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SEATTLE -- Lightning forced the cancellation of Seattle Pacific's last men's soccer game at Interbay Stadium.
 
Thursday night it was visiting Point Loma that was thunderstruck by the Falcons' astonishing streak of goals.
 
Titus Grant's golden goal in the second overtime capped a remarkable four-goal comeback for SPU, which defeated Point Loma 4-3 in a non-conference men's soccer game in front of 855 frenzied fans.
 
The Falcons (1-2-1) overcame an early three-goal deficit and forced overtime with just over three minutes left in regulation on a header by Alex Mejia.
 
The teams were scoreless through the first 10-minute overtime. Grant ended it 1-minute, 7-seconds into the second extra session.



The junior forward received a pass from Sam Malloch, dribbled through defenders toward the top-left edge of the box and unleashed a 20-yard blast. Goalkeeper Connor McEwen managed to get his fingertips on the ball, but not enough to prevent it from nestling into the net at 101:07.
 
"Once we played it in to his feet and he was able to spin and get it onto his left foot, I figured there would be a pretty good opportunity for him to get a good look at goal," SPU coach Mark Collings said of the lead-up to Grant's game-winner.
 
"Once that the ball got on his left foot and I saw where the keeper was, I knew there was a chance. As much as that finish drives me crazy sometimes in training, I guess we'll let him keep doing that."
 
Credit the Crowd
The thrilling triumph was a fitting reward for the faithful fans. Most of them were incoming students attending the annual Falcon Fest as part of the Freshman Orientation on campus in preparation for the academic year that begins next week.
 
Collings credited those fans for inspiring his team.
 
"Obviously the crowd had something to do with it. Playing in front of a crowd like that can cause nerves and it can also be a rallying point for you. The fact the crowd never left and stayed engaged and was encouraging the guys was probably the boost that we needed.
 
"Nobody wants to lose at home in front of a crowd like that, so maybe there's a little bit of extra motivation there, just like there is at the beginning of the game for them to get the crowd out of it."
 
Remarkable Rally
Winning seemed unfathomable an hour earlier when the Falcons found themselves on the short end of a 3-0 scoreline.
 
Three straight scores, by Jorge Navarro, David Achaerandio and Corey Lundeen, provided a three-goal cushion for Point Loma (4-2-0) inside the opening 26 minutes.
 
SPU drew one back before halftime on a forceful header by Ed Weise. Malloch sent a free kick from the left side toward the far post. A hard-charging Weise, who had moved forward from the back line for the set piece, raced to the cross and nodded it into the lower left side of the goal at 42:27.
 
In the 58th minute, the visitors had a man sent off when Jacob Moreno was whistled for a foul and received his second yellow card. The Sea Lions played short-handed the rest of the contest.
 
SPU was unable to take immediate advantage of the extra man. But after numerous quality chances, the hosts finally finished a second-half goal.
 
A brilliant back-heel score at 76:53 by SPU sophomore Mario Vukic, off a feed from Travis Swallow, trimmed the deficit to 3-2.
 
The Falcons forced overtime at 86:50 on Mejia's put-back. Jake Ferry's shot caromed off the crossbar and Mejia was waiting in the goalmouth to head the rebound over the goalkeeper for the equalizer.
 
McEwen compiled three saves for Point Loma, which was outshot 16-14 for the game. Grant's game-winning came on the only shot by either team in either overtime.

 

Goals Galore
The four-goal production was a welcome sight for the Falcons who had managed just one score in 290 previous minutes of action this season.
 
Collings was asked which goal he liked best.
 
"All of them. I enjoyed every single one of them.
 
"Maybe it's taken a little longer than we wanted, but tonight we were clicking offensively. Defensively we weren't quite as sharp in the first half, especially the first 30 minutes, but after that we limited them pretty good."
 
Scoring Summary
The Sea Lions started Thursday's scoring just 2:09 into the contest. Navarro accepted a pass from Achaerandio and curled a beautiful 20-yard shot from the left-top of the box into the lower right corner.
 
PLNU struck again 11 minutes later, this time with Achaerandio on the scoring end of the play. He raced to the center of the box to reach a low cross from Hunter Loomis on the right flank. The finish came on a hard blast from 13 yards at 13:24.
 
Seattle Pacific replaced starting goalkeeper Lars Helleren in the 26th minute after he aggravated a previous injury. Jordan Marwood came on in relief and was rudely greeted by a Sea Lions goal less than two minutes after entry.
 
Corey Lundeen increased the visitor's margin to 3-0 at 25:52. He gathered a loose ball on the run and capped a dribbling run through traffic with a low, 17-yard shot.
 
Marwood held Point Loma at bay for the remainder of the game, stopping two shots in the process.
 
After being outshot 10-6 in the opening 45 minutes, the Falcons came out strong in the first half. They barely missed on two opportunities.
 
In the 49th minute, Alden Massey freed himself on the dribble deep in the box, but his close-range shot traveled wide. Less than a minute later Grant directed a header on goal that McEwen was barely able to tap over the crossbar.
 
"Our team showed a lot of character tonight. To be down like that early in front of the home crowd and find a way to get a goal before the half was huge," said Collings. "Then the second half we really put them under a lot of pressure. We did a better job of pressing defensively and they weren't able to get in the same kind of rhythm.
 
"We had a couple chances early in the second half to make it 3-2, and it didn't go. After they had the man sent off, we were able to find a couple goals and tie it up. Just a tremendous effort by our group."
 
Grant nearly eliminated his the opportunity for his own golden goal. His shot attempt with four seconds showing on the second-half clock carried just over the crossbar as time expired in regulation.
 


Next Game
"I'm really hoping that they can use this to propel the to another big effort on Saturday," Collings said.
 
The SPU men remain in Seattle to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Saturday against third-ranked Azusa Pacific. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. That is the second of six consecutive home games.


NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 4, Point Loma 3 (2ot)
 
Scoring – 1, PLNU, Jorge Navarro (David Achaerandio), 2:09; 2, PLNU, Achaerandio (Hunter Loomis), 13:24; 3, PLNU, Corey Lundeen (unassisted), 25:52; 4, SPU, Ed Weise (Sam Malloch), 42:27; 5, SPU, Mario Vukic (Travis Swallow), 76:53; 6, SPU, Alex Mejia (Jake Ferry), 86:50; 7, SPU, Titus Grant (Sam Malloch), 101:07.
 
                       1   2  OT  OT  --  TOTAL
Point Loma             3   0   0   0  --    3
Seattle Pacific        1   2   0   1  --    4
 
Shots – PLNU 14, SPU 16.
Shots on Goal -- PLNU 7, SPU 5.
Saves – PLNU 3 (Connor McEwen), SPU 2 (Lars Helleren 0, Jordan Marwood 2).
Corner Kicks – PLNU 3, SPU 4.
Fouls – PLNU 19, SPU 17.
Offsides – PLNU 3, SPU 2.
Attendance -- 855.
 
Records
Point Loma 4-2-0
Seattle Pacific 1-2-1
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
(#3) Azusa Pacific at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7:00 p.m. PDT
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.