Box Score    |    Final Stats (html)    |    VIDEO: Jeffrey  Collings

SEATTLE – Senior defender Jeffrey Collings cleared a shot off the goal line at the start of the second overtime Saturday, preserving Seattle Pacific's 0-0 tie with Northwest Nazarene in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer game at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Crusaders Ebu Camara had a wide-open look with goalkeeper Cody Lang off the line in the opening minute of the second overtime. He fired a 12-yard shot toward the left post that Collings stretched to knock away and prevent the seemingly certain game-winning goal.
 
"It looked like (Camara) was in. I don't know how or why, but fortunately for us Jeffrey was back there and kind of threw body at it to save it," described Mark Collings, the SPU head coach who is also Jeffrey's father.


 
The senior defender always played as the outside defender on the right side before this week. Collings was sidelined five games with an injury before returning Thursday, where he was positioned in the center of the patchwork SPU defense. Injuries and card suspensions forced the realignment.
 
"Jeffrey playing in the middle of the park is different for him, but he did a really good job tonight and had a key play there," said Coach Collings. "Defensively it's been a lot better this week, but the offense isn't producing. If we could just put the whole thing together then we might be on to something."
 
SPU (2-3-4) recorded its third consecutive draw after tying Montana State Billings 1-1 at home on Thursday and battling to a 3-3 result at Western Washington on Sept. 24. The Falcons league record moved to 0-1-3.
 
"We haven't been good enough to win games, we've kind of wasted opportunities," the SPU coach said. "The Western game we had advantages and lost them due to a little bit of lack of discipline.
 
"Thursday night we put forth a good effort, but we were shorthanded and even that we had a few chances to go up 2-0 and give us a little bit of a cushion and didn't. Tonight we just didn't finish our chances at all."
 
The Crusaders (4-3-2) saw their GNAC record evened at 1-1-1. Despite a 21-16 deficit in the overall shot count, they were the aggressors during the two, 10-minute overtime session with a 6-3 shot lead.
 
The Falcons finest opportunity came in the 34th minute when they had three quality chances in succession. Sam Rucklos hammered a 16-yard blast off the crossbar, Gabe Kellum's follow shot was deflected by NNU goalkeeper Ryan Foo and Keenan dePinna pushed the second rebound wide right.

 

Foo finished with four saves for the Crusaders while Lang stopped two shots for the hosts. Lang's final save forced overtime as he snagged a header by Fernando Alvarez off an NNU corner kick just as the whistle blew to end the 90 minutes of regulation.
 
Despite several near-misses and a 12-2 shot advantage by SPU, the game was a scoreless deadlock at halftime.
 
The Falcons fired the game's first five shots, including a sixth-minute try by freshman Samuel Agyei. He streaked down the left flank with the ball before having his shot slide just wide of the left post.
 
NNU didn't get a shot off until the 27th minute when Michael Mollay directed a hard, 20-yard shot wide right.
 
Foo turned away a 28th-minute Falcons chance with a reflex save, punching away Kellum's point-blank shot from 16 yards.
 
In the 37th minute Kellum tried a shot from a sharp left angle that traveled across the goalmouth and Trevor Lee reached the miss before shooting high of the NNU goal.
 
"When you have a team on the ropes you've got to put some balls in the back of the net, kind of take some of their hope away," said Coach Collings. "We never did that. They just kind of hung around and hung around and got stronger as the game went on."
 
Each team had their second-half chances. Agyei dribbled into the right side of the box, but had his firm attempt blocked out of play by the Crusaders goalkeeper in the 64th minute.
 
Four minutes later, Alvarez found himself near SPU's left post and got a head to the ball while being challenged in the air by Lang, but it sailed wide.
 
In the 74th minute Linus Mansson directed a 25-yard free to the upper right of the SPU goal, but it was easily snared by Lang.
 
The Falcons remain at home for their next three games, including a 7 p.m. clash on Thursday against Western Washington as the nightcap of a doubleheader with the SPU women who play at 4:30 p.m.
 
"Early on we were scoring a lot of goals and the past couple games we really haven't," said Collings, whose Falcons compiled 12 goals in this season's first four games and managed half that total (6) during the last five outings.
 
"We've got to find a way to score goals consistently. Hopefully getting a couple more guys back this week will help. Maybe putting some guys back in their normal spots can hopefully trigger our attack."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 0, Northwest Nazarene 0 (2ot)
 
                        1   2  OT  OT   --  TOTAL
Northwest Nazarene      0   0   0   0   --    0
Seattle Pacific         0   0   0   0   --    0
 
Scoring – None.
 
Shots – NNU 16, SPU 21.
Saves – MSUB 4 (Ryan Foo), SPU 3 (Cody Lang 2, team 1).
Corner Kicks – NNU 7, SPU 5.
Fouls – NNU 17, SPU 6.
Offsides – NNU 0, SPU 5.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 2-3-4, 0-1-3 GNAC
Northwest Nazarene 4-3-2, 1-1-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Game
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, October 6, 7:00 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash