SEATTLE - The 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team met Western Oregon in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship Match on Saturday afternoon at Interbay Soccer Stadium, with
Owen Swartout emerging as the hero by scoring two goals and assisting on the Falcons' third, guiding his team to a 3-1 title-clinching victory, the seventh GNAC Championship for the program.
FROM THE COACH
"I thought overall our play was good," head coach
Kevin Sakuda said. "They scored a great goal, and you can't take that away from him. That's soccer, sometimes. We talked about continuing to do the things, like control games, be good territorially, stack possessions, and we felt like it was going to be a matter of time until we got that first goal, and then obviously we jumped on it on the second."
"It was a great performance from the guys, defensively," Sakuda added. "After conceding the first, we were able to shut down a really top attacking team. We made plays, and I said it last Thursday, you have to be able to make plays to win big things, and our guys stepped up today."
FROM THE PLAYERS
"It means everything,"
Sebastian Rangel said. "It's really every single one of us who has worked so hard. Every single person put in so much effort for this win, not just always the 11 that start the game. There are so many things that go on behind the scenes and in practice, so really a whole team effort today."
"This league is so competitive," Rangel added. "No game is easy, as you can see. Tonight was very competitive; every game can go either way if you're not locked in, but at the end of the day, we came on top, and we were the best team in the league for sure."
"It's hard to describe," Swartout said. "Just proud of myself to respond, just really proud of the team; we just gave it our all. I scored a couple goals, but it's on the backs of all the guys that ran before me and were putting in work. It's a great feeling, for sure."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Wolves scored in the 14th minute when attacking on the counter, as Ignacio Brandon smashed a missile from 40 yards out that went just over the outstretched arm of SPU keeper Willem Ficek and just under the crossbar to put WOU up 1-0 early in the match.
- The Falcons leveled the match in the 59th minute when Isaac Ketcham lofted a ball into the box that was headed back to center by Harper Sabari and scored by the right foot of Owen Swartout.
- Moments later, WOU committed a foul in the box that set up a penalty kick for SPU.
- Swartout was the man who stepped forward to score the penalty kick goal that put the Falcons up 2-1.
- SPU took one last leap forward toward victory in the 82nd minute, when Brady Reed connected with Swartout, who sent a long pass down the sideline for Lucas Witthauer, who hammered home the Falcons' third goal of the match.
- The Falcons held on during the closing moments of the match to secure the 3-1 victory and the conference title.
FROM THE BOX SCORE
- The Falcons finished the match with 18 shots compared to just 10 from the Wolves.
- SPU owned the quality advantage over WOU as well, with nine shots on goal to just three from the visitors.
- Lukas Shriner led the Falcons with three shots, while Swartout and Hugh Lear led the team with two shots on goal each.
- Swartout's two goals and assist for five points were the most of anyone on the pitch on Saturday.
- Willem Ficek played all 90 minutes in goal for the Falcons, making two saves on the three shots on goal he faced.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- SPU earned its seventh GNAC Championship in program history, with Saturday's 3-1 victory over Western Oregon being the first GNAC Tournament crown.
- The Falcons maintained a perfect 12-0-0 record at Interbay Soccer Stadium, which includes two GNAC Championship victories from this weekend.
- Entering Saturday's match, Swartout had one goal with the Falcons in his career.
- Swartout had two goals and one assist for five points in Saturday's GNAC Championship match.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will tune in to the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 9, at 3:30 p.m. PST to be streamed at NCAA.com to find out where they'll play in the NCAA Tournament.
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