In the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams, Seattle University and San Jose State each had scoring chances, but neither team was able to convert as the match ended in a 0-0 tie Sunday afternoon at Championship Field.
San Jose State (3-4-1, 0-0-1 MPSF) earned the first scoring chances in the third minute, but Frankie Beauchamp saw his shot get blocked, and the shot by Enrique Montano off the rebound was saved by Redhawk goalie Jake Feener (Rocklin, Calif.). On the counterattack, Miguel Gonzalez (Yelm, Wash.) saw his chance thwarted by Spartan keeper Michael Schwinn.
Midway through the first half, Seattle U drew two corner kick chances, but the shots by Devin Thomas (Puyallup, Wash.) and Austin Sweeney (Federal Way, Wash.) were blocked. San Jose State's Steven Sanchez, the second-leading goal scorer in the conference coming into the weekend, had back-to-back chances, but Feener saved one and the other sailed wide.
The Spartans kept the pressure on the Redhawk defense, collecting six shots in the last 15 minutes of the first half, but none of them found the back of the net, as Feener turned two away. San Jose State outshot Seattle U in the first half, 12-9, but the scoreboard remained unchanged from the beginning of the match.
In the second half, the Redhawks started challenging Schwinn, with shots by Travis Heim (Ridgefield, Wash.) and Hamza Haddadi (Shoreline, Wash.) needing to be stopped by the Spartan goalie. As the half moved along, Feener stepped up and made four saves in a 12-minute span, three of them on shots taken by Jonathan Salceda that seemed destined to break the scoreless tie.
The second half concluded with the teams exchanging solid scoring chances. First, with about four minutes left in regulation, Dylan Murphy challenged Feener with a shot, but the junior once again made the save. Just 21 seconds later, Marshall Kosaka (Burien, Wash.) had a chance at a game-winning goal for the second straight home match, but his opportunity was stopped by Schwinn.
Seattle U took possession at the start of the first overtime period and worked the ball down the field to Gonzalez, whose attempt slid just past the right post. Gonzalez also had a scoring chance right at the end of the first overtime session, but once again the ball rolled just outside the post, keeping the score tied heading into the second overtime period. Except for a Kosaka shot that went wide, neither team was credited with a shot attempt in the final 10 minutes.
"I am pleased that we went 110 minutes with a shutout. We are creating chances, and we have to keep working," Seattle U head coach Peter Fewing said. "The effort is there, and I appreciate how hard everybody battles. It was a pretty even game; they had chances, and we had chances."
Feener, in his first match back as starting goalie after missing last weekend's matches with a knee injury, earned a career-high 11 saves in the match in picking up his second shutout of the season. Schwinn finished the day with five saves for the Spartans. Haddadi led the Redhawks with five total shots, including two shots on goal, while Sanchez earned six shots to lead the Spartans.
Seattle University (2-5-1, 0-0-1 MPSF) hits the road next weekend for conference matches at UNLV (Oct. 5, 7 p.m.) and at CSU Bakersfield (Oct. 7, 1 p.m.). The Redhawks will host those two teams the next weekend at Championship Field, starting Friday, Oct. 12, at 3:30 p.m. against UNLV, followed by the rematch with CSU Bakersfield Sunday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m.