• Final Stats   |   • VIDEO: Gabriel  Weber

SEATTLE – Several hundred incoming freshmen and transfer students checked in to their dorms the day before. On Thursday they checked out their men's soccer team and witnessed a brilliant battle against the nation's second-ranked team.
 
Jess Cayetano put Seattle Pacific ahead with a 22nd-minute goal, but No. 2 Simon Fraser equalized in the second half and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer clash ended in a 1-1 draw after two overtimes.
 
The Falcons (4-1-1) extended their unbeaten streak to five games with their second straight overtime contest. They notched a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Fort Hays State on Saturday.
 
Both teams earn a tie in the conference opener with defending GNAC champion Simon Fraser (4-0-1) remaining undefeated overall.
 
Interbay Stadium was filled to its 900-person capacity. The majority of the spectators were first-year Falcons who walked the 1 ½ miles from campus en masse to the venue for an event billed as "Falcons Fest."
 
"The crowd was tremendous tonight. The way we reacted to the game and the environment was great and I'm proud of our guys for that, "said 10th-year SPU coach Mark Collings. "They definitely rose to the challenge. Hopefully it shows that we can play with the top teams.
 
"The more we can play high-level games the better it is for us. You come to Seattle Pacific to play in games like this. Guys can go to other places and not play games of meaning or have an environment like we have."


 
Sophomore forward Gabriel Weber initiated the Falcons' opening goal at 21:41 with some clever dribbling on the left flank before feeding a pass to Gabe Kellum, who served a ball to the far post. Cayetano got on the end of the cross and leaped to volley it in from seven yards out near the right post.
 
SPU sustained that 1-0 lead into halftime despite an 8-3 shot deficit.
 
"In the first half we took some things away from they that they wanted to do and that allowed us some success," Collings described. "We scored a great goal that started with Gabe Weber doing a little dipsy-do. When he was doing it, I wasn't sure, and then it ends up working out.
 
"He plays a great ball to Kellum, and then a remarkable ball from Gabe Kellum to Jess Cayetano at the back post. A really good goal on our part. We knew the game was far from over at that point, though."
 
The equalizer came at 64:13 off the head of 2016 GNAC Player of the Year, Adam Jones. He reached a service from Michael North and directed an eight-yard header across the goalmouth and into the upper right of the Falcons goal.
 
That was the third score of the season for Jones, who posted a hat trick in his last visit to SPU, a 4-2 win on Nov. 5, 2016.
 
"Hats off to Simon Fraser. They are a very good and well coached soccer team," said Collings. "In the second half they found their rhythm a bit. We maybe got a little tentative and they started to find the rhythm of the game. Then they scored a good goal. Adam Jones is a very good player and had a great finish on the header."
 
Simon Fraser registered a 16-6 shot advantage and had a near miss in each half. A 34th-minute effort by Kyle Jones forced Falcons goalkeeper Kary Whitney to dive right for a terrific save.
 
In the 59th minute a low Clan corner kick travelled untouched into the box to Mamadi Camara, but he pushed a shot over the crossbar.
 
Whitney stopped five shots for the Falcons, including a diving deflection at the left post on an attempt by Connor Glennon with four minutes left in the final overtime.
 
"His save in overtime was his best save of the year, by far. Kary got down so quick," Collings said. "He made the saves he's supposed to and that's what we want from our goalkeepers."
 
Simon Fraser's Miguel Hof was credited with one save.
 
The SPU men close out a three-game homestand on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Western Washington. The Vikings are in first place after beating Saint Martin's 3-2 on Thursday.
 
Collings was asked what his level of concern is playing last year's GNAC runner-up immediately after a double-overtime clash against the league champion.
 
"Really concerned. Western is very good and our guys just put out a lot of effort tonight. They are mentally and physically drained. We're going to rally Friday, come up with a game plan for Saturday and see if we can come out and put together back-to-back solid efforts.
 
"This conference is tough. Playing Thursday-Saturday like this every week really takes a toll. This is when you find out about your depth. We'll be ready, I can assure you of that, but it will definitely be a big challenge for us."

 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 1, #2 Simon Fraser 1 (2ot)
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Jess Cayetano (Gabriel Weber, Gabe Kellum), 21:42; 2, SF, Adam Jones (Michael North), 64:13.
 
                       1   2  OT  OT  --  TOTAL
Simon Fraser           0   1   0   0  --    1
Seattle Pacific        1   0   0   0  --    1
 
Shots – SF 16, SPU 6.
Saves – SF 1 (Miguel Hof), SPU 5 (Kary Whitney).
Corner Kicks – SF 7, SPU 4.
Fouls – SF 17, SPU 20.
Offsides – SF 1, SPU 1.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 4-1-1, 0-0-1 GNAC
Simon Fraser 4-0-1, 0-0-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Sept. 23, 7:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.