• Final Stats

SEATTLE – Stephen Jinneman's header 2:39 into overtime Saturday capped a comeback for Western Washington, which rallied from two goals down to defeat Seattle Pacific 3-2 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer game at Interbay Stadium.
 
Garrett Strawn served the ball into the box from the left flank, a cross that found Jinneman open for the golden goal from 10 yards.
 
The Falcons (4-2-1) had a five-game unbeaten streak halted as they moved to 0-1-1 in league play. They forged a 2-0 halftime lead on goals by Sam Malloch and Samuel Agyei.
 
Western (3-2-2) forced overtime on second-half goals from Anthony Dean and Drew Farnsworth. The Vikings remain in first place with a 2-0-0 GNAC record.
 
"I thought we struggled to play tonight. We were fortunate to be up 2-0," said Mark Collings, in his 10th year as the SPU head coach. "We scored two good goals, and the penalty was a result of some good play on our part, but we didn't play super well.
 
"We played hard, but in the second half I thought we played not to lose instead of continuing to try and play. We had more possession, but we didn't really go anywhere with it."
 
Six players drew their first start of the season for the Falcons, who were coming off a hard-fought 1-1 double-overtime draw with second-ranked Simon Fraser on Thursday.
 
One of those first-time starters, Trevor Lee, played a part in both goals that provided the two-goal advantage.
 
"We have a lot of confidence in our whole roster," Collings explained. "Coming off such an emotional, high-paced game Thursday night, we felt like tonight was a good time to shake up the lineup a little bit and put some fresh legs in there.
 
"It certainly helped us with the early goal and we were able to sustain before getting a little tired at the end of the half. Those guys played great and we're going to need them down the stretch."

 

SPU opened the scoring just 4:17 into the contest. Lee had the ball on the left flank and fed a pass into the edge of the box. Malloch gained possession and dribbled through traffic before unleashing an 11-yard blast into the left side of the goal. It was Malloch's first goal of the season and second of his career.
 
The lead doubled at 23:04 when Agyei converted a penalty kick for his first goal.
 
Lee set up the free shot after being fouled in the box by Western goalkeeper Tyler Visten, who was cautioned on the play.
 
"That's his deal. Trevor is a really creative player in there and when he gets on the ball he is pretty dangerous because he's deceptive with his passing, his movement and his first touch are very good," said Collings. "Tonight his combination play was great up there for us. We've definitely going to need that moving forward."
 
The Falcons led 2-0 at halftime despite a 7-5 shot deficit.
 
WWU created several dangerous chances, including a shot from the right side by Nick Phillips in the 70th minute. His low drive traveled across the goalmouth and went inches wide of the left post.
 
The visitors finally found the back of the net at 73:53. Dean directed a 21-yard free kick from the left side into the right side of the goal for his team-leading sixth score.
 
The Vikings got the equalizer with four minutes left in regulation when a high ball into the box from the far right side evaded the reach of SPU goalkeeper Kary Whitney. The loose ball fell to the feet of Farnsworth, who booted it into the open goal from eight yards away at 86:02.
 
"In the last 16 minutes they get a good free kick then we make a mistake in the end and they finish that to tie it up late," said Collings. "In overtime off another set piece, they have a misplay and end up crossing to a guy who was wide open. They finished their chances when we made mistakes, that was kind of the game."
 
Whitney made two saves for the Falcons, who were outshot by a 16-7 margin.
 
Visten stopped one shot for Western.
 
The SPU men embark on a five-game road trip with games in four states. The journey begins Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time at Montana State Billings.
 
Before then, the fall quarter begins on Monday. Eight freshman on the Falcons roster will attend classes for the first time at Seattle Pacific.
 
"School starts so we have a lot of new things to manage our time with. Going on the road for the next five games certainly doesn't make that any easier," Collings said.
 
"We'll get back to work Monday and regroup a little bit and see if we can get a group together that's ready to compete for 90 minutes and we'll go from there."
 
The Falcons won't return home to play until Oct. 19 when Northwest Nazarene visits for a 4:30 p.m. clash.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
Western Washington 3, at Seattle Pacific 2 (ot)
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, Sam Malloch (Trevor Lee), 4:17; 2, SPU, Samuel Agyei (pk), 23:04; 3, WWU, Anthony Dean (fk), 73:53; 4, WWU, Drew Farnsworth, 86:02. 5, WWU, Stephen Jinneman (Garrett Strawn), 92:39.
 
                       1   2  OT  --  TOTAL
Western Washington     0   2   1  --    3
Seattle Pacific        2   0   0  --    2
 
Shots – WWU 16, SPU 7.
Saves – WWU 1 (Tyler Visten), SPU 2 (Kary Whitney).
Corner Kicks – WWU 11, SPU 2.
Fouls – WWU 15, SPU 15.
Offsides – WWU 2, SPU 3.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 4-2-1, 0-1-1 GNAC
Western Washington 3-2-2, 2-0-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
Thursday, Sept. 28, 2:30 p.m. PDT
Yellowjacket Field / Billings, Mont.