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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13 --
Simon Fraser at (#14) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15 --
Western Washington at (#14) Seattle Pacific
1:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

LiveStats for Both Games:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc

The 14th-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (9-2, 6-1 GNAC) seeks to maintain its first-place standing through a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference encounters at home this week. The Falcons host Simon Fraser (1-8, 0-7) at Interbay Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. SPU won this season's first meeting 2-0 in Burnaby, B.C. On Saturday at 1 p.m. the Falcons clash with Northwest rival Western Washington (6-3-2, 5-2). SPU seeks to sweep the Vikings after posting a 1-0 win on Sept. 14 in Bellingham. In the last Seattle meeting, WWU dealt SPU its only 2010 GNAC loss. Next week, the Falcons travel for four consecutive GNAC road games before concluding the regular season at home against Central Washington on Nov. 5.

GNAC Standings
Seattle Pacific (6-1) sits atop the GNAC standings with 18 points, just one ahead of second-place Montana State Billings (5-0-2). Western Washington (5-2) is third with 15 points and Central Washington (4-2-1) has a fourth-place total of 13.



GNAC Title Chase
The defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Seattle Pacific women were projected by the league's coaches to collect a third consecutive soccer title in the preseason poll. SPU received seven of eight first-place votes en route to a 63-point total. The Falcons return nine starters from last season's team that captured the GNAC crown with a 12-1-1 record. SPU won seven of the 10 titles since the GNAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 2001. WWU was picked second, garnering 52 points.

Home Sweet Home
The SPU women have lost just three times in their last 60 homes games with a 51-3-4 mark since Sept. 30, 2006. The 2-0 loss to UC San Diego on Sept. 3 marked the only time in the last 32 games that the Falcons surrendered more than one goal at Interbay Stadium. SPU posted a 7-1-1 home record last season, the lone loss a 1-0 setback against Western Washington on Sept. 30, 2010 that halted a 45-game home unbeaten streak. The Falcons compiled a 15-0 home record in 2007, 11-0-2 in 2008 and 11-0-1 in 2009.

Throw-Ins
SPU leads the conference and ranks 13th nationally with 2.82 goals per game ... The Falcons have a 31-7 scoring advantage and have more than doubled opponent's totals in shots (201-98) and shots on goal (86-39) ... Megan Lindsay tallied a point in five of the last six games, amassing five goals and three assists during that span.

Recent Recap
The Falcons won their only game last week with a 5-2 GNAC victory at Central Washington on Friday (Oct. 7). SPU struck for three goals in a 4-minute, 22-second stretch early in the second half. Kellie Zakrzewski had two goals and an assist and Riley Dopps netted her first collegiate goal. SPU completed non-conference play with a 3-1 record, including a 5-0 blanking of NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha (Sept. 10).

Season Preview
Nine starters return from the SPU squad that compiled a 16-2-2 overall record in 2010, won its seventh GNAC title and earned its eighth straight postseason invitation. One of the two starters SPU needs to replace is goalkeeper Maddie Dickinson, the 2010 GNAC Defender of the Year who departed as the school's all-time leader with 28 shutouts.  Seven returning players garnered first or second-team all-conference acclaim last year, including second-team All-Americans Megan Lindsay and Taylor Sawyer. The Falcons won the 2008 national title and reached the NCAA semifinals in 2005 and 2007.

This Week's Opponents
Simon Fraser (1-8-0, 0-7-0 GNAC) -- The Clan are the newest members of the GNAC, joining the league last year after becoming the first Canadian school to join the NCAA. Shelley Howieson is in her 23rd season as head coach, having directed SFU to two NAIA national championships, in 1996 and 2000. The Clan have been outscored 13-3 for the season. Goalkeeper Amelia Ng has one shutout and a 1.50 goals against average. The Falcons own a 2-0-1 series edge, including a 2-0 win on Sept. 17 in Burnaby, B.C. Since that meeting, Simon Fraser lost its last seven games, scoring just one goal in that span. The teams tied 0-0 in the only previous meeting in Seattle, on Oct. 2, 2011.

Western Washington (6-3-2, 5-2-0 GNAC) -- The Vikings, who dealt SPU its lone GNAC loss in 2010, are coached for the ninth season by former four-year Seattle Pacific letterman Travis Connell (1991-95). Emily Frankland leads WWU with five goals. Goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs compiled six shutouts and a 0.52 goals against average. SPU leads the series 15-4-3 despite a 3-3-2 record in the last eight meetings. The visiting team won the last three games in the series, including SPU's 1-0 win on Sept. 14 in Bellingham on a 62nd-minute goal from Heather Young. Since that contest, WWU won five of its last six games. In the last Seattle meeting, on Sept. 30, 2010, the Vikings got an 89th-minute goal from Kristin Maris to win 1-0 and stop the Falcons  45-game home unbeaten streak.

SPU SOCCER TICKETS...

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 with i.d. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for reduced ticket rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

Coach Chuck  Sekyra
In his ninth season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 159-18-14 record, three Final Four appearances and the 2008 national championship. He directed six of those teams to GNAC championships, and all eight 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.

All in the Family
Like father, like daughter. Senior midfielder Kelsey Jenkins is making the type of impact you might expect from the offspring of a standout professional player. Jenkins leads the Falcons with five assists and both of her goals were game winners. She scored six goals last season and three of them were game-winning strikes, including a brilliant 23-yard free kick in SPU's 2-0 NCAA second-round win over Montana State Billings. 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 came to Seattle to play from 1976-79 with the NASL Sounders.

Playoff Pursuit
Seattle Pacific seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the ninth straight year. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship. Last season they advanced to the West Region final before losing 1-0 to UC San Diego on a 73rd-minute goal. SPU advanced to the Final Four in three of the last six years.

Poll Patter
SPU rose one spot to No. 14 in this week's (Oct 11) national coaches poll. The Falcons started the season at No. 10 in the NSCAA rankings, exactly where they finished the 2010 campaign.