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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 –
(#4) SPU at Saint Martin's
3:00 p.m., SMU Soccer Field, Lacey, Wash.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 –
(#4) SPU at Northwest Nazarene
11:00 a.m. PDT (noon MDT), NNU Soccer Field, Nampa, Idaho

The fourth-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (11-1, 4-1 GNAC) hits the midpoint of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule with a pair of road games this week, beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Saint Martin's (7-6, 3-3). Kickoff is 3 p.m. at SMU Soccer Field in Lacey, Wash. SPU won this year's first meeting with the Saints, a 3-0 decision on Sept. 19 in Seattle. The second half of the GNAC slate starts on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Northwest Nazarene. The teams clash at 11 a.m. Pacific Time (noon Mountain) at NNU Soccer Field. The defending national champion Falcons return home next week, hosting Montana State Billings on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.

Live Coverage
There are no webcasts or livestats feeds scheduled for either game this week. Live stats are available during all SPU home soccer games and can be accessed via the internet at:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc

GNAC Race
Seattle Pacific is currently in second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with 12 points. The Falcons are one point behind Western Washington with a game in hand. They finished second in the conference standings last season after winning the crown in 2007. SPU captured five of the eight titles (2007, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002) since the GNAC began sponsoring women's soccer.

Poll Patter
SPU climbed one spot to No. 4 in this week's (Oct. 13) national rankings. SPU opened the season listed No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas coaches preseason poll. The Falcons finished 2008 ranked first after beating previously top-ranked and undefeated West Florida in the championship game. West Florida is currently ranked No. 1. SPU is the only GNAC team listed in the national poll.

Magnificent Maddie
Junior goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson is the nation's leading goalkeeper. Her 0.00 goals against average and 100-percent save percentage are the top figures among NCAA Division II shot stoppers. The product of Skyview High School in Vancouver, Wash. has not allowed a goal this season, having played 585 minutes. Dickinson has put together a scoreless streak of 728-minutes, 7-seconds that dates back to the 55th minute of the Dec. 4, 2008 NCAA semifinal contest vs. Metro State. She blanked West Florida for 107:47 on Dec. 6 in the Falcons 1-0 championship-game triumph. Dickinson's scoreless streak is the second-longest in school history, trailing only the stretch of 835 minutes compiled by Jennifer Hull in 2003. Dickinson ranks third among all-time SPU goalkeepers with 16 shutouts. She had 10 shutouts in 2008, allowing just five goals in 1,332 minutes.

Streaking
The Falcons have won 22 of their last 23 games, the lone loss coming by a 3-2 count on Oct. 3 at Western Washington. That setback stopped a 27-game unbeaten streak, including a 21-game winning skein. The Vikings scored the only goals against SPU this season and halted the Falcons' streak of 11 consecutive shutouts that was the fourth-longest scoreless stretch in Division II women's soccer history. The SPU women surrendered their first goal since the 55th minute of the 2008 national semifinal game on Dec. 4. When WWU's Emily Frankland found the goal at 4:59, she halted the school-record scoreless streak of 1,048-minutes, 6-seconds compiled by the Seattle Pacific defense.

Home Sweet Home
Seattle Pacific has not lost at Interbay Stadium since a 1-0 setback against Seattle University on Sept. 30, 2006. The Falcons compiled a 38-0-2 home record since then, including a perfect 15-0 mark in 2007, 11-0-2 in 2008 and 9-0 this season.

This Week's Opponents
Saint Martin's (7-6-0, 3-3-0 GNAC) -- The Saints won their last GNAC game 2-1, snapping Western Washington's 21-game conference unbeaten streak. Jill Webb leads the SMU attack with six goals and three assists. Goalkeeper Ashley Engel has four shutouts and a 1.21 goals against average. SPU won all five previous meetings with the Saints, including a 3-0 decision on Sept. 19 in Seattle.

Northwest Nazarene (3-7-3, 1-5-0 GNAC) -- After winning their conference opener, the Crusaders lost their last five games. Stacey Beckman and Marie Smith each have four goals to tie for NNU's top scoring honors. Goalkeeper Tanya Zickefoose averages five saves per game and has a 2.01 goals against average. The Crusaders trail the all-time series with SPU by a 15-1-0 margin, their lone win coming in 2001. The Falcons swept last season, winning 6-0 in Seattle (Oct. 18) and 9-0 in Nampa, Idaho (Oct. 29).

All in the Family
Like father, like daughter. Sophomore Kelsey Jenkins is starting to have the type of impact you might expect from the offspring of a standout professional player. She netted three goals this season and all of them have been game-winning tallies. Jenkins also distributed three assists, including a pass that set up Amanda Johnson's game-winning goal on Sept. 26 against Central Washington. “Kelsey has been phenomenal. She's brought so much energy to our team along with so much intensity and intelligent play,” says SPU coach Chuck Sekyra. Jenkins is a native of Kent, Wash., who prepped at Kentwood High School. Her father, Tommy Jenkins, was a left winger with several English clubs between 1966-75, including a three-season stint from 1969-72 with Southampton of the First Division. Tommy then came to Seattle to play from 1976-79 with the Sounders of the NASL.

Ticket Talk
Tickets for SPU soccer games can be purchased in advance or at Interbay Stadium (3027 17th Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to games. All seats are general admission, priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. SPU students and staff are admitted free. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

Terrific Transfer
Senior Jocelyn Charette (Tacoma, Wash./Curtis) leads the team with five goals. She netted her second career hat trick, and the 12th by an SPU player, in a 3-0 win over Grand Canyon (Sept. 11). Charette scored 21 career goals since her transfer from Tampa, where she played as a freshman in 2006. She was the Sunshine State Conference freshman of the year with 21 goals and nine assists for the Spartans. Charette scored six goals in five postseason games, helping Tampa reach the 2006 NCAA semifinals. She returned to Tampa's Pepin Stadium with SPU for the 2008 Final Four and assisted on both game-winning goals while scoring a semifinal goal of her own. Charette led the Falcons with 15 assists last fall, including an assist in each of the final six outings. Her nine goals ranked third on the team in 2008. Charette was a first-team All-GNAC and All-West Region selection last season.

Golden Girl
Senior midfielder Janae Godoy (Yakima, Wash./West Valley) finished the 2008 season in phenomenal fashion. She netted a golden goal in the 108th minute to lift SPU to its first national championship with a 1-0 win over West Florida. That was Godoy's fifth game-winning goal during the season's final seven outings, including three deciding tallies in playoff contests. She scored the lone goal in a Nov. 22 quarterfinal victory at Truman State to propel SPU into the Final Four. She also had the decisive goal in the Falcons' first tournament victory, a 3-1 decision against UC San Diego on Nov. 15 in Seattle. Godoy has proven to be a clutch performer as 11 of her 20 career goals were game winners.

Season Preview
Six starters return from last year's 22-1-2 SPU squad that won the school's first women's soccer national championship. Headlining the list of returnees is a trio of All-West Region honorees. Junior Amanda Johnson is the top returning scorer with 11 goals, two of them coming in the NCAA semifinal win. Senior Jocelyn Charette topped the team with 15 assists in 2008 and also netted nine goals. Junior goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson had a 0.34 goals against average and was credited with 10 of the team's 17 shutouts. To that returning corps, SPU added seven signees in one of the finest recruiting classes in school history. The Falcons need to replace five departed starters, including three defenders and midfielder Meredith Teague, the 2008 National Player of the Year. SPU was an overwhelming choice by GNAC coaches to win the 2009 conference title, receiving six of seven first-place votes.

2008 Review
Janae Godoy's 108th-minute golden goal on Dec. 6 against West Florida capped a remarkable championship season for Seattle Pacific. The Falcons won their last 11 games, and were undefeated in the final 17 outings, en route to a 22-1-2 record. They were dominant, outscoring opponents 67-10 on the strength of a 492-169 shot advantage. The Falcons shut out 17 foes. Senior Meredith Teague, the 2008 National Player of the Year, amassed 14 goals and 10 assists. SPU qualified for the Final Four in three of the last four seasons. 

Coach Chuck Sekyra
Since taking over in 2003, just the third year of the program, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific teams to a remarkable 129-12-10 record, three Final Four appearances and the 2008 national championship.  He directed four of those teams to GNAC championships, and all six of his squads participated in the NCAA tournament. His Falcons advanced to the 2005 championship game. Sekyra was a defender on the Falcons men's soccer teams that won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1985 and 1986. He served as an assistant men's coach at SPU in 1998 and 1999 under Cliff McCrath, then was an assistant women's coach at Washington for three years before being named head coach of the SPU women in 2003. He was named GNAC Coach of the Year in 2003, '04, '05 and '07 and earned Regional Coach of the Year honors in both 2005 and 2007. He received the NSCAA National Coach of the Year award in 2007.