Thursday, April 29, 2021

FALCONS WIN THREE STRAIGHT: Seattle Pacific returned to the pitch in April and picked up two wins over Washington programs. The Falcons beat Division III Puget Sound in overtime, 3-2, on April 10 before topping Saint Martin’s on April 21, 3-1, to extend their winning streak to three matches.

The Falcons and Loggers traded goals in the overtime thriller. Senior defender Alex Mejia scored the opening goal for SPU in the 14th minute. Sophomore forward Owen Gortner notched the second goal in the 77th minute off an assist from freshman defender Joey Van Horn.

Ian Cameron tied the match at 2-2 with an 87th-minute strike for the Loggers to send it to overtime. Seattle Pacific kept overtime short as senior midfielder Sam Malloch scored the golden goal in the 91st minute off an assist from Mejia and junior forward Alden Massey.

Seattle Pacific scored three unanswered goals in the win at Saint Martin’s. Massey was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after he scored two goals and played 68 minutes against the Saints. He scored the game-winning goal in the 31st minute off an assist from senior midfielder Travis Swallow and then scored an unassisted insurance goal in the 49th. Swallow scored the Falcons’ first goal, unassisted, in the 23rd minute.

Junior Lars Helleren earned both wins in goal for the Falcons. He is 2-1-0 on the season with four saves, three goals allowed and a 1.50 goals against average.

Seattle Pacific is 3-1-0 this spring. The Falcons will host Tacoma Defiance in an exhibition match on Saturday before hosting Western Washington on May 8.

VIKINGS BREAK THE SILENCE: Western Washington continued its season with a 1-0 overtime victory over Saint Martin’s on April 14. It was the only match in the conference that week.

The Vikings earned both weekly awards for the week of April 12-18 after the overtime win. Junior defender Iakov Shmelev was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after he scored the golden goal in the 100th minute to give the Vikings their first win of the spring.

Freshman defender Mitchell Hutter earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his part in anchoring a defense that held the Saints scoreless and allowed just three shots on goal. Hutter played 80 minutes and had a long pass that set up Shmelev’s game-winner.

Western Washington is 1-1-0 on the season. The Vikings will have a rematch with the Saints on Saturday in Lacey.

NIGHTHAWKS CLOSE SPRING SCHEDULE WITH SPLIT: After 33 days off, Northwest Nazarene returned to the pitch, hosting a pair of matches against Saint Martin’s on April 8 and 10. The Nighthawks dropped the first match, 4-3, but bounced back to win the second match, 1-0.

The Nighthawks swept the Player of the Week awards for the week of April 5-11. Junior defender Brandon Parsio was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after he scored a goal in each of the matches. He scored the Nighthawks’ opening goal in the 55th minute of the April 8 loss. He then scored the only goal in the 59th minute of the 1-0 shutout on April 10 to allow NNU to close the season with a win.

Junior defender Lorenzo Valentini was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after he anchored an NNU defense that limited Saint Martin’s to two shots on goal in the 1-0 shutout. Valentini’s performance included a key clearance on a corner kick in the final seconds.

Freshman midfielder Nils Knosala scored the first goal for the Nighthawks in the 18th minute of the April 8 loss while freshman forward Jimmy Koufidakis notched the third goal in the 67th.

Northwest Nazarene closed the season with a 4-2-1 record. The Nighthawks tallied 16 goals, 13 assists and 45 points and led the conference with 14.57 shots per game. Sophomore goalkeeper Sawyer Price finishes the spring with 21 saves, two shutouts and a 1.32 goals against average.

SAINTS LOOK TO FINISH STRONG: Saint Martin’s dropped four of five matches in April. The Saints lost to Division III Pacific Lutheran on April 2, 4-1. The Saints beat Northwest Nazarene on April 8, 4-3, before dropping a 1-0 match to the Nighthawks on April 10. Saint Martin’s lost a heartbreaking 1-0 match in overtime at Western Washington on April 14 and then dropped its most recent match against Seattle Pacific, 3-1, on April 21.

Senior defender Jose Marquez scored the Saints’ lone goal against the Lutes in the 78th minute off an assist from junior defender Brian Licona. The Lutes outshot the Saints 11-6, limiting the Saints to four shots on goal.

Freshman midfielder Arjun Gill scored two goals in the April 8 win at Northwest Nazarene. He scored the opening goal in the 17th minute off an assist from freshman midfielder David Settle and then scored the Saints’ third goal in the 58th minute off an assist from junior midfielder Isaac Hernandez.

Settle also assisted on the game-winning goal by Licona in the 82nd minute. Freshman midfielder Caden Martin scored the Saints’ second goal, unassisted, in the 26th minute.

The Saints tallied 10 shots and three shots on goal in the loss to the Vikings but couldn’t find the back of the net. Sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Askland played the first half and made one save while fellow sophomore Bryce Porter finished the match in goal and made three saves. Askland is tied for the lead among GNAC goalkeepers with 21 saves and is sixth with a 2.02 goals against average.

Senior forward Jason Fairhurst scored the lone goal in the Saints’ loss to Seattle Pacific on April 21. He opened the scoring with a 10th-minute goal off an assist from freshman defender Seth Kobata.

Saint Martin’s is 2-6-1 on the season and will conclude its spring schedule at home, hosting Western Washington on Saturday.

SEE YOU IN THE FALL: Montana State Billings closed its season after its last three matches were canceled. The Yellowjackets finished 1-0-1 after beating crosstown rival Rocky Mountain, 3-2, on Feb. 24 and tying the Bears on Feb. 27, 0-0. Junior forwards Edgar Ramirez and Austin Shafer and junior defender Bryan Maxwell notched the three goals for MSUB.

Due to the continued closure of the U.S./Canada border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Simon Fraser will not compete in soccer this season.