Coming Up – Western Washington (October 19, 1:00 p.m., Lacey, Washington) Simon Fraser (October 21, 2:00 p.m., Lacey, Washington).
COMPLETE MEDIA GUIDE
Live Stats/Live Video – Live Stats and Live Video of the games will be available through Saint Martin's Stretch Internet Portal. The matches will be broadcasted by the host team.
Social Media – Follow the Saints on Facebook (Saint Martin's University Men's Soccer) and follow SMU Athletics on Facebook (Saint Martin's Saints), Twitter (SMUAthletics), Instagram (saints_athletics) and YouTube (SMU Athletics).
Ticket Information - SMU students get in free at every SMU Home game with a valid student ID card and tickets are available for only five dollars. Seniors/Military/Non-SMU Students get in for three dollars. Children under the age of 11 get in free.
Madsen Continues To Dominate At Home – Two early goals for
Brandon Madsen and an equalizer goal from
Kyle Witzel in the second was not enough as the Saints fell 5-3 to GNAC opponent Seattle Pacific at home on Thursday. Madsen started the high-scoring match off with a penalty goal kick in the 15th minute after a hand-ball was called in Seattle Pacific's (8-3-1, 4-2-1) box. Madsen struck again for the Saints (0-10-1, 0-5-1) less than two minutes later, on a cross from
Cayman John found Madsen in the box for a header. Madsen increased his goal count to nine on the season, including four in the last two matches. In the Saints' three home matches this season. Madsen has scored five of the six goals. With the clock ticking down in its' final seconds, the Falcons were awarded a penalty kick with three seconds left on the clock. Gabe Kellum converted on the attempt for his fifth goal of the season and cut the Saints' lead to 2-1 before entering halftime. At nearly the 50th minute mark, Seattle Pacific tied the match with a Gabriel Weber goal before eventually taking the 3-2 lead on a goal from Jacob Bohl, his first of the season. The Saints responded in the 65th minute off a free kick from
Collin LaBranche that found
Christian Caro in the box, who connected with Witzel. Witzel played the ball off his chest and struck from five yards out in the box to score his second goal of the season and tied the match at 3-3. Seattle Pacific answered back in the 73rd minute with a goal from Jess Cayetano and sealed the victory with a goal in the 83rd minute. "As a coach, you have to appreciate the ups and downs that a game brings," said head coach
Rob Walker. "We were really on point to go up 2-0. The penalty before halftime changed the mood a little bit but didn't discount our effort in the first half. To score three goals against a very good SPU team is a step in the right direction. We will take further steps to get our first win at Concordia on Saturday." Madsen led the Saints with five shots, three of which landed on target and two reached the back of the net.
Cayman John recorded two shots and one assists with
Sebastian Navarro and
Kyle Witzel combined for four shots and Witzel's goal. Parker Elliot got the start at goalkeeper for the Saints, playing all 90 minutes and making five saves on 14 shots faced while allowing five goals.
Saints Falter On The Road To Concordia – Despite the Saints taking 10 more shots and five more corner kicks than their opponent, Concordia walked away victorious after three goals in a eight minute span sealed the match in the second half. The Saints (0-11-1, 0-6-1) put the offensive pressure on the Cavaliers (3-7-2, 2-4-1) from the very beginning with
Cayman John taking a shot in the first 74 seconds of the match. Saint Martin's recorded 11 total shots in the first half, with two shots landing on target, but none crossing the goal.
Kyle Witzel and
Brandon Madsen each fired a shot on goal in the half, both being saved by CU's keeper. The Saints also had chances to score on the three
Sebastian Navarro corner kicks.
Griffin Small recorded a clean half, facing four shots and making two saves. Concordia struck first in the second half, scoring a goal in the 48th minute on goal that just floated above the head of Small from 20 yards out. The Cavaliers struck again just 50 seconds, scoring on a header, volleyed in from a cross. Navarro attempted to get the Saints on the board in the 51st minute when his header was stopped by the Cavaliers' keeper. The final blow came in the 54th minute when a cross connected with Santeri Ihamoutila for the third and final goal of the match. The Saints refused to quit, firing off seven shots in the final minutes of the match; however, Concordia's defense held on to the 3-0 victory. "We played so well and did not convert multiple chances in the first half," said head coach
Rob Walker. "We had a short spell in the second half where we lost our focus and give full credit to Concordia who came out and pressed us for three goals. We made some changes today which worked statistically. but still have to deal with direct play and unnecessary mistakes in our transitional game." Navarro led the Saints' attack with five shots, with one falling on goal.
Kyle Witzel and
Steven Chu each recorded three shots while Madsen,
McKray Kohn and John tallied two shots of their own.
Edgar Iniguez and
Stephen Todd Murray JR came off the bench with one shot a piece.
Griffin Small got the start at goalkeeper for the Saints, playing all 90 minutes, making a total of five saves on nine shots faced while allowing three goals.
Western Washington Preview – Enter the match, the Vikings currently sit at 6-3-3 overall and 5-1-1 in conference action. Western Washington defeated the Saints 3-2 back on September 21 in Bellingham. Leading the offense is Anthony Dean, who is tied with
Brandon Madsen with nine goals on the season. Stephen Jinneman and Drew Farnsworth have both scored three goals and have been credited with one assist. Three more Vikings have scored at least two goals on the year. Dean, Christian Rotter and Garrett Strawn have each assisted on three goals. The Vikings showcase an efficient offense, with their top three goal scorers, all shooting over .400 shot on goal percent. On the flip side of the field, Tyler Visten has played all 1,187 minutes at goalkeeper, earning 39 saves while allowing 17 goals on 143 shots faced for a save percentage of .696. Opponents are scoring 1.29 goals per match against the Vikings' defense. Visten has recorded three clean sheets in 2017 and holds a 6-3-3 record. WWU has outscored their opponents to a tune of 23 to 17, including 13 to 8 in the second half. The Vikings also lead in the shots category (185-143) and corner kicks (65-54) but trail in saves by seven (48-41).
Simon Fraser Preview – Simon Fraser, since their 3-2 loss to Concordia in late September, have only given up one goal and are 4-0-1. The Clan currently have gone three straight matches with shutouts. In their first meeting, Simon Fraser walked away victorious 5-1 in Burnaby, British Columbia last month. The nationally ranked Clan are led by Matteo Polisi, who in 12 matches has scored eight goals, along three assists, for a total of 19 points. Adam Jones is second on the team in goals scored with four and is tied with Riley Pang (3 goals scored) in assists with four. Connor Glennon and Mamadi Camara each have contributed with three goals and have combined for four assists. Anchoring the Clan's defense is Miguel Hof, who in 11 matches, has posted five clean sheets and only eight goals allowed for a .60 goal allowed average. Hof has only seen 46 shots on the season, making seven saves while posting an 8-1-2 record. Simon Fraser has dominated their opponents, outscoring them 29 to 8 including 15 to 3 in the second half. SFU also leads in shots at 198 to 51 and corners at 99-34. Opponents have recorded 67 saves to the Clan's 10.
GNAC Recap – After a stumble out of the gates, Simon Fraser, has won four straight matches and is currently tied with Western Washington atop the standings at 16 points in seven matches. Seattle Pacific remains close behind in third with 13 points in seven matches with Montana State Billings coming in at fourth at nine points. Northwest Nazarene and Concordia remained tied at fifth at seven points and the Saints sit at seventh at one point.
