Seattle University men’s soccer (7-4-1, 2-1-1 WAC) and Utah Valley (5-5-1, 1-2-1 WAC) played a scoreless draw to double overtime but a header by Kyle Bjornethun (Snohomish, Wash.) in the 104th minute would lift the Redhawks over the Wolverines, 1-0, in Western Athletic Conference action.
“Utah Valley is a very good team and they make it very difficult to play because they’re big, strong, and they work hard,” said head coach Pete Fewing. “We tied them, 1-1, at their place, so this was our second double overtime game against them. The guys rallied, because it’s not easy to play 90 minutes and adding another 16 after that, so it was a great effort. Shane Haworth, again, did a great job with our sixth shutout in 12 games. This was a character test and a confidence test and I’m pleased we stuck with it and got the win, an important win, in conference play.”
A foul on Utah Valley set up the free kick by Ian Hines-Ike (Littleton, Colo.) in the 104th minute as Bjornethun was able to get a head on it for the game-winner, his second career goal.
Bjornethun also contributed significantly on the defensive end for the Redhawks, especially with under a minute left in the second half as he provided a second line of defense for Shane Haworth (Puyallup, Wash.) on a shot by UVU’s Karson Payton.
Prior to the game-winner, the Redhawks appeared to take offensive control in the second overtime, as they earned three straight corner kicks early in the period.
Two of the team’s best earlier scoring chances came in the late second half as both Haworth and Collin Partee came up with significant saves on shots by Austin Buxton and Brady Ballew (Marysville, Wash.), respectively.
In goal, Haworth earned his sixth save of the season, making a season-high nine saves for the Redhawks. Utah Valley’s Partee made three saves, giving up the late game-winner.
A combined 47 shots between the two teams, Seattle U tied their season high shot total with 20, last recorded earlier this season vs. Penn on Sept. 12, 2014.