BURNABY, B.C. – The Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team took on Western Washington in the first game in Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championships history on Thursday morning, where the Falcons withstood a comeback from the Vikings, powered by a hat trick from JJ Diaz that helped SPU earn a 5-3 victory over WWU and advance to Saturday's championship game. 

FROM THE FALCON OF THE MATCH
"We felt good when we went up 3-0, but Western is a good team and came back in the second half," Diaz said. "The biggest thing is that we kept fighting and kept going. It just shows how strong this group is and how deep we are. We just keep working until we achieve our goal. It's been a special season for us, and I just hope we keep going further."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons broke through in the 22nd minute of the match, when Isaac Ketcham served a ball to Diaz, who put the Falcons up 1-0.
• SPU added to its lead in the 23rd minute when Connor Tollan ripped one into the top-center of the net off an assist from Rafael Lucio.
• Then, in the 39th minute, Lucas Witthauer scored against his former team with an assist going to Cristian Chel Lara.
• The Falcons owned a 3-0 lead at halftime of the match.
• The comeback was on for the Vikings in the second half.
• Zach Robertson scored in the 51st minute to cut the SPU lead to 3-1.
• Joar Tidblom put a ball into the top right corner of the net in the 59th minute, bringing the Vikings to within one of the Falcons.
• Tidblom tied the match in the 63rd minute with a laser into the lower left corner to level the game.
• SPU's response came in the 72nd minute when Lukas Shriner set up Diaz for his second goal of the match.
  • Diaz's second goal gave the Falcons a 4-3 lead.
• The duo teamed up to do it again in the 80th minute when Shriner dished it over to Diaz, who scored his third goal of the match, giving the Falcons a 5-3 lead.
• The Falcons held on to their two-goal lead for the final 10 minutes of the match to win it 5-3 and advance to the GNAC Championship game.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons had nine shots, with five of them being on goal, against the Vikings.
  • SPU had five corner kicks in Thursday's match.
• Diaz led everyone with three goals in Thursday's semifinal match against the Vikings.
• Shriner tied for the game-high two assists against the Vikings.
  • He was one of four Falcons to record an assist on Thursday.
• Brian Lanier made the start in goal for the Falcons, facing 16 shots while making four saves for SPU.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons recorded the first win in GNAC Men's Soccer Championships history with their 5-3 victory in the semifinals.
• Diaz recorded the first hat trick in GNAC Men's Soccer Championships history in its inaugural match.
  • Diaz's hat trick is the first since Brady Fendrich had one against Saint Martin's on Oct. 18, earlier this season.
• Shriner set a new career best with two assists against the Vikings.
• Witthauer's first career goal came against his former team in the GNAC Championships semifinal.
• The Falcons have scored 26 goals in their last seven matches.
  • SPU is averaging 3.7 goals per match during that span. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons have advanced to Saturday's inaugural GNAC Men's Soccer Championship game. They'll take on the team they share the 2025 GNAC Regular Season title with, Western Oregon, at 11:00 a.m. in Burnaby, B.C.
 
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