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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 --
Western Washington at (#5) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2 --
Simon Fraser at (#5) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

The first-place Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (7-0-1, 4-0 GNAC) seeks to gain greater separation in the standings when they host a pair of teams tied for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The fifth-ranked Falcons entertain Western Washington (6-1-1, 3-1) on Thursday, Sept. 30. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. The Vikings were ranked 20th last week before Saturday's 1-0 home loss to Montana State Billings halted their 14-game unbeaten streak. On Saturday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m., SPU has its inaugural meeting with Simon Fraser (4-2-0, 3-1), a new league member and the first Canadian team to compete in the NCAA.

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 for both SPU women's soccer games this week and can be accessed via the internet at: http://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 42-0-3 home record since then, including a perfect 15-0 mark in 2007, 11-0-2 in 2008 and 11-0-1 last season.

Northwest Rivals
Western Washington has been a thorn in the side of the SPU women the last two seasons. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Falcons have a 1-2-2 record against WWU and a 44-2-3 mark against everyone else. The teams tied 1-1 in Seattle (Oct. 28, 2009) in the most recent meeting. In last year's first clash, the Falcons lost 3-2 in Bellingham (Oct. 3) to stop a 27-game unbeaten streak, including a 21-game winning skein. The Vikings also 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 SPU.

Looking Back
The Falcons blanked three of their first four GNAC opponents, outscoring league foes by a combined 14-1 tally. They swept two road games last week, winning 3-1 at Saint Martin's before routing Western Oregon 6-0 behind Hannah Masson's hat trick.

Magnificent Maddie
On Saturday, SPU goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson posted her sixth shutout of the season. The senior shot-stopper is tied for the SPU career record of 25 shutouts established by Jennifer Hull from 2001-04. Dickinson has surrendered just two goals in 759 minutes this season. The product of Skyview High School in Vancouver, Wash. was the Sept. 14 GNAC Athlete of the Week. She currently leads the GNAC and ranks No. 6 nationally with a 0.24 goals against average. Dickinson put together a school-record scoreless streak of 1,012-minutes, 12-seconds from 2008-09 that included a 1-0 double-overtime win over West Florida in the 2008 NCAA Division II championship game.

GNAC Title Chase
The Seattle Pacific women's soccer team was picked by the league's coaches to repeat as Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion. The Falcons captured the 2009 conference crown with a 9-2-1 record. They have won six of the nine all-time GNAC titles.

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 of the playoffs, battling 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.

The Opponents
Western Washington (6-1-1, 3-1-0 GNAC) -- The Vikings are coached for the eighth season by former four-year Seattle Pacific letterman Travis Connell (1991-95). WWU was ranked No. 20 last week before dropping out after having a 14-game unbeaten streak snapped Saturday with a 1-0 home loss to Montana State Billings. Claire Morgan leads the Vikings with four goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs compiled five shutouts and a 0.36 goals against average. SPU leads the series 13-3-3 despite a 1-2-2 record in the last five meetings. The Falcons' lone win in the last two seasons was a big one as they were 1-0 double overtime victors on Nov. 20 in the Sweet 16 of the 2008 playoffs. SPU went on to win the 2008 national championship.

Simon Fraser (4-2-0, 3-1-0 GNAC) -- The Clan are the newest members of the GNAC, joining the league this year after becoming the first Canadian school to join the NCAA. Shelley Howieson is in her 22nd season as head coach, having directed SFU to two NAIA national championships, in 1996 and 2000. Six different players accounted for the Clan's eight goals. Goalkeeper Amelia Ng has four shutouts and a 0.33 goals against average. Saturday marks the first ever meeting between SPU and Simon Fraser.

Coach Chuck Sekyra
In his eighth season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 141-14-13 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 SPU 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 the Regional Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2007. He received the NSCAA National Coach of the Year award in 2007.

Poll Patter
SPU rose three spots, to No. 5, in this week's national rankings. The Falcons opened the season at No. 17 in the NSCAA poll and were No. 8 last week. 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.

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.