80 minutes for the lights to be restored.
 
At 10 p.m. the officials declared SPU the winner. The rulebook states that a game is official after 70 minutes in the event of a stoppage that can't be resumed within three hours of the kickoff.

 

"This is definitely a first, so we can add that to the season of firsts," said SPU coach Mark Collings. "It's unfortunate. We really tried to wait to see if we could finish this out, but it just wasn't meant to be tonight.
 
"It was a fair result in my opinion. We were pretty good tonight and probably should have had a couple more, but we'll take it. That's just soccer."
 
The lack of lights didn't dim the school-record winning streak that stretched to 13 games. The Falcons (14-0-1) are one of only five NCAA Division II men's soccer teams without a loss.
 
The SPU men remained perfect in league play with an 11-0-0 record and a 33-point total that provides an eight-point cushion over second-place Northwest Nazarene with three games to play.
 
A win or tie in Thursday's matchup in Nampa, Idaho between the GNAC leaders would give the Falcons their first conference championship in eight years. They tied Seattle University for the 2006 league title.
 
SPU has not won an outright conference crown since the GNAC was formed in 2001.
 
"We've said all along that this team wanted to win championships. The first championship that we're able to win is the GNAC championship, so that will be our focus this week in training," said Collings.
 
MacDonald (Phoenix, Ariz.) continued a current hot streak, following his first career hat trick in Thursday's 6-0 home rout of South Dakota School of Mines. He netted six goals during the last four outings.
 
The sophomore forward hustled to capitalize on a poor back pass for the decisive score. A Mary defender headed the ball back to goalkeeper Jack West, but MacDonald got to it first and tapped it in from two yards out.
 
"The fact he stuck with the play is what really made it nice," Collings described. "It was just hard work really, there wasn't anything spectacular about what he did. He had some other plays tonight that were pretty good that didn't result in a goal."
 
MacDonald increased his team-leading total to nine goals. He also tops the Falcons with six assists and 22 total points.

 

SPU sophomore goalkeeper Cody Lang (Spokane, Wash./Lewis & Clark HS) was not required to make a save en route to his eighth shutout.
 
West made three saves for the Marauders, who were outshot by a lopsided 16-4 margin. Their best scoring opportunity came in the 60th minute when Jordan Pearce had some open goal to aim at, but hit his shot wide left.
 
SPU embarks on a difficult road trip next week, beginning on Thursday at Northwest Nazarene. That 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time game will be followed by a visit to Montana State Billings on Saturday at 1 p.m. PST.
 
 "We'll try to get ready for Thursday against a very good NNU team. We had a great game with them here and I would expect nothing less on Thursday," said Collings.
 
"We'll do everything we can to see if we can wrap up a championship on Thursday. But if not, it's okay and we'll move on."
 
The Falcons conclude the regular season at home on Nov. 8 against Saint Martin's. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at (#3) Seattle Pacific 1, U-Mary 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Stephen MacDonald, 4:49.
 
Shots – Mary 4, SPU 16.
Saves – Mary 3 (Jack West), SPU 0 (Cody Lang).
Corner Kicks – Mary 4, SPU 9.
Fouls – Mary 7, SPU 7.
Offsides – Mary 0, SPU 5.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 14-0-1, 11-0-0 GNAC
U-Mary 4-7-2, 3-7-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Game
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Thursday, Oct. 30, 12:30 p.m. PDT
NNU Soccer Field / Nampa, Idaho