SEATTLE –
Rafael Lucio was spot on from the penalty spot …
…twice.
The senior forward opened the scoring with a PK in the 17th minute, then closed it with another one in the 74th on Thursday night, leading 10th-ranked Seattle Pacific to a 3-2 non-conference men's soccer victory against Westmont College at Interbay Stadium.
Isaac Grimes also scored for the Falcons, who are 3-0-0 the first time since 2021.
FROM THE COACH
"This group has something to them. We're still trying to figure out who we are, but we're obviously pleased with the start," head coach
Kevin Sakuda said. "That was a good team we played against. Credit to our guys – there's a lot of belief, they stuck together, and the guys had some good performances coming off the bench."
Sakuda couldn't recall the last time he was involved in a game when a team he was involved with benefited from two penalty kicks.
"We like getting into those areas and making them defend in tough spots," he said. "Sometimes, if you're not creating in the run of play, It's a way to earn those opportunities. It was good for Rafael to execute those. He's confident, we trust him, and he has been pretty consistent with them."
Freshman midfielder Grimes was one of the players who gave the Falcons a boost off the bench with his first college goal.
"He's a good player who doesn't shy away from anything," Sakuda said. "He was great in the second half and added a lot to the group, and getting his first college goal was great."
HOW IT HAPPENED
--SPU midfielder
Owen Swartout was knocked down in the right side of the penalty area at the 16:44 mark, thereby giving Lucio his first penalty kick opportunity. After dancing around the ball, he drilled his shot into the back left corner with Westmont goalkeeper Aidan Strickler going the opposite direction.
--That was actually the first shot of the game by either team, with nearly 17 minutes having elapsed.
--Lucio's second PK came with 16:25 left in the game after midfielder
Lucas Witthauer was tripped up in the right side of the box. Once again, he took several steps near and around the ball, then put his shot into the back right corner, making it 3-1.
--In between those kicks, Weston Ash tied it at 1-1 for the Warriors when he headed in a corner kick from Tiago Aranibar at the 62:30 mark.
Isaac Grimes
--Grimes put the Falcons back in front less than three minutes later when he and sophomore midfielder
JP Guzman worked a nifty give-and-go on the left wing side. Grimes, playing just above and to the left of the arc, made the initial pass to Guzman, then broke toward the 6-yard box. He took Guzman's return pass and easily tucked a shot into the back right corner.
--Cole Lameli brought Westmont back within one at 3-2 when he converted a penalty kick with 8:42 left.
--That generated some added tension to the final minutes, but SPU helped its own cause by continuing to pressure the Warriors with three more dangerous shots. Of those, two were by Witthauer in the final five minutes that required saves by Strickler.
FROM THE BOX SCORE
--Once the shots started coming, they kept coming. The teams wound up combining for 30, with SPU having a 16-14 edge.
--Grad student goalkeeper
Willem Ficek was credited with three saves for the Falcons.
--Westmont's Strickler had four saves.
--Seattle Pacific logged a season-high 10 corner kicks, two more than it had in last Saturday's 4-2 victory against Chico State.
--Lucio now has three goals for the season. His other one came against Chico.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
--With Grimes opening his scoring account on Thursday, the Falcons now have six players who have found the back of the net.
--Of SPU's 10 goals for the season, eight have come during the second half.
--The 2021 that started 3-0-0 went on to a final record of 12-4-2, won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
The Falcons take on their second nationally ranked opponent of the season when they play host to No. 4 Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday at Interbay Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.
"They'll be good, and they will test us in every way," Sakuda said. "It's two teams that play in a similar style, so it should be a fun game to watch, for sure."
