SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team completed the road weekend sweep as three Falcons scored on their way to a 3-0 victory over RV Westminster on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons went into Saturday prepared to face another tough nonconference opponent. The Griffins were the third team on SPU's schedule featured on the United Soccer Coaches national poll at the time of the match. The Griffins entered Saturday just outside the top 25 and were receiving votes in the poll. The Falcons took down the Griffins emphatically with a complete game.
"The guys were fantastic today," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "It was a big result against an undefeated opponent. We talked about being able to stack performances in a weekend and the guys did exactly that. Another clean sheet and some quality attacking moments in the final third."
Diego Pena-Salgado got the scoring started in the 25th minute. Raymundo Mendez passed the ball to Pena-Salgado outside the 18-yard box. He ripped a missile toward the top right corner of the goal and scored. Pena-Salgado's second career goal gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
Mendez added to the SPU lead in the 39th minute. Mendez poked the ball away from the Griffins, worked down the end line, and snuck one past the keeper on a tough angle. Mendez has three goals in 2024, after scoring 13 a season ago.
The Falcons continued to add on in the second half. Christopher Soto worked down the sideline and used a nifty move to get past his defender. The space Soto created led to a pass to Connor Tollan in the middle of the 18-yard box. Tollan turned, shot, and scored for the Falcons. Tollan's third career goal gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead.
SPU keeper Pierluca Carnovale shined for his third shutout in three games. Excellent defense from Evan Aune, Jackson Goode, and Carter Gay kept Westminster to five shots on goal. Carnovale saved all five shots on his way to clean sheet number four of the season.
"I'm proud of the entire team and how they responded after a couple of difficult moments early in our nonconference schedule," Sakuda added. "We get a little break next weekend and then we're excited to start our GNAC play."
The Falcons spend next week away from matches before starting Great Northwest Athletic Conference Play on Thursday, Oct. 3 against Saint Martin's.
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