By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – A 6-2 loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sept. 12 proved to be a major wakeup call for the Seattle Pacific men’s soccer team.
 
Kevin Sakuda, in his fourth season guiding the Falcon program, knew his team needed a resounding response in the face of a lopsided defeat. That’s exactly what he got out of his group, which was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team of the Week on

Monday after not having conceded a goal in its last three matches. “Going into this week, we had a couple of moments where we had to deal with adversity with the Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA games,” said Sakuda. “I was super proud of the response, the mentality and the approach the guys took going on the road and playing two difficult opponents.”
 
Since the loss to the Toros, SPU (3-2-1) has blanked all three of its opponents, including a 0-0 draw against No. 3 Cal State LA on Sept. 14. Last week, the Falcons hit the road and topped Regis 1-0 and a Westminster team that received votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll 3-0 in Salt Lake City. “We had limited chances last week, and keeping clean sheets is massive for us,” Sakuda said. “We have some good attacking players who can create opportunities, but what I was most proud of last week was the two shutouts.”
 
SPU relied on a stellar performance by GNAC Defensive Player of the Week Pierluca Carnovale, who totaled nine saves to keep both opponents out of the net last week. The transfer from NCAA DIII Willamette University now leads the GNAC with four shutouts this season. “The consistency factor with him has been great,” Sakuda said of Carnovale, a Seattle native. “He always steps up when we need it, makes the saves he should and comes up big to keep us in games. He had a couple big saves late in the Westminster game to keep the shutout, and he is just a steady presence back there.”
 
Fifth-year senior center back Evan Aune had a lot to do with the shutouts, patrolling the back line for all 180 minutes during last week’s matches. The Arlington, Wash., native has started all but one match for SPU dating back to the fall of

2021, totaling more than 5,100 minutes on the back line in his career. He and freshman center back Carter Gay, whose first-career goal was the winner against Regis, have provided the Falcons with consistency across the recent run of success. “Evan had a lot of experience coming into the season,” Sakuda said. “He has played a lot of games and has been fantastic this year. We have a new partnership with him and Carter, and that is working well. Evan has really grown into the leadership role this year in terms of communication and holding people accountable. It is exciting to see for us.”
 

Reigning GNAC Newcomer of the Year Raymundo Mendez put his stamp on the decisive win against Westminster, finding the net just before halftime after providing an assist to Diego Pena-Salgado on what proved to be the game-winner in the 25th minute. After ranking second in the GNAC with 13 goals in his debut in 2023, Mendez is second on the early GNAC stat leaderboard with three goals this fall. “Ray is as talented of a player as I’ve been around,” Sakuda said of the Yakima, Wash., native. “He drives things for us in terms of our attacking and continues to come up big in moments when we need it. It was a great weekend for him, and he is a special player who has the ability to change games.”
 
Connor Tollan got in on the scoring in the Westminster game with his first goal of the year, after providing the assist on Gay’s game-winner against Regis. Tollan has started all 23 of SPU’s matches since the start of 2023, and has three goals and nine assists in his Falcon career. Sophomore midfielder Christopher Soto supplied his second-career assist on Tollan’s goal, while freshman midfielder Lukas Shriner notched his first collegiate point with the assist on Mendez’s finish. Pena-Salgado’s game-winning goal was his first of the season and the second of his career which began last season.
 
Having righted the ship, the Falcons now turn their attention to conference play which kicks off next week. SPU opens its GNAC slate at Saint Martin’s (0-6) on Oct. 3 in Lacey, Wash., before a home showdown against Western Washington (2-2-2) on Oct. 5 under the lights at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. “We talked going into this weekend about wanting to do special things this year,” Sakuda said. “We know that in order to do that, we are going to have to stack weekends in terms of good performances Thursday and Saturday. To go on the road and play two undefeated teams and do what they did was great. It gives us that belief going into the GNAC season that we can go where we want to go.”