October 29, 2009
Billings, MT - Xan Nixon scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner with 27 seconds left in overtime to give Saint Martin's a 2-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer road win at Montana State Billings Thursday.
Nixon's game-winning goal came after he received a pass from Vlad Voin off a clear out, made a move on the near side just outside the box and fired the ball past MSUB goalie Matt Mitchell.
Both teams scored in the first half. GNAC scoring leader Sam Charles gave MSUB (10-4-2, 3-2-2) a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute with his school-record 20th goal of the season.
SMU, which outshot the Yellowjackets 18-12, pulled even at 24:38 as Nixon, who now ranks second in the conference in scoring with 23 points, headed in a long throw in by Brandon Scott.
The game then remained scoreless for the next 75 minutes as Zac Lubin had five saves for SMU and Sander Tollefson (2) and Matt Mitchell (5) combined for seven for MSUB.
The Saints (10-6-0, 5-1-0) clinched at least a tie for their first-ever GNAC team title in any sport with the victory when Seattle Pacific (10-5-3, 3-3-1) lost 4-0 to Western Washington (6-11-0, 3-3-0) Thursday night at Interbay Stadium.
SMU can win the title outright with a win or tie Saturday at Northwest Nazarene or next Thursday at Western Washington or with a WWU tie or loss this Saturday at Billings.
The Vikings are currently in fourth place in the GNAC standings with nine points trailing second-place MSUB (11 points) and third-place SPU (10 points), but are the only team that has a chance to catch the Saints.