BELLINGHAM, Wash.  – The Western Washington University men's soccer team held off No. 7 nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific University for the first 60 minutes, but the Falcons scored a pair of second half goals to defeat the Vikings 2-0 on Thursday at Harrington Field.
 
The Vikings had their two-game winning streak snapped to fall to 4-7-0 overall and even their Great Northwest Athletic Conference mark at 2-2-0. SPU won its seventh consecutive game to improve to 10-1-0 overall and remain on top of the GNAC table at 4-0-0 in conference play.
 
"It wasn't the best first half for us, but a very good response in the second half for the team," said WWU head coach Greg Brisbon. "We battled, improved and created more chances in the final 45 minutes. The SPU goalkeeper had a heck of a game and credit to them finding a way to get the win tonight. We will respond and are looking forward to the opportunity Saturday to compete."
 
After a scoreless first 60 minutes, Falcons got on the board in the 61st minute when Judah Johnston found the back of the net after collecting a loose ball in box. Forward Alex Mejia made a play on the ball in front of the goal mouth, making contact with WWU goalkeeper Brandon Locke, but no foul was called and Johnston scored the go-ahead goal.
 
The Vikings strung together a couple of scoring opportunities in the 67th and 69th minutes, each time being denied by SPU goalkeeper Lars Helleren. The first chance came off a hard deflected shot from Gus Diehl, with Helleren diving high to his right to save the shot. Two minutes later Helleren and the SPU defense again came up big with a save and blocked shot sequence in front of the goal.
 
Despite the constant pressure over the final 25 minutes of the contest, the Vikings were held off the scoreboard since opening the season with back-to-back shutout defeats. Helleren made four saves for the Falcons, while Locke had a career-high eight saves for the Vikings.
 
SPU added a late goal when GNAC leading scorer Mejia tallied his 12th goal of the season in the 90th minute to bring the game to the final score of 2-0.
 
The Falcons held a 22-11 advantage in shots and a 11-4 advantage in shots on goal. The chippy affair featured 36 combined fouls (SPU-22, WWU-14) and nine total yellow cards.
  WWU (4-7-0, 2-2-0 GNAC) continues its five-game homestand Saturday hosting Montana State Billings (Saturday, 7 pm) at Harrington Field. Prior to the WWU-MSUB game at 7 pm, the nationally-ranked women's team will host Simon Fraser starting at 4 pm. View the complete 2021 schedule at wwuvikings.com/MSOC.
   

#7 Seattle Pacific 2, Western Washington 0
Date: October 14, 2021
Field: Harrington Field      Site: Bellingham, WA
Weather: 52-degrees, Cloudy	   Att: 156

Goals by period              1  2    Tot
-----------------------------------------
#7 Seattle Pacific.........  0  2  -  2
Western Washington.........  0  0  -  0

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.       60:13       SPU    Johnston
2.       89:20       SPU    Mejia

Shots: SPU 22, WWU 11
Shots on Goal: SPU 11, WWU 4
Saves: WWU 9 (Locke – 8), SPU 4 (Helleren - 4)
Corners: SPU 11, WWU 3
Fouls: SPU 22, WWU 14
Yellow Cards: WWU 6, SPU 3
Offsides: WWU 1, SPU 1
Kits: WWU (White), SPU (Maroon)

  WWU had its five-game unbeaten streak snapped against the Falcons, dropping a game to the Falcons for the first time since the 2018 season…Vikings are 6-2-3 vs. SPU over the last 11 meetings dating back to the start of the 2016 season…SPU leads the all-time series 38-17-9 according to WWU records…two teams will meet again Nov. 6 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle.