• FINAL STATS

SEATTLE – Mori Tsuchiya opened the scoring in the 18th minute for Seattle Pacific, but Montana State Billings rallied with a goal in each half Saturday en route to a 2-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer win at Interbay Stadium.
 
"Billings played better than we did, that's all there is to it," SPU coach Mark Collings stated. "It's just a matter of them playing with more desperation than we did. We scored and then took the game for granted a little bit.
 
"We didn't deserve to win tonight. That's unfortunate because we had an opportunity to control our own destiny and we've now lost that."
 
The Falcons (9-4-1) entered the game tied for first place, but had their three-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 5-3-1 in league play.
 
Simon Fraser gained sole possession of first place with a win today and 19 points. SPU is tied for second place with Western Washington, both with 16 points, but both WWU and Simon Fraser have a game in hand over the Falcons.
 
Tsuchiya (Sealth HS) weaved through the box before poking a shot past the MSUB goalkeeper and into the left side of the goal at 17:37. That was his fourth goal of the season and his 10th career tally.
 
The senior forward missed six mid-season games after being injured on Sept. 21 just minutes into the 1-1 draw with second-ranked Simon Fraser. He returned to play 14 minutes in Thursday's 1-0 overtime victory against Northwest Nazarene.
 
"With some good pressure on the ball we were able to create a turnover," Collings described. "Mori had the composure to really settle down and then slot it to the back post. We're a different team with him than without him, that's for sure."
 
The Yellowjackets equalized 20 minutes later on a 20-yard free kick by Guillaume Kremer. He looped a shot over the wall that was initially smothered by the diving SPU goalkeeper. Somehow the ball squeezed under Kary Whitney on the wet turf and trickled across the goal line at 37:45.
 
"That goal gave them some confidence, but we weren't really playing that well and it seemed like it was coming based on how they were playing and we were playing," said Collings.
 
The decisive goal came at 66:46 on a first-time volley from Niklas Schregel at the edge of the 6-yard box. Victor Sanchez set up the game-winner with a low cross from the right side.
 
Whitney was credited with four saves for the Falcons, who were outshot by a slim 10-9 margin. His best effort came three minutes before halftime on a hard shot by Kremer that was tapped over the crossbar for a corner kick.
 
Tom Lohmann stopped three shots for MSU Billings (6-9-0), which improved its GNAC record to 4-5-0.
 
All three of Lohmann's saves came during the final 15 minutes when the hosts applied constant pressure. Jess Cayetano's low shot across the goalmouth required a dive by Lohmann to push the ball around the left post in the 76th minute. Forty seconds later the goalkeeper stopped a header from Ryan Higgins. In the 86th minute Lohmann dove to the right post to save a 27-yard free kick attempt by Gabe Kellum.
 
The Falcons finest opportunity was their last. Jacob Bohl raced into the right side of the box with the ball, drawing Lohmann of his line. Bohl's attempt to chip the goalkeeper traveled over the crossbar with 1:38 left to play.
 
"We had a couple really good chances late," Collings said. "We started to pick it up and were hoping we would get lucky and put one in. But it wasn't meant to be."
 
The Falcons close out the home portion of their schedule with a pair of games next week. They host Concordia (Ore.) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. as the opener of an Interbay Stadium doubleheader with the women, who meet Western Oregon at 7 p.m.
 
The final home game for the SPU men is Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. against Saint Martin's.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
Montana State Billings 2, at Seattle Pacific 1
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Mori Tsuchiya, 17:37; 2, MSUB, Guillaume Kremer, 37:45; 3, MSUB, Niklas Schregel (Victor Sanchez), 66:46.
 
                          1   2  --  TOTAL
Montana State Billings    1   1  --    2
Seattle Pacific           1   0  --    1
 
Shots – MSUB 10, SPU 9.
Shots on Goal – MSUB 6, SPU 4.
Saves – MSUB 3 (Tom Lohmann), SPU 4 (Kary Whitney).
Corner Kicks – MSUB 2, SPU 6.
Fouls – MSUB 17, SPU 12.
Offsides – MSUB 2, SPU 3.
 
Records
Montana State Billings 6-9-0, 4-5-0 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 9-4-1, 5-3-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Concordia (Ore.) at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Oct. 26, 4:30 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.