HOUSTON – After an early scoring frenzy, Houston Baptist (5-6-0, 1-2-0 WAC) regained the lead and added a goal for insurance late in the contest as No. 19 Seattle University men’s soccer (9-3-0, 2-1-0 WAC) dropped a 3-1 decision in Western Athletic Conference action.
"I give Houston Baptist credit as they are a good team and worked hard tonight," said head coach Pete Fewing. "We did not play as sharp as we have so far this season. We had chances with a couple off the post, but we did not keep the ball as much as we usually have. With our record and ranking, we will always get everyone's best effort and we must deal with that, rise above, and get the wins."
The first three goals of the contest were all scored in the 12th minute within 26 seconds of each other.
Darrell Johnson struck first, beating the keeper after a back kick pass from Erick Aragon to give HBU a 1-0 lead.
Just 17 seconds later, Michael Roberts (Issaquah, Wash.) equalized the score with a long shot from outside the box, sailing over the keeper’s head and just under the crossbar.
Nine seconds later, Marcelo Acuna regained the lead for the Huskies, ultimately for good, on an assist from Dominick Faletto.
The Redhawks earned four corner kicks in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but each team only took one shot in the same span of time. SU would take the next four shots over the next 13 minutes.
With 13 seconds remaining in the contest, Faletto scored a goal of his own on a breakaway.
Despite the loss, the Redhawks outshot the Huskies, 12-9, while earning 12 corner kicks to HBU’s one.
In goal, Shane Haworth (Puyallup, Wash.) made four saves while Chance Pope made three saves.
The Redhawks close the weekend in the Lone Star State at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 11 am PT. SU returns home for a pair of doubleheaders with the Redhawk women’s team, hosting CSU Bakersfield on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 pm and San Jose State on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 3 pm.