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     • LiveStats -- Sept. 3


FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 --
Humboldt State at (#17) SPU
4:30 p.m. PST, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 --
(#17) SPU vs. Hawaii-Hilo
7:15 p.m. PDT (4:15 p.m. HDT), Waipio Soccer Complex, Honolulu, Hawaii

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 --
(#17) SPU vs. BYU-Hawaii
10:00 p.m. PDT (7:00 p.m. HDT), Waipio Soccer Complex, Honolulu, Hawaii

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 --
(#17) SPU vs. Hawaii Pacific
9:00 p.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. HDT), Waipio Soccer Complex, Honolulu, Hawaii

Picked to repeat as Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions, the 17th-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (0-0) wants to do that and more. The Falcons commence the 2010 campaign at home on Friday, Sept. 3 against Humboldt State (0-0). Kick-off is 4:30 p.m. at Interbay Stadium as the opener of a doubleheader with the SPU men. That is the only non-conference home game of the season for SPU, which travels to Hawaii for three games before returning home to begin GNAC play on Sept. 16 against Montana State Billings. All three road games will be played at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex in Honolulu. The Falcons meet Hawaii-Hilo on Sept., 6, BYU-Hawaii on Sept. 8 and Hawaii Pacific on Sept. 11.

Playoff Pursuit
Seattle Pacific seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the eighth straight year. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship. Last season they were eliminated in the first round, playing Chico State to a scoreless tie before falling 4-3 in a penalty-kick tiebreaker. SPU advanced to the Final Four in three of the last five years.

Season Openers
Seattle Pacific begins its 10th year of women's soccer competition with a 6-1-2 record in season-opening games. The Falcons have an 8-0-1 mark in home openers.

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/wsoc

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 40-0-3 home record since then, including a perfect 15-0 mark in 2007, 11-0-2 in 2008 and 11-0-1 last season.

Poll Patter
SPU opens the season ranked No. 17 in the NSCAA coaches poll. They were listed in the No. 1 position in last year's preseason rankings and sustained that spot for five weeks.

Season Preview
Eight starters return from the SPU squad that compiled a 16-3-2 overall record in 2009, won its sixth GNAC title and earned its seventh straight postseason invitation. One of the three starters SPU needs to replace is forward Jocelyn Charette who completed her collegiate career last fall with 15 goals and the GNAC Player of the Year award. Heading the list of returning standouts is senior goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson who was honored as an all-region selection after recording nine shutouts and a 0.57 goals against average in 2009. The defense is anchored by sophomore defender Taylor Sawyer who reaped All-America accolades after her rookie season. The offense features junior midfielder Kelsey Jenkins who netted five goals and a distributed a team-high eight assists. Jenkins was joined on the first-team All-GNAC squad by senior forward Amanda Johnson. Sophomore forward Megan Lindsay was SPU's second-leading scorer with six goals in 2009. SPU was picked to repeat as GNAC champions, receiving six of eight first-place votes.

The Opponents
Humboldt State (8-9-3 in 2009) -- Christian Johnson is in his second year as head coach after leading the Lumberjacks to an 8-9-3 record. Senior striker Arielle Kern returns after tallying seven goals last season. SPU owns a 10-1-1 series advantage, including a 3-0 win last season in Seattle during which then freshman Hannah Masson netted two goals. The Falcons have not lost to HSU since 2002.

Hawaii Hilo (1-0-0) -- The Vulcans won their season opener 4-0 over Chaminade in the coaching debut of Marc Miranda. UHH had a 4-12-4 record in 2009. SPU won the only previous meeting, a 4-0 decision over the Vulcans in the 2007 season opener.

BYU Hawaii (1-0-0) -- The Seasiders registered a 15-3 record last season, the first for Coach Carolyn Theurer. BYU won its 2010 opener 4-0 over Regis behind a hat trick from Emily Mearns, who was projected by coaches to win the PacWest Player of the Year award. SPU won the only previous meeting, a 1-0 decision last season in Seattle on a 64th-minute strike by Kelsey Jenkins.

Hawaii Pacific (0-1-0) -- The Sea Warriors lost their season opener 1-0 to Regis on a golden goal in the second overtime. HPU posted a 10-8-1 record last season. Junior netminder Carianne Makino was selected as the PacWest Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. This is the first ever meeting between SPU and the Sea Warriors.

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 134-14-12 record, three Final Four appearances and the 2008 national championship. He directed five of those teams to GNAC championships, and all seven 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. Sekyra was named GNAC Coach of the Year five times (2003-05, '07, '09) and earned Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2005 and 2007. He received the NSCAA National Coach of the Year award in 2007.

All in the Family
Like father, like daughter. Junior midfielder Kelsey Jenkins is making the type of impact you might expect from the offspring of a standout professional player. She netted five goals last season and three of them were game-winning tallies. Jenkins also distributed a team-leading eight 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.

2009 Review
The 2009 season ended abruptly as SPU was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA playoffs by Chico State, which won a penalty kick tiebreaker 4-3 after a scoreless tie. The Falcons forged a 16-3-2 overall record, earned their seventh straight postseason invitation and won their sixth GNAC championship. Some lengthy SPU streaks were snapped. The Falcons' 3-2 loss at Western Washington (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.