SEATTLE – The No. 22 ranked Regis University men's soccer team (3-1) made their way to the Pacific Northwest for a battle with the No. 11 ranked Seattle Pacific University Falcons (3-0) under the lights at Interbay Stadium on Thursday night. It was a very even contest throughout, but the home team snuck away with a 2-0 win to end Regis' three-match win streak.
 
How It Happened: As the Rangers made their debut in the top-25 of the United Soccer Coaches' Rankings, they looked to remain undefeated in the 2021 campaign. Unfortunately, the Falcons of SPU had other ideas. In the 20^th minute of the first half, a misplayed ball by the RU defense in the midfield led to a clean break for the home team against goalkeeper Cooper Erickson. As they collected possession, the attack ended with a goal from the Falcons for the first score of the game.
 
The game settled down for the remaining 25 minutes of the opening half as both teams finished with three shots in the first 45 minutes. Following the halftime break, Regis knew they needed to step it up offensively to try and score against a very strong SPU defense. They pressured offensively and they held their own on defense but could not get a clean chance at the net.
 
Just as the Rangers were looking to even the score, the Falcons were looking to extend their lead. In the 66^th minute of the game, SPU started an attack down the right side of the field. Once they got deep into their attacking end, they sent a chip into the box which reached the head of Aiden Massey who slotted his shot just out of the reach of Erickson for the home team's second goal of the match. That is the way the match would end as there was little doing for the RU offense in the final 24 minutes of play. No. 11 ranked Seattle Pacific University Falcons remain undefeated and hand No. 22 Regis their first loss of the season, 2-0.
 
Game Notes: After a very tight first half statistically, the margin of shots tilted heavily in favor of SPU who tallied 13 of their 16 shots in the second half alone. Erickson made five saves in net for the Rangers against a high-powered offense. Graduate student Parker Klein put one of his two shots on goal which was saved by the Falcons. Freshman Dalio Pekovic and reigning Defensive Player of the Week in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), senior Sam Gardner, were the only other players to register shots on goal for RU. Regis only had one corner kick in the match while the home team had seven, something that will need to improve in order to create more chances on offense.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University men's soccer team will have the day off tomorrow before they make their way to Bellingham, Washington to take on the Western Washington University Vikings on Saturday, September 18 at 5 p.m.