LIVESTATS:  • Thursday at NNU   |   • Saturday in Seattle


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21 --
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 3:30 p.m. PST
NNU Soccer Field/Nampa, Idaho
LiveStats: http://usak.nnu.edu/stats/xlive.htm

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 --
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.
LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/index.htm


SEATTLE -- The Seattle Pacific men's soccer team dives back into conference play this week as the regular-season's final five-game stretch begins.

Winners in six of their last seven games, the Falcons (6-5-2) visit Nampa, Idaho to play Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 3:30 p.m. SPU returns home to host Montana State Billings on Saturday, Oct. 23. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.

The Falcons currently reside in second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with a 3-1-1 record and 10 points. They trail league-leading Simon Fraser (5-0-0) by five points. SPU lost a 3-2 overtime decision at home to the Clan on Oct. 6 in its last GNAC outing.

Since then, the Falcons were victorious in three straight non-conference tilts at Interbay Stadium. They defeated Hawaii Pacific 1-0 (Oct. 8), 19th-ranked Grand Canyon 3-0 (Oct. 14) and the University of Mary 8-1 (Oct. 16).

The SPU men, who are halfway through the 10-game conference schedule, are in pursuit of their first GNAC title since 2006. They placed third last season and second in 2008.



Scouting Seattle Pacific
6-5-2, 3-1-1 GNAC

The Falcons won their last three games and six of the last seven, outscoring opponents 21-6 during that span. After being shut out in their first three games of the season, they netted at least one goal in each of the last 10 outings.

Sophomore forward Tyler Schulz (Scottsdale, Ariz.) leads the team with seven goals, including two in a 3-0 triumph over 19th-ranked Grand Canyon on Oct. 14 in Seattle. He was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Monday.

Sophomore defender Brandon Kuenzi (Silverton, Ore.) is the team's leading playmaker with four assists.

Senior Kaleb Kuehn (Marysville, Wash./Marysville-Pilchuck HS) was the winning goalkeeper the last two games. He did not surrender a goal in over 157 minutes, including a clean sheet for 90 minutes against Grand Canyon. Kuehn started the last two games in place of sophomore Zach Johnson (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish HS), who has four shutouts and a 1.36 goals against average.

In its last outing, SPU routed the University of Mary 8-1 at home on Saturday, Oct. 16. Freshman Blaine Carver (Soldotna, Alaska) tallied the first three goals for the team's second hat trick of the season. The margin of victory and the eight-goal total were the Falcons' largest in 10 years – exactly to the day -- since a 13-0 rout of Montana State Billings on Oct. 16, 2000, at Interbay.


Scouting Northwest Nazarene
6-5-0, 2-3-0 GNAC

The Crusaders are third-year GNAC men's soccer competitors who finished with a 5-11-1 record in 2009 and an 0-7-1 league mark. They already have two GNAC wins this season, 3-2 over Western Washington and 2-1 over MSU Billings.

NNU has outscored its foes 17-11, paced by the five goals of Salvador Sanchez. Goalkeeper Mitch Rice compiled a 1.89 goals against average.

SPU won all eight previous meetings with Northwest Nazarene, including a 4-2 win on Oct. 2 in Seattle that featured a hat trick by the Falcons Andy Wolverton.


Scouting Montana State Billings
6-5-1, 1-4-0 GNAC

The Yellowjackets lost GNAC Player of the Year Sam Charles to graduation. Their offense now features Chris Andre who has six goals and four assists to his credit. Goalkeeper Matt Mitchell has two shutouts and a 1.47 goals against average.

The Falcons won for the first time ever at Billings with a 2-0 decision on Sept. 30. That increased their series advantage to 7-3-2. SPU owns a 6-1-1 record against the Yellowjackets at home in Seattle.

SPU SOCCER TICKETS...

Tickets for SPU soccer games can be purchased on game day at Interbay Stadium (3027 17th Ave. W., Seattle 98119). Ticket windows open one hour prior to kickoff. All seats are general admission and 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 reduced ticket rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

Next week, the SPU men have a single game. They entertain Saint Martin's on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in the final home game for seniors Andy Wolverton and Kaleb Kuehn.