• FINAL STATS

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Christian Rotter and Stephen Jinneman each tallied a second-half goal Thursday, lifting the Western Washington men to a 2-0 win over Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference soccer contest at Harrington Field.
 
The Falcons (6-3-1) had a two-game winning streak stopped and fell to 2-2-1 in league play. Their last loss also came against Western, a 3-2 overtime setback on Sept. 23 in Seattle.
 
First-place WWU (5-2-2) remained perfect in GNAC games, improving to 4-0-0 with a season sweep of the Falcons.
 
The teams battled through a scoreless first half during which the hosts had a slim 5-4 shot edge, but SPU was more accurate with a 3-2 margin in attempts directly on goal.
 
Vikings goalkeeper Tyler Visten, who recorded three of his five saves during the opening period, held the Falcons scoreless for the first time this season.
 
Western got on the board less than four minutes into the second half with a quick counter attack. Jose Castillo gathered the ball near midfield and sent a long through pass to Christian Rotter on the left flank. Rotter dribbled into the left side of the box and slipped a shot from a difficult angle that nicked the right post on its way into the goal at 48:48.
 
SPU had two great opportunities to equalize in the 63rd minute. After stealing a pass near midfield, Titus Grant sprinted with the ball into the left side of the box before firing a hard blast off the left post. The ball caromed to Alex Mejia, but his follow attempt carried over the crossbar.
 
The Vikings sealed the win with a goal off a set piece. Luke Olney delivered a long free kick to the left side of the box that Stephen Jinneman headed across the goalmouth and off the right post at 64:47. Luke is the son of Reece Olney, a standout player for SPU from 1986-90.
 
"Western played really well. They finished their chances and we didn't finish ours," said SPU coach Mark Collings. "We struggled to maintain our discipline. We talked about defending set pieces, that's what they do well. Sure enough, the one that broke our back was off a set piece.
 
"We just have to be better and tonight we showed our inexperience a little bit. We had chances to tie it up and didn't have the composure, and when they had their chances they finished."
 
It was a Jinneman header that ended the previous meeting, 2:39 into overtime. That golden goal capped WWU's successful rally from a two-score deficit.

 

The woodwork denied SPU again in the 78th minute Thursday. Trevor Lee fired a high, 23-yard free kick that Visten got a hand to and tipped off the crossbar.
 
"It was exactly in the spot that we had Trevor training yesterday," Collings described. "I don't know how their 'keeper saw it, but he made a good save and was able to deflect it off the crossbar and out."
 
Kary Whitney made four saves for the Falcons, who were outshot 13-9.
 
"We had a little bit of a makeshift backline tonight because of some injuries. Kary came up and squelched some things when we needed him to, that's what he's back there for," said Collings.
 
The SPU men continue their five-game road trip on Saturday in Portland, Ore. They clash with Concordia for a 4 p.m. contest.
 
The Falcons hope to get back to their winning ways on the road after winning their first four outings away from Seattle prior to Thursday's defeat.
 
"We haven't been done any favors with the schedule early on, so we have to try to rise above it and see if we can be better on Saturday," Collings said.
 
The next home game for SPU is Oct. 19 at 4:30 p.m. when Northwest Nazarene visits Interbay Stadium.

 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Harrington Field / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Western Washington 2, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Scoring – 1, WWU, Christian Rotter (Jose Castillo), 48:48; 2, WWU, Stephen Jinneman (Luke Olney), 64:47.
 
                       1   2  --  TOTAL
Seattle Pacific        0   0  --    0
Western Washington     0   2  --    2
 
Shots – SPU 9, WWU 13.
Saves – SPU 4 (Kary Whitney), WWU 5 (Tyler Visten).
Corner Kicks – SPU 3, WWU 2.
Fouls – SPU 19, WWU 18.
Offsides – SPU 0, WWU 1.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 6-3-1, 2-2-1 GNAC
Western Washington 5-2-2, 4-0-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Seattle Pacific at Concordia (Ore.)
Saturday, Oct. 7, 4:00 p.m. PDT
Tuominen Yard / Portland, Ore.