By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

SEATTLE – In front of its home crowd on Saturday evening at Interbay Stadium, the Seattle Pacific men's soccer team rallied from a first-half deficit to defeat Western Oregon 3-1 in the 2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships title match.
 
Senior Owen Swartout played the game of his life, scoring his team’s first two goals and assisting on the third to earn GNAC Championships MVP honors. The fourth-year Falcon, who had just one collegiate goal to his name entering the evening, was the star of the show in a match that was heavily controlled by SPU. “It’s hard to describe,” Swartout said after the match while holding the MVP plaque and wearing a GNAC Champions shirt and hat. “I am really proud of the team and we gave it our all. I scored a couple goals, but it’s on the backs of all the guys who ran before me and put in the work. It’s a great feeling for sure.”
 
“Especially in the college soccer times we are in – to get a guy like Owen who comes in, works and stays four years, for us is one of the most rewarding things,” SPU head coach Kevin Sakuda said of Swartout, who has started 18 matches this fall after starting just one his first three SPU seasons. “This year he has been super impactful, not only winning games but setting culture and driving standards during training. I couldn’t be happier for a guy like that because he is selfless, works hard and is a great teammate and leader. He has put his time in and he deserves these opportunities that he has gotten.”
 
The Falcons improved to 17-3-1 on the season with the win, a record that included a perfect 12-0 slate in home matches. After falling short in double overtime in the inaugural GNAC Championships last fall, the Falcons picked up their seventh men’s soccer GNAC trophy and first conference tournament crown. “It means everything to me,” said SPU senior captain Sebastian Rangel. “Last year was quite unfortunate – we lost in overtime. I put that as my lock screen and I look at it every day. That has been the motivation, and every single one of us has worked so hard and put in effort for this win. It was really a whole team effort tonight.”
 
Western Oregon, which won its third straight regular-season title last week, moved to 11-4-5 on the season and snapped a six-match winning streak with the defeat. The Wolves went 7-1-2 in conference play this season for 23 points, edging the Falcons by a single point to claim the regular-season title.
 
A fast-paced match from start-to-finish, the Falcons held the majority of possession across the opening 12 minutes of play. The Wolves then struck on a counter-attack in the blink of an eye to take the early lead in the 14th minute. Ignacio Brandan found himself in possession moving towards the Falcons’ defensive third with runners to his left and right creating multiple passing outlets. Instead, the junior midfielder chose the most difficult – but correct – option of them all as he noticed SPU goalkeeper Willem Ficek too far off his line towards the top of the box. A perfectly-weighted, right-footed lofted shot by Brandan from more than 40 yards out sailed over Ficek’s head and just under the crossbar as the Wolves moved ahead on a shockingly brilliant finish. It was the eighth goal of the season for the Bellevue College transfer.
 
Though stunned to find themselves behind, the Falcons responded well and continued their relentless press into the attacking third. SPU managed five more shots the rest of the half, the final two of which nearly pulled the game level. Lukas Shriner found the ball on his foot inside a crowded box in the 43rd minute, ripping a shot on frame that WOU goalkeeper Austin Valdez had to dive to deny. Brady Reed was quick to the rebound and placed another attempt on target from point-blank range, but Valdez was just able to bounce back up and knock the follow-up try away to keep his team in front 1-0.
 
It was more bouts of steady possession for SPU to open the second half, and before long it had not only the equalizer but the game-winning finish. In the 59th minute Harper Sabari, who had the game-winning goal in Thursday’s 2-0 semifinal win over Simon Fraser, played a header cross back into the six-yard box where Swartout arrived to knock it into the back of the net. “We had a throw-in on the far side, and our coaches always coach us to get in and chase lost causes,” Swartout said describing his equalizing finish. “It kind of fell right to me. I was in the right place at the right time and was able to finish it.”
 
Less than two minutes later, the Wolves committed a foul in the penalty area and Swartout confidently stepped to the spot from 12 yards away. He had two previous penalty kick tries on the season – including a miss against the Wolves in SPU’s 2-1 defeat – but this time his aim was true as he blasted a right-footed strike into the upper-left corner of the net to push the Falcons in front. “There are definitely some nerves, but we take penalties all the time in training and put ourselves into pressure situations,” Swartout said on keeping his composure on the PK attempt. “I knew I could trust myself, pick my spot and place it well.”
 
The attack didn’t stop after the Falcons gained their first lead of the evening, and with the Interbay Stadium faithful behind them they continued to control the pace of play into the latter portion of the match. With eight minutes left on the clock, Lucas Witthauer delivered the knockout blow as he smashed home a right-footed shot from the right side of the box. The finish came after a through ball from Swartout and a touch by Reed, and proved to seal the tournament win for SPU. The Falcons out-shot the Wolves 18-10 in the game and placed nine of their strikes on target. Evidence of SPU’s constant pressure came in the form of 10 corner kicks while allowing zero for the Wolves.
 

2026 GNAC Men's Soccer Championships All-Tournament Team
Player	School	Position
Harper Sabari	Seattle Pacific	Forward
Koji Poon	Simon Fraser	Forward
Lucas Witthauer	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder
JP Guzman	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder
Owen Swartout	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder
Ignacio Brandan	Western Oregon	Midfielder
Brady Reed	Seattle Pacific	Midfielder
Vitaliy Polyukh	Western Oregon	Defender
Victor Cabanas	Seattle Pacific	Defender
Kasey Toevs	Seattle Pacific	Defender
Austin Valdez	Western Oregon	Goalkeeper
GNAC Championships Most Valuable Player: Owen Swartout, Seattle Pacific
GNAC Championships Elite Scholar Athlete: Sean Aoun, Western Oregon

NEXT UP: The NCAA selection show, which officially announces the field of teams that will compete in the national tournament, will take place on Monday at 3:30 p.m. (Pacific) live on www.ncaa.com.