SEATTLE – Travis Swallow tallied a goal in each half and 18th-ranked Seattle Pacific turned back a late Simon Fraser rally to claim an important 4-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer triumph at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons (11-2-1) improved their league ledger to 5-1-1 to move into at tie atop of the GNAC table with 16 points. They have a game-in-hand over both co-leader Western Washington, which is 5-2-1, and Simon Fraser (8-6-0), which is one point back with a 5-3-0 mark.
 
SPU is vying for the automatic NCAA Division II Tournament berth that goes to the GNAC regular-season champion.
 
Swallow netted the equalizer after the visitor's Conrad Cheng had opened the scoring 15 minutes into the contest. The senior midfielder stole a pass 40 yards out and went on a long dribbling run in the 31st minute, beating two defenders in the box before steering a strike to the lower left of the goal.

TRAVIS SWALLOW INTERVIEW

The Falcons reeled off three unanswered scores early in the second half, beginning with Alex Mejia's eight-yard volley just over two minutes after intermission. That was his league-leading 13th goal. The senior forward notched at least one goal in 10 of his 14 outings.
 
Mejia initiated SPU's third tally with a low cross into the goalmouth that was deflected by the goalkeeper, but landed at the feet of Judah Johnston for the easy tap-in at the 55-minute mark.
 
Swallow forged a 4-1 Falcons lead in the 60th minute with a four-yard flick in left-post traffic off pass from defender Aidan Thrall on the left flank. That proved to be the game-winning goal, his second of the season.
 
"Travis was great for us tonight," exclaimed SPU interim head coach Kevin Sakuda. "He brings a ton of energy, covers ground and he thrives in the box. He's got a ton of influence on things, and his ability to run and close and press disrupts the opponent."

TRAVIS SWALLOW 1ST GOAL

The Canadian side got two goals back, drawing within 4-3, but was unable to level the score.
 
Brody Thomas scored on a lunging header from seven yards with exactly 22 minutes showing on the countdown clock and Bjorn Borren got a goal with 2-minutes, 20-seconds remaining to make SPU nervous.
 
The Falcons did not surrender a shot after that point to secure the vital victory. They avenged their lone league loss, a 1-0 setback versus Simon Fraser on Oct. 16 in Burnaby, B.C.
 
"It's a good Simon Fraser team, they're well coached," Sakoda said. "In the first half we were great, but it was still even. We got some early goals after halftime and felt pretty comfortable at times, got the lead and then kind of made it difficult on ourselves.
 
"But the guys were gutsy at the end and closed it out. This time of year, that's what's most important."
 
Senior goalkeeper Lars Helleren made two saves for SPU, which was outshot by a slim 12-11 margin. The hosts had more quality attempts, putting six directly on frame to five for Simon Fraser.
 
Aidan Bain manned the other goal and denied two Falcons shots.
 
JUDAH JOHNSTON GOAL

NEXT GAME
The Seattle Pacific men play their final home game on Saturday, hosting Western Washington. Kick-off is 7:00 p.m. at Interbay Stadium and eight departing players will be honored with a brief ceremony prior to the Senior Night contest.
 
The Falcons close out their schedule next week with visits to Saint Martin's (Nov. 11) and Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 13).
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
at (#18) Seattle Pacific 4, Simon Fraser 3
 
Scoring – 1, SF, Conrad Cheng (Mark Talisuna), 14:59; 2, SPU, Travis Swallow (unassisted), 30:14; 3, SPU, Alex Mejia (Aidan Thrall), 47:05; 4, Judah Johnston (unassisted), 54:42; 5, SPU, Swallow (Thrall, Titus Grant), 59:18; 6, SF, Brody Thomas (Niko Papakyriakopoulos, Bjorn Borren), 68:00; 7, SF, Borren (Joey Mijaljevic), 87:40.
 
                    1   2  --  TOTAL
Simon Fraser        1   2  --    3
Seattle Pacific     1   3  --    4
 
Shots – SF 12, SPU 11.
Shots on Goal – SF 5, SPU 6.
Saves – SF 2 (Aidan Bain), SPU 2 (Lars Helleren).
Corner Kicks – SF 3, SPU 4.
Fouls – SF 18, SPU 12.
Offsides – SF 0, SPU 1.
 
Records
Simon Fraser 8-6-0,  5-3-0 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 11-2-1,  5-1-1 GNAC
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Western Washington at (#18) Seattle Pacific
Saturday, November 6, 7:00 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.