SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons scored first – and scored fast.
 
However, the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks scored more often – and ultimately scored last.
 
Joey Van Horn, Reymundo Mendez and Isaac Ketcham all knocked in goals for SPU, with Ketcham's forging a 3-3 tie with 26 minutes left to play, but NNU tallied twice in the final 10 minutes to snap that tie and take a 5-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer victory on Thursday at rainy Interbay Stadium.
 
The five goals was the most allowed by the Falcons (5-8-4, 3-5-3 GNAC) this season, and the Nighthawks got them on eight shots.
 
 

"You just don't win games giving up five goals," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "Guys have to shore things up in the back. Credit to Northwest Nazarene, they caused us some problems in certain spaces. As a group collectively, we have to defend better, and there are some individual areas where we obviously have to improve."
 
Seattle Pacific got off to its fastest start of the year, needing just 17 seconds from the opening whistle to take a 1-0 lead. Senior midfielder Joey Van Horn picked up a loose ball in a goalmouth scramble, and from the top right corner of the 6-yard box drilled a shot into the low back center of the net past Nighthawks goalkeeper Sawyer Price for
 
"He has been great and has really come on in the second half of the season," Sakuda said of Van Horn. "Credit to him, he was kind of in and out of things, but has taken a role and run with it."
 
Northwest Nazarene (5-6-6, 3-3-5 GNAC) needed just a little more than three minutes to get level on the first of Jim Wagenaar's two goals. Zakaria Daeou, playing on the right wing side, found Wagenaar undefended in the box, and from just beyond the penalty spot blasted it into the back center for 1-1.
 
In the 26th minute, Waganaar was in the right place at the right time. Playing at the top of the 6, he got just enough of a foot on to the ball to send it dribbling past diving Falcons goalkeeper Cam Welty for his 14th of the season and a 2-1 lead.
 
Sullivan Smith, who picked up the assist on Wagenaar's second goal, expanded it to 3-1 just six minutes into the second half, slotting it in from 16 yards away in the left side of the penalty area. Wagenaar returned the favor by assisting.
 
SPU climbed back into it. Junior midfielder Mendez, coming off a hat trick in last Saturday's 3-3 tie at Western Oregon, took a pass from Van Horn. From right at the spot, he lofted a shot that dipped just under the crossbar on the right side, cutting the margin to 3-2 at 56:33. That was his 12th of the season.
 
 

 Redshirt freshman Ketcham then pulled Falcons into a 3-3 tie at the 64:07 mark. Sophomore midfielder Connor Tollan had a free kick on the right side, about 35 yards up from the goal line. He launched it into the center of the box, Ketcham went up, twisted around in midair and knocked it off his head from 8 yards away for the first goal of his career.
 
Tollan nearly gave Seattle Pacific the lead with 15:57 to play when he sent a 30-yard free kick off the crossbar.
 
Jonathan Cardona parked a perfectly placed shot from the top left corner of the box to the back right corner of the Falcons' net with 9:04 remaining to put Northwest Nazarene back on top, 4-3. Jimmy Koufidakis then sealed it with 4:56 to go when he broke downfield all alone and scored from 25 yards away to the left of the arc.
 
SPU outshot the Nighthawks by a 15-8 margin.
 
UP NEXT
The Falcons wrap up the season on Saturday when they host Western Oregon at 7:00 p.m. That will be Senior Night in honor of Matthew Samson, Tyler Speer, and Cam Welty.
 
"We just have to lick our wounds and get back after it and have a good performance to honor our seniors on Saturday," Sakuda said. "Western Oregon is a good team. Our last game against them was pretty back-and-forth. We obviously have to be better at defending and being organized and kind of taking our chances when we get them."
 
 
 
NCAA MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.
 
Northwest Nazarene 5, Seattle Pacific 3
 
Scoring – 1, SPU: Van Horn, unassisted, 0:17; 2, NNU: Waganaar, from Daeou, 3:43; 3, NNU: Wagenaar, from Smith, 26:06; 4, NNU: Smith, from Wagenaar, 51:58; 5, SPU: Mendez, from Van Horn and Aune, 56:33; 6, SPU: Ketcham, from Tollan, 64:07; 7, NNU: Cardona, unassisted, 80:55; 8, NNU: Koufidakis, unassisted, 85:04.
 
Shots – NNU 8, SPU 15.
Saves – NNU (Price) 3, SPU (Welty) 1.
Corner kicks – NNU 1, SPU 5.
Offsides – NNU 1, SPU 3.
Fouls – NNU 14, SPU 4.
Cautions / ejections – None.
Attendance – 204.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 5-8-4, 3-5-3 GNAC.
Northwest Nazarene 5-6-6, 3-3-5 GNAC.
 
 
Next game
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Interbay Stadium / Seattle, Wash.