SEATTLE – After an excellent final weekend of non-conference matches, the Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this weekend. It starts on Thursday at home as they host Western Oregon at 4:30 p.m. Then on Saturday, the team is in Montana playing against MSU Billings at 2:30 p.m. PST.
WHAT'S THE STORY THIS WEEK
What happened last weekend could have happened at any point during the season for the Falcons. It just finally did.
The Falcons scored eight goals in two matches last weekend. They scored three against Point Loma and saw five different Falcons score against Concordia Irvine. The Falcons scored every type of goal imaginable. Clutch goals, penalty kicks, set pieces, add-ons. If it comes to mind, it happened for the Falcons offensively last time out.
The results were moments away from being perfect. The Falcons went up 3-2 in the 86th minute against the Sea Lions, but they answered to end the match in a 3-3 draw. Saturday, it was a full-on route by the Falcons over the Golden Eagles. The match featured three goals on corner kicks and a couple of lasers that fell for the home team.
With those results came accolades from the Conference. Andrew Tran was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week. Tran was excellent for the Falcons in just 46 minutes played. He took four shots and scored twice, the most goals of anyone in the conference last weekend. Tran added an assist to his weekend totals, setting himself up for his first GNAC Weekly Award of the season and his career.
Now the Falcons turn their attention to their conference foes. They're the current, reigning, and defending GNAC Champions. SPU was slated for a third-place finish in the poll that was announced Aug. 16. The Falcons received one of the seven first-place votes after winning it all a year ago.
It starts on Thursday, as the team takes on Western Oregon at 4:30 inside Interbay Stadium. Then on Saturday, the team visits MSU Billings for a match at 2:30 p.m.
SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES (1-3-1, 0-0-0 GNAC)
This is the inaugural season for the Western Oregon men's soccer team. They picked up their first win in program history in the season-opener against Hawaii Pacific. Alex Grignon scored in the 74th minute, giving the Wolves the goal, they needed for a 1-0 win over the Sharks. The Wolves were named the GNAC Team of the Week for their performance.
After that, the team has been tasked with handling the growing pains of a new program. They haven't won a match since their first. Abraham Villalobos is the only other WOU player to have scored this season. Opponents are outscoring the Wolves 9-2 early in the 2022 campaign.
SCOUTING THE MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS (2-3-0, 0-0-0 GNAC)
MSU Billings was picked sixth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll after going 4-9-3 last season and 2-6-2 in conference play. They've returned just two starters for the 2022 season. The Yellowjackets scored 23 goals and 1.53 goals against average last year.
After a slow start to 2022, the 'Jackets have found some momentum. They picked up a 1-0 win over Fort Lewis College on Sept. 10 and followed it up with a 4-1 drubbing of South Dakota Mines last Wednesday. Ryan Hanley leads the squad with three goals, while Jeremie Briquet, Callum Bryan and Valdemar Fogt have each scored once.
