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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 --
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
3:30 p.m. PDT (4:30 MT), Yellowjacket Field, Billings, Mont.
Webcast: www.pennatlantic.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2 --
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
4:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.
LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/index.htm

The Seattle Pacific men's soccer team (1-4-2, 1-0-1 GNAC) plays on the road Thursday before beginning a five-game homestand. The Falcons visit Montana State Billings (5-2-1, 1-1-0) on Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Mountain). SPU owns second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with four points, one point ahead of the third-place Yellowjackets and Saturday's opponent, Northwest Nazarene (4-2-0, 1-1). SPU and the Crusaders have a 4:30 p.m. clash on Oct. 2 at Interbay Stadium. That is the first of five straight at home for the Falcons, including their final three non-conference games. SPU is vying for its 31st NCAA Division II Tournament berth, the first since 2006.

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.

Recent Recap
The Falcons have a win and tie in their last two outings in the wake of four consecutive road losses. SPU tied Western Washington 2-2 at home on Sept. 20, equalizing on an 84th-minute goal by senior Andy Wolverton. On Sept. 25 the Falcons defeated defending GNAC champion Saint Martin's 1-0 on the road. Tyler Schultz netted the game winner in the 73rd minute. That was SPU's first win of the season.

Coach Mark Collings Comments
“It's amazing how quick sometimes a win can erase some things. That's not to say we don't have plenty of things to work on, but it's amazing how quickly a victory can change the psyche of a team. The fact that we were able to keep our spirits high and continue to play as hard as we have been the past few games considering things haven't really gone our way really speaks to the kind of young men we have in our program. I'm really happy for them.”

Finally Finding the Net
After being held scoreless in its opening three games, Seattle Pacific has scored in each of its last four outings. The Falcons went without a goal for 372 minutes to start the season, but scored five times during the subsequent 300 minutes.

Strenuous Schedule
Three of the Falcons four losses came against opponents that are currently ranked in the national poll. SPU lost 1-0 to now sixth-ranked Chico State, 3-0 to No. 7 Metro State and 3-1 to No. 19 Regis.

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
Montana State Billings (5-2-1, 1-1-0 GNAC) -- The Yellowjackets lost GNAC Player of the Year Sam Charles to graduation. Their offense now features Chris Andre who has five goals and three assists to his credit. Goalkeeper Matt Mitchell has two shutouts and a 1.34 goals against average. MSUB is tough at home, winning both of its Yellowjacket Field games this season. The Falcons have never won in Billings where they have an 0-2-1 record. SPU owns a 6-3-2 lead in the all-time series, including a 4-1 victory in Seattle on Oct. 17, 2009 in the most recent meeting. The teams tied 1-1 in last season's first meeting on Sept. 19 in Billings.

Northwest Nazarene (4-2-0, 1-1-0 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 a GNAC win this year, a 3-2 decision over Western Washington. A trio of three-goal scorers lead the NNU attack: John DiLuio, John Stump and Salvador Sanchez. Goalkeeper Mitch Rice compiled a 1.3 goals against average. SPU won all seven previous meetings with Northwest Nazarene, including a 5-1 win in the 2009 season finale on Nov. 7 in Seattle and a 2-1 overtime decision on Oct. 10 in Nampa, Idaho.

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).

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
Third-year coach Mark Collings is the third head coach in the 43-year history of Seattle Pacific men's soccer. He has a 18-19-8 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.