• FINAL STATS

BILLINGS, Mont. – Chris Cole came off the bench to score the decisive goal with 44 seconds remaining in regulation as Seattle Pacific earned its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory, 3-2, by coming from behind at Montana State Billings on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Falcons (4-5-0) snapped a two-game skid with their first league win. They scored all three goals against a stiff wind in wet, raw conditions at Yellowjacket Field. Titus Grant's penalty kick had tied the game after SPU opened the scoring with an own goal 46 seconds after halftime.
 
"I'm really happy for our guys. At this point in the season we haven't had a lot of things go our way," said SPU coach Mark Collings. "We were able to capitalize today. I'm really proud of our group and the effort they put forward today. They really deserved it."
 
Montana State Billings (4-5-1) dropped to 1-2-0 in GNAC play, losing for just the second time in seven outings. The hosts had taken a 2-1 lead on scores 31 seconds apart.
 
It was unlikely winner from an unlikely source. Cole, a senior defender, had not scored in two seasons at Seattle Pacific. But after substituting into a tied game with 11 minutes to go, he redirected Jason Schmidt's low, right-wing cutback, tucking it just inside the open left corner from 7 yards.
 
"We gained possession in the middle third of the field. Jason Schmidt made a good run wide and the ball came from Rucklos," Collings described. "We had players in the box and fortunately Chris Cole was able to flick it to the back post into the side netting. A really, really good goal. We'll definitely enjoy this one."
 
It's the fifth win at Billings in the last six visits for the Falcons, who won their first game when trailing this season. They were playing their third straight on the road and seventh in nine contests.
 
After Montana State Billings rocked SPU by scoring twice early in the second half, the visitors went back on the offensive. None of their next four shots posed much trouble, but then Travis Swallow ran onto a pass from Grant on the left side of the box and was pulled down. Grant tucked the resulting penalty neatly inside the left post at 69:21.
 
Alden Massey set-up the game's opening goal. On the run down the left, his blast was knocked down by MSUB keeper Ludvig Rhodin, only to bounce toward the open net. A defender, trying to clear it, inadvertently clubbed it into the roof of the net.
 
MSUB answered almost immediately. A 25-yard free kick from left by Kremer Guillaume curled over the wall and into right corner with goalkeeper Lars Helleren helpless. Dana Kowachek then gave Billings the lead 31 seconds later, taking Kuca Battistotti's feed and beating the Falcons netminder at the right post for his fourth goal and a 2-1 lead.
 
The Yellowjackets nearly reclaimed the lead in the 79th minute. With Helleren scrambling to his feet, Nik Rierson blocked out Andres Perez' 10-yard attempt for a corner. Seconds prior to Cole's winner, a header by MSUB's Marneau Guillaume flashed just wide left on a corner kick.
 
Helleren compiled six saves for SPU, which was out-shot by a slim 13-12 margin. His Yellowjackets counterpart, Rhodin, was credited with two saves.
 
A strong wind rippled flags and shirts from the onset, creating a near-freezing wind-chill effect and prompting many Falcons players to wear gloves.
 
While SPU generated only three first-half shots, it closed the period with the game's best scoring chance. Schmidt latched on to a loose ball, drove forward and fired left-footed from the top of the box, the ball skidding just inches wide of the left post.
 
The Yellowjackets had swarmed the field for the first 20 minutes. Shatik Bedrosian forced Helleren to parry his near-post attempt out for a corner in the 20th minute. On the subsequent set play, Bedrosian poked the ball past Helleren from a scramble 8 yards out, but the goalward ball was cleared easily by a defender.
 
For the final 20 minutes of the half the Falcons, with the stiff wind at their backs, began to find a rhythm, generating three shots.
 
Seattle Pacific completes this four-game road stretch Saturday at Saint Martin's.  Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. in Lacey, Wash. After that, the next six games are all at Interbay Stadium, beginning Oct. 4 versus U-Mary.
 
"It's a big lift. Anytime you can get a positive result in conference on the road is massive," Collings said. "Now we go down to Saint Martin's and meet a team that's playing well. It will be a big challenge for us, but certainly today's result will give us a little bit of a big boost heading into that one."
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018
Yellowjacket Field / Billings, Mont.
 
Seattle Pacific 3, at Montana State Billings 2
 
Scoring – 1, SPU, own goal, 45:46; 2, MSUB, Kremer Guillaume (unassisted) 49:48; 3, MSUB, Dana Kowachek (Luca Battistotti) 50:19; 4, SPU, Titus Grant (penalty kick) 69:21; 5, SPU, Chris Cole (Jason Schmidt) 89:16.
 
                          1   2  --  TOTAL
Seattle Pacific           0   3  --    3
Montana State Billings    0   2  --    2
 
Shots – SPU 12, MSUB 13
Shots on Goal – SPU 5, MSUB 8
Saves – SPU 6 (Lars Helleren), MSUB 2 (Ludvig Rhodin)
Corner kicks – SPU 1, MSUB 6
Fouls – SPU 17, MSUB 17
Offsides – SPU 2, MSUB 2
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 4-5-0,  1-2-0 GNAC
Montana State Billings 4-5-1,  1-2-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
Saturday, Sept. 29, 3:00 p.m. PDT
SMU Soccer Complex, Lacey, Wash.