SEATTLE – Alessandro Tomasi and Alex Whiting each scored a first-half goal Saturday for Western Washington, which held off a late Seattle Pacific rally for a 2-1 men's soccer win at Interbay Stadium.
 
SPU (3-2) had a three-game winning streak snapped, losing for the first time since a similar 2-1 home setback to Saint Martin's in the season opener on March 24.
 
Coach Mark Collings designed a hectic May schedule for his Falcons, who just completed their third game in eight days. The previous two were exhibition contests, a 2-2 draw against the Tacoma Defiance professional team last Saturday and Wednesday's 3-2 victory over NCAA Division I Seattle University.
 
"We just weren't very sharp today at all. A lot of easy giveaways," Collings described. "We've been so sharp the past two games this week really moving the ball well. Today we were not.
 
"Since January we've talked about getting better every time that we step on the field, and tonight was a step backwards. It has nothing to do with the result. We've had positive results since that first game in March, but just the way we played tonight was very tentative and a little frantic. Give Western credit, but it was just some simple things that we normally execute that we didn't do today."
 
The Vikings (3-1) won their third consecutive game. They were victorious in their last four meetings versus the Falcons.
 
The hosts were scoreless for 78 minutes before averting the shutout on a brilliant free kick by junior forward Musa Ali. SPU has scored at least once in every game this season.
 
Owen Gortner was fouled on the right flank, 10 yards outside the box by WWU defender Theo Steinmetz. Ali set the ball 28 yards from the goal and delivered a left-footed blast into the top-right corner to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, at 78:37. That was the first goal as a Falcon for Ali, who played his 16th career game Saturday.
 
"An absolute banger! I don't think you can hit it much better than that one," Collings said of Ali's fantastic free kick. "We definitely deserved a goal, so to get that made the end of the game interesting."

MUSA ALI FREE KICK GOAL

That was the final shot for the Falcons, who spent much of the final 11 minutes in the Western half without mustering an attempt.
 
Goalkeeper Brandon Locke sustained a clean sheet for 65 minutes, making three saves in the process, before giving way to Patrick Restum. The Vikings backup played the final 25 minutes, stopping one shot while yielding the lone SPU score.
 
Cam Welty played all 90 minutes and was credited with four saves for the Falcons, who were outshot by a 13-7 margin. The quality of chances was almost even as WWU sent six shots directly on goal and the Falcons put five on frame.

Scoring Summary
Western nearly got on the board just over two minutes into the contest when Teagan Eldridge managed to squeeze off a shot in traffic near the right post. Welty stretched high to knock the ball away from the goalmouth and out of danger.
 
The Falcons weren't so fortunate on the visitors' next offensive foray, just three minutes later. Welty failed to effectively clear the ball from the top of his box, instead having it squirt off his foot and travel sideways to his right. With nobody within 15 yards of him, Tomasi easily gathered the ball and dribbled into the empty box to push a 13-yard try into the open goal at 5:04.
 
SPU's first genuine scoring opportunity came off the foot of Alden Massey in the 24th minute. He dribbled into the left side of the box and lined a 16-yard attempt that forced Locke to dive for a right-arm deflection save.
 
Just 1-minute, 39-seconds before halftime WWU doubled its lead on well-placed shot to the upper-right corner by Whiting. Johan Espinoza possessed the ball on the right flank and fed a pass across the top of the box. Whiting received the ball and beat a defender at the top-left of the box before bending a 17-yard strike into the Falcons goal at 43:21.
 
"We made it tough on ourselves the way we gave up the early goal. We weren't very sharp to begin with and then you concede a goal like that, it rocked us a little more," said Collings. "We started to find our legs a little bit and had a couple good chances, but then they get one late in the first half off another costly turnover. Now we were chasing the game. It's difficult because they're comfortable, they'll just sit back and play on the counter.
 
"That's the way soccer is, if you're the aggressor you're going to open yourself up and leave yourself exposed. We're probably fortunate not to give up another goal in the second half, but at the same time we generated a couple good chances to get us back in it."
 
With Western playing in a defensive posture nursing its two-goal margin, shots were hard to come by. The Falcons compiled just three attempts after halftime. Their highest caliber endeavor, other than Ali's successful free kick, came in the 73rd minute. Sophomore Tyler Speer lined a shot from the top of the circle, but it travelled straight into the hands of Restum in the center of the Vikings goal.
 
Next Week
These same teams meet again next Saturday (May 15) in Bellingham for a 1:00 p.m. rematch at Harrington Field. That will be the final game this season for the Falcons.
 
"With everything that's gone on this year we're just excited to get another game," Collings exclaimed. "To get another opportunity to play is great. Certainly, to try to avenge the result today will be good for our guys as well."

Saluting Sam  Malloch
Saturday marked the final home playing appearance for midfielder Sam Malloch, the only SPU student-athlete not planning to return to play in the fall. Malloch was honored with a pregame Senior Night Ceremony. He is tied for the team lead with two goals this season and during his entire career compiled six goals and 10 assists.

SENIOR NIGHT CEREMONY


NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
Western Washington 2, at Seattle Pacific 1
 
Scoring – 1, WWU, Alessandro Tomasi (unassisted), 5:04; 2, WWU, Alex Whiting (Johan Espinoza), 43:21; 3, SPU, Musa Ali (free kick), 78:37.
 
                       1   2  --  TOTAL
Western Washington     2   0  --    2
Seattle Pacific        0   1  --    1
 
Shots – WWU 13, SPU 7.
Shots on Goal – WWU 6, SPU 5.
Saves – WWU 4 (Brandon Locke 3, Patrick Restum 1), SPU 4 (Cam Welty).
Corner Kicks – WWU 4, SPU 4.
Fouls – WWU 16, SPU 11.
Offsides – WWU 0, SPU 2.
 
Records
Western Washington 3-1-0
Seattle Pacific 3-2-0
 
Next SPU Men's Soccer Game
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Saturday, May 15, 1:00 p.m. PDT
Harrington Field / Bellingham, Wash.