Box Score    |    Final Stats

SEATTLE – Nick Phillips scored five minutes in the second half Thursday for Western Washington and Seattle Pacific's Jess Cayetano answered 48 seconds later as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer rivals battled to a 1-1 tie through two overtimes at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (2-3-5) recorded their fourth consecutive draw, a streak that started on Sept. 24 with a 3-3 double-overtime result in Bellingham against this same WWU squad. SPU's league record moved to 0-1-4.
 
The current stretch equals the program's longest streak of consecutive draws, a standard established the year before Mark Collings took over the coaching reigns. That 2007 squad finished with a 7-6-7 record, with the seven ties still standing as a school single-season record.
 
"We're certainly not happy with ties," Collings said. "A tie is not the end of the world, but it's not the elation of a win. It certainly leaves us hungry, which is a good thing.
 
Western (4-2-3) saw its GNAC record change to 1-1-2.
 
After a scoreless first half that featured just nine shots, both teams applied more offensive pressure during the second period.
 
Less than five minutes after halftime, at 49:55, Phillips scored from the center of the box with an eight yard shot. A pair of quick passes set up the Vikings score with Jose Castillo feeding Wesley Stark who relayed it to Phillips from the right side of the box.
 
SPU quickly responded when Cayetano gathered a loose ball in the top, left side of the box and lashed a low, 16-yard drive just inside the right post at 50:43.
 
"Jess had a good second-half performance. He was getting forward and he was finding good pockets of space to get the ball," said Collings. "I was happy to see him finish. He's had some other opportunities this year, so for him to get a goal tonight was probably a big relief for him."

 

Senior goalkeeper Cody Lang had seven saves for the Falcons, who were on the short end of a 16-12 shot count.
 
The Vikings had two quality chances in the first 10-minute overtime session, but both were denied by Lang. Eleazar Galvan sprinted into the left side of the box with the ball and had hard shot deflected by the SPU goalkeeper. With just over one minute left Luke Olney's point-blank attempt was snared.
 
Tyler Visten stopped four shots for Western and combined with teammate Christian Rotter to turn away the Falcons two finest efforts.
 
In the 68th minute SPU's Gabe Kellum delivered a hard shot from the left side of the box that required a reaction save by Visten to block the ball. The rebound caromed to Jordan Kollars whose shot toward the right post was cleared off the line by Rotter.
 
The Falcons remain at home for their next two games, including a 7 p.m. clash on Saturday against Concordia.
 
"We played some great soccer tonight and our defending has gotten a ton better," Collings said. "We're on the verge of something here. I don't know when it's going to crack for us, but I do know it will.
 
"The guys are ready to get back to work tomorrow and get prepared for Concordia on Saturday to see if we can get over the hump."

 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 1, Western Washington 1 (2ot)
 
                        1   2  OT  OT   --  TOTAL
Seattle Pacific         0   1   0   0   --    1
Western Washington      0   1   0   0   --    1
 
Scoring – 1, WWU, Nick Phillips (Wesley Stark, Jose Castillo), 49:55; 2, SPU, Jess Cayetano, 50:43.
 
Shots – WWU 16, SPU 12.
Saves – WWU 5 (Tyler Visten 4, Team 1), SPU 7 (Cody Lang).
Corner Kicks – WWU 5, SPU 8.
Fouls – WWU 15, SPU 15.
Offsides – WWU 1, SPU 1.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 2-3-5, 0-1-4 GNAC
Western Washington 4-2-3, 1-1-2 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Game
Concordia at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, October 8, 7:00 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash