SEATTLE – Harper Sabari and
JP Guzman each scored, while
Willem Ficek made six saves for the shutout Thursday night, as 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific beat Simon Fraser 2-0 at Interbay Stadium to advance to the GNAC Championship match against top-seeded Western Oregon on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
FROM THE COACH
"It was a good team performance," head coach
Kevin Sakuda said. "They asked a lot of questions of us in terms of set pieces and dealing with long throws, and our guys were great. The back line, Will – they dealt with some really difficult situations, and overall we played well. We had some great chances and made plays when it counted. Winning big tournament games is about winning your boxes, and I thought today was a good example of that."
"The guys were great," Sakuda added. "They battled, and Kasey was fantastic in terms of winning balls. We also did a good job in managing some of the transitional moments where they were able to run downhill at us. We got behind the ball, got organized, and cleaned it up. Overall, I am super pleased with the performance.
FROM THE PLAYERS
"Originally I was trying to cross it with my left foot, but after the defender blocked it I kind of just thought, 'why not'," Sabari said of his goal. "A lot of it comes from watching
Rafael Lucio – how he can find spaces. When I come in, I try to find spaces and go from there."
"We knew they were a good team with quality players, and they like to play pretty direct," Toevs said. "As one of the taller guys on the back line, I knew I had to step up with the headers."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons started on the front foot, taking three shots and earning two corner kicks in the first five minutes.
- Ficek denied Shahbod Jafary in the second minute and Koji Poon in the eighth to keep the match scoreless.
- Sabari and Lukas Shriner entered together in the 33rd minute, and Sabari scored about a minute later off a Shriner assist to make it 1-0 in the 34th minute of the match.
- Ficek stopped Jafary again in the 36th minute to preserve the lead going into halftime.
- Guzman missed with two early second-half shots, then doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, scoring off a Kasey Toevs assist.
- Ficek denied Poon in the 46th and 62nd minutes and Arin Garza in the 54th, keeping the Red Leafs off the board.
- SPU went on to take the match 2-0 and advance to the GNAC Championship match.
FROM THE BOX SCORE
- Guzman led the Falcons with four shots, two on target, to go with his goal.
- Lucio also took four shots, and Judah Straight added three.
- Sabari scored on his lone shot in 44 minutes off the bench.
- Shriner and Toevs each recorded an assist.
- Ficek played all 90 minutes in goal and made six saves for the shutout.
- Seattle Pacific out-shot Simon Fraser 20-16 overall, though the Red Leafs held a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.
- The Falcons won the corner kick battle 6-2.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Guzman's goal was his team-leading seventh of the season for the Falcons.
- Sabari scored his sixth goal of the season, and his fourth in his last three matches.
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- Sabari is tied with Straight for the second-most goals on the team in 2026.
- SPU's victory sets up a rematch of the 2025 GNAC Championship match, with the Falcons and Wolves having played in every Championship match in the history of the men's soccer GNAC Championships.
UP NEXT
The Falcons take on top-seeded Western Oregon on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the GNAC Championship Match at Interbay Soccer Stadium.
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