BURNABY, B.C. – Ali Zohar flicked a header into the far side of the goal midway through the first half Saturday and Simon Fraser held on for a 1-0 upset of seventh-ranked Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer game at Terry Fox Field.
 
The Falcons (10-2-0) had their seven-game winning streak halted and they suffered their first league setback to drop to 4-1-0 in GNAC play. They had previously scored at least one goal in every game this season, but were kept off the scoreboard for the first time in 23 outings, dating to a 4-0 loss at Western Washington on Oct. 31, 2019.
 
Saturday's lone goal came at 20:37 from a set piece after Tyler Dhillon was fouled by SPU defender Aidan Thrall while dribbling down the right sideline. Thrall was yellow-carded on the play that earned Simon Fraser a free kick that was parlayed into a score.
 
Niko Papakyriakopoulos served a left-footed cross to the top of the 6-yard box, in proximity to the near post. Zohar got there first and the ball glanced off the top of his head, redirecting it backwards and into the left inside-netting.
 
The Falcons found themselves behind for only the fourth time all season and the hosts maintained that edge for the remaining 69 minutes.
 
Senior goalkeeper Lars Helleren did his best to keep that margin from increasing. He made five saves for the Falcons, many of them of the spectacular variety.

LARS HELLEREN SAVE

Aidan Bain was credited with two saves for Simon Fraser, which outshot SPU by a 13-7 margin. Most of the Falcons attempts came from distance.
 
Simon Fraser (6-5-0) evened its GNAC record at 3-2-0, winning consecutive conference games for the first time.
 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
Simon Fraser got off a shot just 39 seconds into the contest, an attempt by Justus Meier that was high. A little over a minute later Connor Glennon had a shot blocked, but it still almost snuck inside the right post.
 
The hosts compiled a 7-1 shot advantage before halftime and four of their attempts were on frame.
 
The Falcons only first-half shot occurred in the ninth minute. Alden Massey blasted a high 27-yarder from the right side that had so much pace, Bain was forced to bat it down to the ground before gaining control.
 
The assault continued on the SPU goal. In the 19th minute Conrad Cheng sent a low drive that required a diving save by Helleren at the left post.
 
A poor back pass in the 24th minute was stolen by Sidrit Vukaj, who shot from the center of the box, but Helleren managed to scramble from the ground and lunge to snare the ball.
 
Just a minute later, a hard shot from just inside the box by Meier travelled inches wide of the right post.
 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
The Falcons were more effective offensively after intermission and matched their hosts six-shot, second-half total.
 
Alex Mejia just missed a goal in the 53rd minute as his firm header from the center of the box carried a foot over the crossbar. That was the second shot of the game for the Falcons. Their third attempt came eight minutes later, off the foot of Massey. His shot and was from a similar distance as his first and this attempt to curve the ball toward the left post from 28 yards out barely went wide.
 
 

SPU was awarded a 69th-minute free kick one yard outside the box after Mejia was pushed in the back by Zohar. The subsequent spot kick was hammered over the crossbar by Aaron Stapleton.
 
The Falcons best opportunity was initiated by a left-side corner kick in the 74th minute. The ball was flicked by the foot of Demian Alvarez in the near-post area, but it went wide to the right of the goal.
 
With 5:57 remaining a long SPU throw-in to the goalmouth was headed by Nik Reierson, but cleared off the line by Dhillon.
 
Simon Fraser's pressure persisted and Helleren continued to deny those advances. A 78th-minute corner kick was cleared, but just six yards outside the box. Glennon was there to first-time a high, hard shot that Helleren leaped to knock over the bar for another corner.
 
Helleren prevented the lead from doubling with 7:32 left to play with arguably his finest save of the night. The ball was bounding in the box where Bjorn Borren hit a one-time volley from 16-yards that sent the SPU goalkeeper diving toward the right post. Helleren managed to get his left hand on the ball and poke it out of harm's way.
 
NEXT GAME
Seattle Pacific takes a two-week break from competition before resuming action on Oct. 30 at Montana State Billings. Kick-off is 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time at Yellowjacket Field.
 
After that, the Falcons play their final two regular-season home games, hosting Simon Fraser on Nov. 4 and Western Washington on Nov. 6. The start time for both games is 7:00 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, October 16, 2021
Terry Fox Field / Burnaby, B.C.
 
at Simon Fraser 1, (#7) Seattle Pacific 0
 
Scoring – 1, SF, Ali Zohar (Niko Papakyriakopoulos), 20:37.
 
                      1   2  --  TOTAL
Seattle Pacific       0   0  --    0
Simon Fraser          1   0  --    1
 
Shots – SPU 7, SF 13.
Shots on Goal – SPU 2, SF 6.
Saves – SPU 5 (Lars Helleren), SF 2 (Aidan Bain).
Corner Kicks – SPU 4, SF 7.
Fouls – SPU 9, SF 19.
Offsides – SPU 2, SF 4.
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 10-2-0, 4-1-0 GNAC
Simon Fraser 6-5-0, 3-2-0 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
(#7) Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
Saturday, October 30, 1:30 p.m. PDT
Yellowjacket Field / Billings, Mont.