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SEATTLE – Shantik Bedrosian converted a penalty kick with less than 13 minutes remaining Saturday to give Montana State Billings a 1-0 men's soccer win over Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference clash at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (2-6-1) lost for the fourth time in the last five outings, falling to 1-3-0 in league play.
 
Billings got the game's lone goal on a penalty kick at 78:24. A slide tackle in the right side of the box by Jose Benavides knocked the ball away, but he caught the back foot of Andres Perez on the follow through and the referee pointed to the 12-yard spot. Bedrosian stepped up and deposited the free shot into the upper left corner for the game-winner.
 
The Yellowjackets (6-4-1) improved to 3-1-0 in GNAC games.
 
The one-goal output was surprising for a matchup between teams that each scored five times on Thursday. SPU was a 5-2 home victor over Northwest Nazarene and the Yellowjackets won 5-1 at Saint Martin's.
 
SPU pressed for a late equalizer Saturday and had a trio of quality chances in the frenetic 86th minute.

 

Alden Massey had a shot deflected by goalkeeper Jessy Martin and the ensuing scramble for the rebound produced an MSUB foul just outside the 18-yard box. Titus Grant's free kick was blocked, but the ball caromed back to the Falcons.
 
Eduardo Calvo-Salinas capped the 32-second Falcons' flurry with a third shot that carried wide of the right post at 85:29. That was the last attempt of the game by either team.
 
Martin made four saves for Billings, which was outshot by a 15-10 margin. He recorded his second shutout of the season.
 
"That's been our season," said SPU coach Mark Collings. " We just couldn't put anything in the back of the net.
 
"It's the way the game goes sometimes. It's a cruel game, it really is. What the result is and how things go aren't always compatible and congruent. But credit to Billings, they played really hard and played the way they wanted to play."
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Lars Helleren stopped three shots for SPU.
 
The hard-fought first half featured twice as many fouls as shots. Each team managed just four attempts during the opening 45 minutes while Billings was whistled for 12 fouls and SPU four. The final foul count had the Yellowjackets committing 26 and suffering 12.
 
"The way they play is hard to break down. The style is just different than anything we've seen," Collings described of MSUB in the sluggish first half. "They are really inviting you to send a lot of numbers and then try to catch you on the counter.
 
"We were a little cautious because we were trying to feel our way through it. Our tentativeness probably slowed the game down."
 
The opportunities were few and far between for either team in the first half.
 
SPU's best chance was an 18th-minute blast by Titus Grant that traveled just wide of the left post.
 
The first foray for the Yellowjackets that posed any threat came in the 32nd minute, but Bryan Maxwell's header was snagged at the left post by Helleren.
 
Each goalkeeper registered one first-half stop and the Falcons were credited with a team save just 19 seconds before halftime. Theo Lamare struck a shot toward the wide open left side of the goal with Helleren positioned farther to the right. Ed Weise moved into the path of the point-blank shot and prevented it from crossing the goal line.
 
The Falcons picked up the pace considerably after halftime, mounting repeated assaults on the Billings goal. They compiled 11 second-half shots after having just four in the first period.
 
"We talked about establishing a quicker rhythm of play and exploiting some things we saw in the first half," explained Collings. "I thought we did that and we had some decent looks. We just couldn't get one to go."
 
The most dangerous second-half opportunity for SPU came off the foot of sophomore Mario Vukic. His hard shot was deflected by Martin and then a Billings defender swept the rebound away in the 66th minute.
 
After playing six straight home games, the Falcons men now hit the road for the first time in a month, since a Sept. 16 contest at West Texas A&M. They play at Concordia-Portland on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then visit Saint Martin's on Oct. 24 at 3 p.m.
 
Seattle Pacific's next home game at Interbay Stadium is Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. versus Concordia-Portland.
 
"The big thing is we have to make sure that we believe in what we're doing. Tonight we were a little impatient at times," Collings said of the key to future success. "We have to force our opponent to defend for longer periods of time. We got a little too impatient sometimes and maybe played a longer ball when we could have continued to maintain possession.
 
"When you are not winning games it's normal to press and try make some things happen. Having the discipline to continue to operate and function the way we want is probably most important."
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
Montana State Billings 1, at Seattle Pacific 0
 
Scoring – 1, MSUB, Shantik Bedrosian (penalty kick), 78:24.
 
                          1   2  --  TOTAL
Montana State Billings    0   1  --    1
Seattle Pacific           0   0  --    0
 
Shots – MSUB 10, SPU 15.
Shots on Goal -- MSUB 5, SPU 4.
Saves – MSUB 4 (Jessy Martin), SPU 4 (Lars Helleren 3, Team 1).
Corner Kicks – MSUB 2, SPU 1.
Fouls – MSUB 26, SPU 12.
Offsides – MSUB 2, SPU 1.
 
Records
Montana State Billings 6-4-1,  3-1-0 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 2-6-1,  1-3-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Seattle Pacific at Concordia-Portland
Thursday, Oct. 17, 7:00 p.m. PDT
Tuominem Yard / Portland, Ore.