• FINAL STATS   |   • VIDEO: GABE  KELLUM

SEATTLE – Gabe Kellum did it all Thursday night. Even coaching.
 
The senior forward converted a penalty kick with two seconds left in regulation to force overtime and then netted a golden goal to give Seattle Pacific a 3-2 men's soccer victory over Concordia in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference clash at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (10-4-1) improved to 6-3-1 in league play. They went to overtime for the fifth time this season and have a 3-1-1 record in those extended contests.
 
Kellum ended the game in the 107th minute, with 3:43 remaining in the final overtime. He looped a 26-yard free kick over the wall that snuck inside the right post, just under diving goalkeeper Benoit Bouillant.
 
The senior forward made the overtime necessary by calmly depositing a penalty kick into the lower right side of the CU goal at 89:58. Senior classmate Mori Tsuchiya was fouled in the right side of the box to earn the free shot.
 
Kellum literally put himself in positon to score the decisive overtime strike.
 
"I looked at Gabe as we were heading to overtime and we were talking about where to play him and what to do. He said 'Mark, put me up top, I feel it,'" recalled SPU coach Mark Collings, who did exactly that, put Kellum up front.
 
"I thought he was great. That's what you expect from your seniors, when you need something you want those guys to step up and our seniors did a good job tonight."


 
Concordia (4-9-2) dropped to 3-6-1 in GNAC games after getting swept in the season series by the Falcons, who were 2-1 victors on Oct. 7 in Portland. SPU has not lost in seven all-time meetings versus CU, compiling a 5-0-2 series record.
 
The Cavaliers got on the board first with a goal on a close-range shot at 23:09 by Alec Dunkel. A header by Christian Thyron caromed high off the crossbar and fell to Dunkel's feet in the goalmouth for the easy finish.
 
SPU capitalized on a set piece at 64:41 to level the score. Sam Malloch served a long free kick into the box from 40 yards away. Jess Cayetano raced into the path of the ball and finished to the left side with his third goal.
 
Less than five minutes after the Falcons equalized, Concordia regained the lead on a perfectly place shot by Thyron from the top right corner of the 6-yard box into the upper left of the goal at 79:10.
 
From there it looked like the Cavaliers would bunker in with extra bodies in the box and run out the clock. That strategy worked, until the final two seconds of regulation.
 
"I'm speechless. The resolve of this team is remarkable," Collings exclaimed. "To get that penalty late that Kellum buried, and then he scores a great goal in overtime.
 
"We really found some inspiration in overtime and we deserved a result in overtime. I can't say that for the first part of the game, but definitely the second."
 
The inspired Falcons were extremely busy in overtime, reeling off eight shots and six of those came during the first 10-minute session. Those eight shots in 16 minutes of overtime came at a rapid-fire pace compared to SPU's 13 shots in 90 regulation minutes.
 
Bouillant was credited with six saves for the visitors, who were outshot by a 21-10 margin.
 
Junior goalkeeper Kary Whitney stopped one shot for SPU.

 

The Falcons close out the home portion of their schedule on Saturday with a 7 p.m. clash against Saint Martin's. Prior to kick-off a ceremony will be conducted to honor SPU's seven-man senior class.
 
Cayetano, Kellum, Tsuchiya, Ryan Higgins, Chaz Jenkins, Grayson Raffensperger and Julian White will all make their final playing appearance at Interbay Stadium.
 
In this season's first meeting, SPU rallied from an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Saints, 5-3, on Oct. 12 in Lacey, Wash.
 
"We're taking on a rested Saint Martin's team that had a bye today. That increases the challenge, but at the end of the day we have to find a way," Collings said "We're playing for a league title. For a bunch of guys that were picked to finish fifth in our league by the fellow coaches we should hopefully have a little chip on our shoulder and come out on Saturday and compete like crazy for the seniors and for ourselves.
 
"To give ourselves a chance to go up to Simon Fraser next week and play for a league title, it all rests on Saturday night."
 
The Falcons have 19 points and are tied for first-place in the GNAC standings with Simon Fraser, which has one game in hand. The two Northwest powers meet on Nov. 4 in Burnaby, B.C. in a game that could determine the conference champion.
 
The league's regular-season winner receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.

 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash
 
at Seattle Pacific 3, Concordia-Portland 2 (2ot)
 
Scoring – 1, CU, Alec Dunkeld (Christian Thyron), 23:09; 2, SPU, Jess Cayetano (Sam Malloch), 64:41; 3, CU, Thyron, 69:10; 4, SPU, Gabe Kellum (pk), 89:58; 5, SPU, Kellum, 106:17.
 
                      1   2  OT  OT  --  TOTAL
Concordia (Ore.)      1   1   0   0  --    2
Seattle Pacific       0   2   0   1  --    3
 
Shots – CU 10, SPU 21.
Shots on goal – CU 3, SPU 9.
Saves – CU 6 (Benoit Bouillant), SPU 1 (Kary Whitney).
Corner kicks – CU 6, SPU 10.
Fouls – CU 21, SPU 11.
Offsides – CU 0, SPU 3.
 
Records
Concordia 4-9-2, 3-6-1 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 10-4-1, 6-3-1 GNAC
 
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific (Senior Night)
Saturday, Oct. 28, 7:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.