Box Score    |     Final Stats

LACEY, Wash. – Stephen MacDonald assisted on both goals Saturday, helping the 13th-ranked Seattle Pacific men start their Great Northwest Athletic Conference campaign with a 2-0 road victory over Saint Martin's at SMU Soccer Field.
 
First-half goals from Jordan Thompson (Bellevue, Wash./Newport HS) and senior Sean Russell (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS) accounted for all of the Falcons (4-0-1) scoring. Thompson netted his first goal of the season in the ninth minute and Russell's 13th-minute strike was his team-leading third goal of the year.
 
Of the four other SPU goals this year, no player has more than one.
 
"Sean's been the one guy who has been able to score some goals for us, an area where we've struggled," said SPU coach Mark Collings. "His finishing's been pretty good so far. He can shoot from distance and today he was able to pick up a ball and do exactly that."

 

Sophomore goalkeeper Cody Lang (Spokane, Wash./Lewis & Clark HS) stopped three shots en route to his fourth shutout for SPU. He played all 470 minutes this season, surrendering just one goal. Lang's current shutout streak stands at 369 minutes.
 
"Cody made two really good saves today, probably two of the best saves he's made this year," Collings described. "One was after a guy was able to slip in between our backs and tried to one-time it. Cody made a great hand save to push it wide.
 
"There was another one where the guy hit it from distance, it kind of skipped, and Cody had to push it wide."
 
Nick Rosato made five saves for the Saints (0-5), who were outshot by a 10-5 margin. SMU avoided a third goal when a defender cleared a Chaz Jenkins shot off the line in the 23rd minute.
 
Both SPU scores came during the opening 13 minutes. At 8:52, MacDonald (Phoenix, Ariz.) served a pass across the top of the six-yard box from the right flank. Thompson raced to one-touch a shot into the center of the Saints goal.
 
Less than four minutes later, Russell received a pass from MacDonald before sending a 25-yard blast to the lower right that averted the diving goalkeeper.
 
"To get those early couple goals was really helpful," said Collings. "We kind of got on them early, but then took our foot off the pedal a little bit."
 
The Falcons defense made certain that early lead held, yielding just five SMU shots and only two of them after halftime. The stingy defensive unit is surrendering an average of just 0.19 goals per game.
 
"Our defense has really carried us. I'm very happy with how hard they are working defensively," Collings said. "Certainly a lot of credit goes to Cody in goal, but Bryson (Pavel), Evan (Robicheau), Davis (Karaica) and Jeffrey (Collings) on the back line have also been great. Those five guys have been fantastic."
 
The Falcons remain on the road for two GNAC games next week. They visit Bismarck, N.D. to play U-Mary on Thursday before a Saturday encounter in Rapid City with South Dakota School of Mines.
 
The next home game for the SPU men is Oct. 2 at 4:30 p.m. against Western Washington.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014
SMU Soccer Field/Lacey, Wash.
 
(#13) Seattle Pacific 2, at Saint Martin's 0
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Jordan Thompson (Stephen MacDonald), 8:52. 2, SPU, Sean Russell (MacDonald), 12:49.
 
Shots – SPU 10, SMU 5.
Saves – SPU 3 (Cody Lang), SMU 6 (Nick Rosato 5, Team 1).
Corner Kicks – SPU 6, SMU 6.
Fouls – SPU 16, SMU 21.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 4-0-1, 1-0-0 GNAC
Saint Martin's 0-5-0, 0-1-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Game
Seattle Pacific at U-Mary
Thursday, Sept. 25, 5:30 p.m.
Community Bowl / Bismarck, N.D.