Saturday, November 14, 2015

SEATTLE, Wash. – After remaining locked in a 1-1 tie through 110 minutes, Seattle Pacific fell to Cal State Dominguez Hills 3-2 in a shootout, Saturday night at SPU’s Interbay Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championships.

Danny Olivas scored the opening shootout attempt for the Falcons, but the team missed the following two shots and trailed 2-1 after three rounds. Matt Merchant then opened the fourth round with a shot into the upper left corner of the net and goalkeeper Cody Lang made a diving stop to his right to keep the score tied. In the fifth round however, the Falcons missed and the Toros ended the match with a goal.

Merchant opened the scoring for the match with a 37th minute goal. Stephen MacDonald stole the ball from a CSUDH defender and dished a pass from the left side of the box over to Merchant who tapped it home. The Falcons held the lead through to halftime and controlled the first 45 minutes with an 8-1 shot advantage.

Seattle Pacific opened the second half once again controlling the play, but one costly mistake gave the Toros life. The Falcons took a penalty in the box, not only resulting in the Toros lone goal of the match on a penalty kick, but also a red card that put the Falcons down a man for the remainder of the bout.

With an 11-10 man advantage, the Toros made a heavy push in the second half and overtime periods to take the lead, but the Falcons were able to hold on for a chance in the shootout.

The Falcons outshot the Toros 23-17 for the match and had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks. Lang made seven saves and Olivas and Ian Adams led SPU with five shots each.

The GNAC champions finished their season with a 14-1-4 overall record.