• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific women were not looking ahead to next week's playoffs.

Instead the Falcons took care of business in Saturday's regular-season finalé, convincingly dispatching Central Washington 4-1 for their eighth straight soccer victory.

Megan Lindsay tallied a goal and two assists for 14th-ranked SPU, which scored two goals in each half at Interbay Stadium.

The Falcons (15-1-2) finished with a 12-1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference record. They clinched the conference title last week and now begin pursuit of another national championship.

SPU was seeded second in this week's West Region rankings and may move into the top spot for the playoffs as current No. 1 BYU-Hawaii lost on Tuesday. The top-two seeds in each region host first- and second-round games for the 48-team NCAA Division II Tournament.



Coach Sekyra had his Falcons focused and ready for Central Washington.

“There was a lot to play for,” he explained after the game and then turned his attention to the postseason.

“I think we'll get the first seed, or get to host at the least. That makes a big difference having two teams come to our site on Thursday. We get a chance to watch them and then wait for the winner on Saturday.”

If Interbay Stadium serves as a playoff venue, a game involving two lower seeds would be played Thursday, Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. The winner of that first-round contest would meet Seattle Pacific on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.

The SPU women parlayed an early home field advantage during the 2008 NCAA playoffs into their first national championship. Last year they had a first-round game on the road and played Chico State to a scoreless tie before falling 4-3 in the penalty-kick tiebreaker.

The postseason pairings will be announced on Monday at 4 p.m. Pacific Time. With its automatic bid for winning the GNAC, SPU has already guaranteed its eighth straight playoff appearance.

The Falcons set themselves up for a lofty seed with the win over Central (4-12-2), which completed its season with a 4-9-1 GNAC record.

Falcons freshman Kellie Zakrzewski (Cheney, Wash./Cheney HS) opened the scoring with her eighth goal, the second-highest total on the team. Lindsay dribbled down the left flank and sent a low pass across the goal area that Zakrzewski booted in from six yards out at 20:19.

The lead grew to 2-0 just before halftime on the fifth goal of the season by junior Kelsey Jenkins (Kent, Wash./Kentwood HS). She had a 25-yard free kick attempt carom off the CWU wall. Jenkins collected her own rebound and fired a low, 17-yard shot that slipped through the legs of Wildcats goalkeeper Kori Butterfield at 44:04.

Another blocked shot, this time off an attempt by Lindsay, led to the third SPU goal. The deflected ball trickled across the goalmouth and sophomore Hannah Masson (Meridian, Idaho) was there to tap it in at 50:57. That was Masson's fourth goal.



The Wildcats spoiled the shutout at 57:33 when Ellie Eckroth's shot attempt was blocked by an SPU defender, but sprung teammate Amy Pate free behind the defense. Pate raced to beat SPU goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson to the loose ball on the right side of the box and first-timed it into the goal.

Lindsay (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) capped the scoring at 68:50 with her team-leading 11th goal. Junior Brandi Hamre served a long ball from the left side that Lindsay headed in from five yards away.

A sophomore forward, Lindsay amassed eight goals during the last six outings.

“We've got a lot of dangerous players, a lot of people that can put teams away,” Sekyra said of the balanced attack that featured four different scorers Saturday.

“I'm glad that we scored four goals going into the tournament because I think that's going to be a big part of us being successful in the tournament.”

Dickinson did not record a save for the Falcons, who had a 14-6 shot advantage. Butterfield stopped six shots for CWU.

SPU's three seniors were honored with a brief ceremony before Saturday's game; goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson, forward Amanda Johnson and defender Becca Woods.



NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Interbay Stadium/Seattle, Wash.

#14 Seattle Pacific 4, Central Washington 1

Scoring – 1, SPU, Kellie Zakrzewski (Megan Lindsay, Mackenzie Laird), 20:19. 2, SPU, Kelsey Jenkins, 44:04. 3, SPU, Hannah Masson (Megan Lindsay), 50:57. 4, CWU, Amy Pate (Ellie Eckroth), 57:33. 5, SPU, Lindsay (Brandi Hamre), 68:50.

Shots – CWU 14, SPU 6.
Saves – CWU 6 (Kori Butterfield), SPU 0 (Maddie Dickinson).
Corners -- CWU 1, SPU 3.
Fouls – CWU 15, SPU 10.
Offsides – CWU 0, SPU 0.
Cautions – CWU 3 (Kaycie Hutchins, Hillary Franks, Miranda Heslep), SPU 1 (Masson).
Ejections – None.
Attendance – 308.

Records –
Seattle Pacific 15-1-2, 12-1-1 GNAC
Central Washington 4-12-2, 4-9-1 GNAC