SEATTLE – Despite the second hat trick of the season by Montana State University Billings striker Halil Yilmaz, No. 16 Seattle Pacific University rallied for a 4-3, double-overtime Great Northwest Athletic Conference win Saturday night at Interbay Stadium.
 
The Falcons trailed three different times in the match, but thrice equalized before Alden Massey netted the stunning game-winner with five minutes left in the second overtime period. Alex Mejia lifted a through ball beyond the Yellowjacket back line, and Massey chased it down past a charging Georgios Theodoulidis before tapping it into an open net to end the match. "The guys played really well against a very good team," said MSUB head coach Thomas Chameraud. "The big difference between us was we unfortunately missed two opportunities to go up, and they stayed in the game. The red card changed the game a little bit and we had to defend more, and they scored on one of those chances."
 
Yilmaz completed his hat trick in the opening hour of play, but it wasn't enough as the 'Jackets dropped their opening conference match of the season. MSUB, which played down a man at the end after a red card in the 74th minute, fell to 2-4-1 overall and is now 0-1 in conference play with the defeat. "Ibo had a great game again today, and scored three great goals," Chameraud commented on the junior striker. "Credit to Matt Ball for coming up with that set piece to score the third goal; it is something we worked on at practice and it paid off."
 
Marvin Putu had a pair of assists and Jeremie Briquet added one to facilitate Yilmaz's hat trick, which brought his season scoring total to six goals to rank him second in the GNAC behind the Falcons' Mejia – who netted his eighth on Saturday. Travis Swallow and Judah Johnston also found the net for the Falcons, who improved to 7-1 and moved to 1-0 in GNAC matches.
 
The French combination of Putu and Briquet combined well through the opening 10 minutes of the match, helping the Yellowjackets bring constant pressure on the SPU back line early in the match.
 
The 'Jackets dodged a bullet in the 14th minute, when a dangerous corner kick by the Falcons rattled around the box before eventually being cleared by the MSUB back line. Yilmaz put the 'Jackets ahead on the ensuing counterattack, when a lazy drop pass failed to reach SPU goalkeeper Lars Helleren. Yilmaz applied pressure, and his deflection off the charging keeper wound up in the back of the net to give MSUB the 1-0 advantage.
 
Theodoulidis had his first important intervention in the 19th minute, sliding to knock down an on-target attempt from Nik Reierson. Helleren responded with a save on the other end, after a through ball from Yilmaz found Paul Cuevas's foot for a look on goal from inside the box.
 
The Falcons equalized in the 21st minute, winning a free kick deep in MSUB territory in the left corner. Jose Benavides headed a long cross from Tyler Speer across the six-yard box, where Swallow pounced and easily tucked his third goal of the year into an open net.
 
Putu was at the genesis of MSUB's second goal, taking on a trio of defenders and carrying the ball into the left corner with seven minutes to go before halftime. After beating his marks, Putu combined with Briquet on a give-and-go before laying the ball off for Yilmaz who finished a one-touch, left-footed strike into the lower-right corner of the goal.
 
Theodoulidis came through again in the 27th minute, first ranging out of his box to head away a long ball and then racing back to make a leaping save on a long strike by Swallow.
 
The Yellowjackets cleared a Falcon free kick with 17 seconds left in the opening half, and it took a heroic save from Helleren to keep his team's deficit at a single goal. Putu streaked forward unmarked onto the cleared free kick as the seconds dripped away, but his last-ditch shot from the top of the box was met by the sliding Falcon keeper as Helleren saved the day.
 
SPU wasted no time tying the match for the second time coming out of the break, as Mejia got his head on the end of a cross from Massey in the 47th minute. Yilmaz had a look at his hat trick immediately after the Falcons' second equalizer, with a long-range left-footed strike that required a leaping save from Helleren.
 
Yilmaz completed his hat trick in the 59th minute, once again getting on the end of a pass from Putu to give the Yellowjackets a 3-2 advantage. The Yellowjackets missed a major opportunity with 18 minutes to go, when an uncontested look from Cuevas carried wide of the far post. The Falcons took advantage of another free kick in the following minute, as Johnston delivered the team's third equalizer with his head on a cross from Aaron Stapleton.
 
Although they played from behind for the majority of the match, the Falcons out-shot the 'Jackets 20-12 and placed nine attempts on frame compared to MSUB's eight. Yilmaz led all players with a season-high seven shots including five on target, while Helleren and Theodoulidis had five saves apiece.
 
Senior captain Luca Battistotti made the 63rd start of his career and played the full 105 minutes, while defenders Bryan Maxwell and Pascal Pisarek and midfielder Brad Lowes each had key contributions throughout the full match on Saturday night as well. "The guys fought really hard, and we have to regroup right away," Chameraud said. "We finally have our first two home games of the season, and we are looking forward to playing in front of our fans."
 
THE BUZZ: Yilmaz was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Yilmaz is the first MSUB player with multiple hat tricks in a season since Ricardo Palomino had two during the 2015 campaign…his other came in MSUB's season-opening, 3-2 win over Texas A&M International University on Sept. 2…Putu has assisted on three of Yilmaz's six goals this season…it was Putu's first-career multi-assist match…MSUB is now 7-20-5 all-time against SPU and is 4-14-3 in road games…MSUB snapped a four-match unbeaten streak at Interbay Stadium, suffering its first loss in the Falcons' stadium since Halloween, 2015.
 
COMING UP: The Yellowjackets host Saint Martin's next Thursday and Northwest Nazarene next Saturday in the team's first two home conference matches of the season. Live coverage for the games will be available online here.