SEATTLE – After falling behind 1-0 in the 49th minute, the Saints found life just minutes later, when Cayman John equalized the match. In the 71st minute, leading goal scorer, Brandon Madsen, sent the Saints home with three more points, scoring his 11th goal of the year, as SMU defeated Seattle Pacific 2-1.
 
The Saints (8-9-0, 6-5-0) needed to win both games this week, the final week of the season, in order to clinch their first .500 season since 2009, and their first winning season in the GNAC since 2009, the year they won a GNAC Championship. John and Madsen, along with the defense of the Saints, put themselves in a position to complete that goal after their 2-1 win at Seattle Pacific.
 
The first half was a quiet one compared to the second half, with neither team scoring, despite taking a combined 13 shots. Griffin Small and the Saints' back line knocked down all four scoring opportunities for the Falcons that resulted on goal. The Saints' two shots that found their way to the net were both saved, starting with Jason Fairhurst's in the 20th minute, and Madsen's in the 34th minute.
 
The Falcons wasted no time to start the second half on a strong note, scoring the first goal of the match in the 48th minute. Titus Grant scored his 13th goal of the year with a 20 yard shot over Small's hands. However, the lead did not hold for long, as the Saints quickly tied the score up. John worked his way around the box with his dribble, before finding an opening in the top right of the net for his fifth goal of the year.
 
With the score all knotted at 1-1, the Saints turned to their leading scorer. Madsen, who was fresh off a GNAC Player of the Week performance, with a hat trick in his last match, continued his tear of the GNAC. The junior, on a ball from Sebastian Navarro, slipped the ball past the goalkeeper to the lower left corner for his 11th goal of the season, and 27th of his career. The Saints defended the Falcons tightly in the final 20 minutes, allowing only two shots and closed out the critical 2-1 victory.

"The first 15 minutes of the first half, we were a little shaky," said head coach Rob Walker. "SPU did a good job of stretching our shape defensively and played through us with regularity. I thought we did a good job adjusting to their tactics and the remainder of the first half was pretty even. The second half was strong our response after their goal was great too. The guys played a good solid second half and now we finish the season by trying to put two solid halves together against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday."
 
Madsen led the team with four shots, three of which landed on goal, while Alexis Lopez recorded three shots. Navarro add two attempts and four different Saints had one shot each. Small played the full 90 minutes in goal, facing 13 shots, making five saves, and only allowing the one goal.
 
The Saints look to close out the season on a three-game winning streak, and a chance to play for a 9-win season against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. The match is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. with live stats and video on smusaints.com.