WAIPAHU, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Pacific University battled No. 17 Seattle Pacific down to the wire, but a ricocheted corner kick in the 60th minute gave SPU a 2-1 victory in non-conference action on Monday evening at at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
 
The Sharks (2-4) concluded non-conference play with the loss, while the nationally ranked Falcons (6-1) swept their Hawai'i trip with wins against the three state Division II schools.
 
With the match tied at 1-1, SPU earned a corner kick in the 60th minute. Falcon Travis Swallow sent his corner kick in front of the HPU goal where it ricocheted off of HPU's Kyota Hiate into the net to give Swallow his second goal of the season.
 
SPU made that stand over the next 30 minutes to claim the win.
 
SPU scored the first goal in just the sixth minute of the game when Alex Mejia scored off the assist from Alden Massey for an early 1-0 lead.
 
But the Sharks evened the contest in the 33rd minute as senior Reece Montgomery of Dromore, Northern Ireland/Dromore scored off a pass from super senior Gerrit Arzberger of Munich, Germany/Therese von Bayern for the 1-1 tie that carried into halftime.
 
The second half was even until the corner kick. The Sharks pressed forward in last 30 minutes, but to no avail.
 
Senior goalkeeper Jeremy Zielinski of Sunnyvale, Calif./Homestead faced 12 Falcon shots with three saves and the two goals allowed.
 
Seattle Pacific goalkeeper Lars Helleren saw 10 HPU shots, with one save and one goal.
 
The Sharks start PacWest Conference action this weekend as they host Azusa Pacific on Saturday. The HPU women start at 12:30 p.m., with the men at 3 p.m. The contest will be on Field #5 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park, the only one scheduled outside the Waipio Stadium this season.