• Complete Release (pdf)
     • LiveStats -- Friday, Sept. 3
     • LiveStats -- Monday, Sept. 6

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 --
Humboldt State at SPU
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 --
SPU at Chico State
7:00 p.m. PDT, University Soccer Stadium (2,500), Chico, Calif.

With their sights squarely set on the postseason, the Seattle Pacific men's soccer team (0-0) begins its third season under Coach Mark Collings with a single home game before embarking on a difficult four-game road trip. The Falcons entertain Humboldt State on Friday, Sept. 3. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium where the SPU women host Humboldt at 4:30 p.m. to start the soccer doubleheader. After the opener, the SPU men begin a stretch of four away tilts on Monday, Sept. 6 at Chico State for a 7 p.m. non-conference game. The Falcons are vying for their 31st NCAA Division II Tournament berth, the first since 2006.

Opening Act
Seattle Pacific begins its 43rd year of men's soccer competition. The Falcons won seven of their last nine season-starting games, tying Cal State Monterey Bay 0-0 in the 2008 opener. They were 2-0 victors over San Francisco State in the 2009 lid lifter. SPU boasts a 30-7-5 record in all-time openers and is 31-7-4 in its initial home games.




Ticket Talk
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.

Follow the Action Live
• Live stats will be available during all SPU home games and can be accessed on the web at: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc
• Livestats for Monday's game at Chico are available at: www.csuchico.edu/athletics/livestatsmsc/xlive.htm

Finally Some Veterans
Coach Mark Collings tutored extremely young units in his first two SPU seasons, including last year's team with 20 underclassmen on the 26-player roster. Despite only two seniors, Collings finally has some experienced players to work with as 10 juniors fill the roster and nine sophomores saw plenty of action as rookies in 2009.

Coach Collings Comments
“Not that our freshmen aren't a talented group of players, but for the first time in my three years we are not asking freshmen or new players to come in and have to really put an impact on this team and program. They are going to able to find their way and really find a niche on this team on their own time instead of being thrust into the lineup right away. That is good and speaks to the quality of our team and will definitely help us in the long run.”

Terrific Turnaround
The SPU men posted an 11-5-3 record last year, their most single-season wins since the 2006 team finished with a 12-7 record. The Falcons won five more games than the previous season in 2008 (6-10-3).

2010 Preview
Nine starters return from last season's 11-5-3 Seattle Pacific squad, including the potent junior midfield tandem of Tyler Schultz and Drew Williams. Schultz led the Falcons with eight goals in 2009 and Williams distributed a team-high nine assists. The back line is anchored by junior Elliott Morton, an all-district selection, and sophomore John Pearman who was the 2009 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Senior goalkeeper Kaleb Kuehn posted five shutouts and a 1.10 goals against average. The other four returning starters are all sophomores, defenders Corey McGuire and Celeb Nyone along with midfielders Richie Evoy and Christopher Morris. Morton and Schultz were first-team 2009 All-GNAC selections, Kuehn, Pearman and Williams were second-team picks and Morris and Nyone were honorable mention honorees.

This Week's Opponents
Humboldt State (6-10-4 in 2009) -- The Lumberjacks registered a 6-10-4 mark last year in Christian Johnson's first season as head coach. That record was deceiving as six setbacks came by one goal and HSU routed top-ranked Cal State LA 3-0. Senior striker Josh Suggs led the Lumberjacks with nine goals in 2009. SPU owns an 11-0-3 lead in the all-time series. The teams tied 1-1 last year in Seattle. Richie Evoy scored for SPU in the 44th minute and Suggs netted HSU's equalizer in the 63rd.

Chico State (8-8-4 in 2009) -- Seven starters return from the 2009 Wildcats team that had a 8-8-4 record. Coach Felipe Restrepo compiled a 21-13-5 mark in his first two seasons at the helm. SPU won the last five meetings to take an 18-15-1 edge in the all-time series. The Falcons were 1-0 overtime victors last season in Seattle on a 93rd-minute golden goal by senior Alec Nelson. SPU won 3-2 in the 2007 season opener during its most recent visit to Chico.

Coach Collings
Third-year coach Mark Collings is the third head coach in the 43-year history of Seattle Pacific men's soccer. He has a 17-15-6 record with the Falcons. Collings' squad posted an 11-5-3 record in 2009, placing third with a 4-3-1 league ledger. SPU was 6-10-3 in his first season with a second-place GNAC finish (4-4) in 2008. Collings replaced Cliff McCrath, who compiled a 512-190-87 mark in 38 seasons (1970-2007). Arnie Aizstrauts was 1-14-1 from 1968-69. The co-captain of SPU's 1998 Final Four team, Collings was a five-year assistant coach. He avoided a first-year Falcon curse as his predecessors were winless in their inaugural seasons.

GNAC Poll
If the coaches are correct, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer race will be a tight battle. And Seattle Pacific will be right in the thick of it. The Falcons were projected for a second-place tie in the preseason GNAC coaches poll. Defending champion Saint Martin's returns its entire starting lineup and was picked to win the league again. But the Saints 6-2 record was just one loss fewer than the next three teams in the 2009 standings. The top four finishers were separated by just two games. The conference coaches predict similar congestion atop the 2010 standings. Saint Martin's received three first-place votes and 30 points in the preseason poll. SPU had one first-place tally and 26 points, tying for second with GNAC newcomer Simon Fraser which had the remaining two first-place votes. A perennial powerhouse in the Canadian ranks, the Clan are in their first year as an NCAA Division II member. They advanced to the NAIA national semifinals last season. Western Washington was selected fourth in the poll with 24 points, followed by Montana State Billings (13) and Northwest Nazarene (7).

Throw-Ins
Junior midfielder Tyler Schultz netted eight goals to lead SPU and rank fourth among GNAC players last season. Schultz scored five of his goals during a four-game span from Oct. 12-21 ... Junior midfielder Drew Williams ranked No. 2 in the conference with nine assists last year, including three in SPU's 4-1 win over MSU Billings on Oct. 17 ... In 2009, the Falcons outshot opponents by a combined 290-216 tally, including a 117-82 advantage in attempts directly on goal ... SPU blanked six opponents last season and limited eight other foes to just one goal.