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• VIDEO: Sean Russell

SEATTLE – Sean Russell scored a goal late in each half on Saturday night – his first two tallies of the season – as Seattle Pacific opened its men's soccer home schedule by beating Notre Dame de Namur at Interbay Stadium, 2-0.
 
The Falcons (2-0-1) kept their early-season undefeated record intact heading into Monday's 7 p.m. contest against Cal State East Bay. That will be SPU's final tune-up prior to the start of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next Saturday afternoon at Saint Martin's.
 
Seattle Pacific managed just three shots during the opening 45 minutes, but Russell made good on the third of those.
 
Freshman forward Julian White (Redmond, Wash./Redmond HS) started a counterattack at midfield and took the ball to the penalty area restraining arc. He slotted a pass toward the right side, and senior forward Russell (Seattle/Garfield HS) ran onto it and fired it home from the top right corner of the 6-yard box.


 
Russell speculated that his goal, with just 16 seconds showing on the clock until halftime, had to be demoralizing to the visitors.
 
"It's huge. We have the 'rule of fives'. You don't want to get scored on in the first five minutes or last five minutes of the half.
 
"It's just a huge blow to your morale, the last 16 seconds to get a goal scored on you like that."
 
With the Falcons still clinging to that one-goal lead as the second half wound down, sophomore forward Stephan MacDonald (Phoenix, Ariz.) launched another counterattack. He sent the ball into the box, and Russell caught up with it just inside the top left corner and drilled it into the far side of the net with 2:33 remaining in the game.
 
"Notre Dame is a very good team," Russell said. "They have a lot of quick guys up front and they were dangerous. But we buried our chances and they didn't get so lucky."
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Cody Lang (Spokane, Wash. / Lewis & Clark HS) made one save on 11 Argonaut shots to notch his second shutout of the season.
 
Junior forward Bryson Pavel (Boise, Idaho) nearly had two goals for Seattle Pacific, only to see one shot early in first half and another late in the second carom off the crossbar.

 

Before Russell scored his first goal, sophomore defender Davis Karaica (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si HS) helped preserve what was still a scoreless tie when he hustled toward a wide-open right post to clear away a shot by NDNU's Hunter LeBlanc with 29:35 left in the first half.
 
"That was massive," Russell exclaimed about Karaica's goal-saving play. "My heart was in my throat there, I was scared for a bit. It was great work by Davis and it really changed the momentum. That really could have put us in the hole."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
At Seattle Pacific 2, Notre Dame de Namur 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Sean Russell (Julian White), 44:44; 2, SPU, Russell (Stephen MacDonald), 87:27.
 
Shots – NDNU 11, SPU 9.
Saves – NDNU (Jay Tsuruoka) 1, SPU (Cody Lang) 1
Corner kicks – NDNU 6, SPU 7.
Fouls – NDNU 15, SPU 21.
Offsides – NDNU 2, SPU 1.
Cautions – NDNU: Robert Hines. SPU: Garrett Jones.
Ejections – None.
Attendance – 285.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 2-0-1
NotreDame de Namur 1-2-0
 
Next SPU Men's Game
Cal State East Bay at Seattle Pacific
Monday, Sept. 15, 7:00 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.