OLYMPIA, Wash. –
Tyler Speer's unassisted goal in the 71st minute provided all the offense 22nd-ranked Seattle Pacific needed Thursday to defeat Saint Martin's 1-0 and secure a spot in the NCAA Division II men's soccer tournament.
The junior midfielder displayed quick reflexes on the decisive goal. A lofted ball was served toward the 6-yard box and bounded off a defender before bouncing to Speer, who quickly finished from eight yards with a left-footed poke to the lower-right of the SMU goal at 70:28. The shot slipped between the out-stretched arms of the diving goalkeeper and the right post.
The Falcons (12-2-2) improved to 6-1-2 in league play to claim a three-point lead atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with one game to play. They are guaranteed no less than a conference co-championship and would claim sole ownership of the title with a tie or win Saturday at Northwest Nazarene, or a non-winning result by second-place Western Washington at Simon Fraser.
The GNAC does not administer a tiebreaker to determine the conference crown. A tiebreaker format does, however, go in effect to determine the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs and SPU wins that by virtue of a victory in the first head-to-head meeting with WWU. The Falcons won 2-0 on October 14 in Bellingham and the teams tied, 1-1, on Nov. 6 in Seattle.
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Monday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time. SPU will receive its 36th invitation and make its first postseason appearance since 2015.
"I'm really excited for the guys," exclaimed SPU interim head coach
Kevin Sakuda. "They've been working hard all season and this is a good reward for them.
"Saint Martin's made it really difficult on us. We were creating chances, but we couldn't quite find the goal in the first half. In the second half Speer stepped up, got that one and we were able to close it out."
Since Saint Martin's usual on-campus venue, Saints Field, was unplayable the teams competed at the nearby Regional Athletic Complex in Olympia.
TYLER SPEER GOAL
GAME SUMMARY
The Falcons were the aggressor during the first 45 minutes, spending most of its time in the SMU half. They were rewarded with six corner kicks while surrendering none.
Despite the first-half dominance of possession, SPU managed only a 4-2 edge in the shot count.
Four different individuals accounted for the visitors attempts, but defender
Aidan Thrall was the only player from either side to send a shot directly on frame in the first half. His 39th-minute shot to the lower left was saved by goalkeeper Hunter Askland.
Saint Martin's (3-13-0) dropped to 2-7-0 in GNAC games, but not without a fight.
The Saints imposed their offensive will immediately after intermission. They reeled off the opening five shots of the half, two of them from Diego Andrade. Two of their shots were blocked, two went wide and SPU's
Lars Helleren stopped one for his first save of the contest.
The game opened up with several shots from both squads, including a 70th-minute flurry with consecutive shots by the Falcons
Travis Swallow. Both of them were stopped by Askland.
A half-minute later Speer found the back of the net for the game's only tally. That was the first goal of the season for a player who usually serves as a provider, topping the team with five assists.
Speer has three career scores and Thursday's was his inaugural game-winning strike.
"Tyler stepped up big today and scored the goal," Sakuda said. "He's does a lot of the little stuff all season that sometimes go unnoticed. He does a good job of finding space, connecting passes for us. His work rate on the defensive end is great.
"It's was good to see a guy like Tyler get that important goal for us today."
Speer has three career scores and Thursday's was his inaugural game-winning strike.
Lars Helleren
The SPU defense stiffened up and didn't surrender a Saints shot over the remaining 20 minutes.
Helleren was credited with three saves en route to his sixth clean sheet. He has played every minute between the posts this season for the Falcons.
Askland made five saves for SMU, which was outshot by a 15-10 margin.
NEXT GAME
The Seattle Pacific men conclude the regular season on Saturday at Northwest Nazarene. Kick-off is 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time at NNU Soccer Field in Nampa, Idaho.
The Falcons won the first meeting 2-1 on Oct. 7 in Seattle behind goals from
Alden Massey and Nick Reierson.
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Regional Athletic Complex / Olympia, Wash.
(#22) Seattle Pacific 1, Saint Martin's 0
Scoring – 1, SPU,
Tyler Speer (unassisted), 70:28.
1 2 -- TOTAL
Seattle Pacific 0 1 -- 1
Saint Martin's 0 0 -- 0
Shots – SPU 15, SMU 10.
Shots on Goal – SPU 6, SMU 3.
Saves – SPU 3 (
Lars Helleren), SMU 5 (Hunter Askland).
Corner Kicks – SPU 9, SMU 0.
Fouls – SPU 12, SMU 13.
Offsides – SPU 2, SMU 1.
Records
Seattle Pacific 12-2-2, 6-1-2 GNAC
Saint Martin's 3-13-0, 2-7-0 GNAC
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
(#22) Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Saturday, November 13, 1:00 p.m. PST
NNU Soccer Field / Nampa, Idaho
