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     • Thursday's webcast
     • Saturday's LiveStats


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5 --
(#17) SPU at Montana State Billings
1:00 p.m. PST (2:00 MST), Yellowjacket Field, Billings, Mont.
Webcast -- www.pennatlantic.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 --
(#17) SPU vs. Northwest Nazarene
1:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.
LiveStats -- www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc

The 17th-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (14-3-1, 7-2-1 GNAC) enters the final week of the regular season with a lot to play for. The Falcons visit Montana State Billings (9-8-1, 5-5-0) on Thursday, Nov. 5 seeking to halt their first three-game winless skid in seven years. Kick-off is 1 p.m. Pacific Time (2 p.m. Mountain) at Yellowjacket Field. SPU won all seven encounters in the series and has not allowed a goal against Billings. On Saturday, Nov. 7 the Falcons conclude the regular season against Northwest Nazarene (3-11-3, 1-9-0). Kick-off is 1 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. The Falcons are still battling for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title and homefield advantage in the postseason.

Live Coverage
A webcast of Thursday's game at Montana State Billings can be viewed for free at: www.pennatlantic.com   Live stats are available for all SPU home soccer games on the internet. Saturday's game can be accessed at:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc 

GNAC Race
Seattle Pacific is currently second in the GNAC standings with 22 points, trailing defending champ Western Washington by one point. The Falcons need WWU to either tie or lose at least one game to secure the championship. SPU finished second in the league standings last season after winning the crown in 2007. The Falcons captured five of the eight GNAC women's soccer titles (2007, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002).

Postseason Pursuit
The Falcons are in position to receive their seventh straight NCAA Tournament berth. Postseason play starts next week and SPU is in the running to host first- and second-round games. If the Falcons finish among the top-two seeds in the West Region, they will host single tournament games on Nov. 12 and 14 at Interbay Stadium. Two visiting teams would play on Nov. 12, with SPU meeting the winner on Nov. 14.

Recent Recap
SPU seeks to get back on track this week after coming off a 2-0 loss at Cal State Dominguez Hills (Oct. 24), a 1-1 tie with Western Washington (Oct. 28) and a 3-1 loss at Central Washington (Oct. 31). The SPU women are winless over three consecutive games for the first time in seventh-year coach Chuck Sekyra's tenure. The last similar slump came when they opened the 2002 season with two losses and a tie.

Senior Salute
Saturday marks the final regular-season home game, and perhaps the final Interbay Stadium appearance ever, for four SPU seniors: Jocelyn Charette, Janae Godoy, Jesslyn Rahm Kellerman and Kayla Stiegemeier. During their four years, the Falcons compiled a 76-10-3 record, earned three playoff berths and won the 2008 national championship. Those seniors will be honored in a ceremony before player introductions at Saturday afternoon's home game.

Poll Patter
SPU dropped 11 places, to No. 17 in this week's (Nov. 3) national coaches poll. The defending NCAA Division II champion Falcons opened as the preseason No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas rankings and remained there for the first five weeks of the season. SPU 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.

Ticket Talk
Tickets for Saturday's can be purchased 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.

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 39-0-3 home record since then, including a perfect 15-0 mark in 2007, 11-0-2 in 2008 and 10-0-1 this season.

The Opponents
Montana State Billings (9-8-1, 5-5-0 GNAC) -- The Yellowjackets have a fourth-place total of 15 points, trailing third-place Saint Martin's by six points in the GNAC standings with one game in hand. The Billings offense features the high-scoring trio of Jaucelyn Richter (9 goals), Jennifer Larsen (8) and Kari Foreman (7). Goalkeeper Jordan Fenwick has three shutouts and a 1.72 goals against average. The Falcons won all seven previous meetings and have not allowed a goal in the series, outscoring MSUB 21-0. SPU won this season's first meeting by a 4-0 count on Oct. 21 in Seattle.

Northwest Nazarene (3-11-3, 1-9-0 GNAC) -- After winning their conference opener against MSU Billings, the Crusaders lost their last nine games. Stacey Beckman and Marie Smith each have four goals to tie for NNU's top scoring honors. Goalkeeper Tanya Zickefoose averages 5.7 saves per game and has a 2.40 goals against average. The Crusaders trail the all-time series with SPU by a 16-1-0 margin, their lone win coming in 2001. The Falcons won 7-0 on Oct. 17 in Nampa, Idaho.

Streaks Stopped
The Falcons' 3-2 loss at Western Washington on Oct. 3 stopped a 27-game unbeaten streak, including a 21-game winning skein. The Vikings halted SPU's streak of 11 consecutive shutouts that was the fourth-longest in all-time NCAA Division II women's soccer history. WWU's first goal, in the fifth minute, halted the school-record scoreless streak of 1,048-minutes, 6-seconds compiled by the Falcons.

All in the Family
Like father, like daughter. Sophomore Kelsey Jenkins is making the type of impact you might expect from the offspring of a standout professional player. She netted four goals this season and three of them have been game-winning tallies. Jenkins also distributed a team-leading seven assists, including a pass that set up Amanda Johnson's game-winning goal on Sept. 26 against Central Washington. 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.

Terrific Transfer
Senior Jocelyn Charette (Tacoma, Wash./Curtis) leads the team with 11 goals. She netted her third career hat trick, and the 13th by an SPU player, in a 4-0 win over Montana State Billings (Oct. 21). Charette scored 27 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 132-14-11 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.