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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 --
University of Mary at (#20) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.
LiveStats:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 --
(#20) Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
3:00 p.m. PDT, SMU Soccer Field, Lacey, Wash.
No Live Game Coverage

They're back! After posting a 6-1-1 record on the just-completed eight-game road trip the 20th-ranked Seattle Pacific men's soccer team (9-2-2, 4-1-1 GNAC) returns to Interbay Stadium for their first home game in 33 days. The Falcons host the University of Mary (2-7-2) on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in their final non-conference game. SPU defeated Mary 5-2 on Sept. 21 in Bismarck, N.D. behind a Tyler Schultz hat trick. On Saturday, Oct. 22 the second-place Falcons visit third-place Saint Martin's (4-7-2, 3-2-1 GNAC). Kick-off is 3 p.m. at SMU Soccer Field in Lacey, Wash. for SPU's final regular-season road game. The Falcons complete their schedule with three consecutive home games, beginning Oct. 27 against top-ranked Simon Fraser, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference leader.

Shutout Streak
SPU blanked its last four opponents, compiling a current shutout stretch of 397-minutes, 21-seconds. The last goal allowed came at Simon Fraser on Oct. 1.

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.



Poll Position
The Seattle Pacific men fell three spots to No. 20 in this week's (Oct. 18) NCAA Division II coaches poll. They returned to the national rankings last week for the first time in two years, receiving a No. 17 listing on Oct. 11. SPU has faced two opponents listed in the current rankings, defeating No. 19 Metro State 2-1 on Sept. 10 in Seattle and losing by one goal at No. 1 Simon Fraser on Oct. 1 in Burnaby, B.C.

Race to the Regional
The lofty national ranking bodes well for the Falcons, who are poised to earn their first playoff berth since 2006. SPU is one of the top-two ranked postseason eligible teams from the West as Simon Fraser is still in its NCAA probationary period. If the Falcons are the West's top seed, they would host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Nov. 10 and 12 at Interbay Stadium. SPU has competed in 30 NCAA Tournaments and won five national titles (1978, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1993).

Notable
The Falcons have scored 25 goals to rank No. 52 nationally and second among GNAC teams  ... Junior goalkeeper Zach Johnson has posted eight shutouts with a 0.82 goals against average while averaging three saves per game.

Player of the Week
Jon Pearman, who helped SPU shut out both opponents last week while limiting them to a combined 10 shots, was named the GNAC Athlete of the Week on Monday. The junior defender anchored a defense that allowed just three shots on Saturday in a 2-0 win at Northwest Nazarene. Pearman distributed an assist on the second goal. On Thursday, SPU tied 0-0 at MSU Billings. The Yellowjackets got only one shot on goal.

Terrific Tyler
SPU senior Tyler Schultz leads the GNAC and ranks 35th nationally with nine goals. The Sept. 26 GNAC Athlete of the Week posted his first career hat trick in a 5-2 win at Mary (Sept. 21). Schultz leads the team with 20 total points. He topped all SPU goal-scorers in each of the last two seasons with 10 in 2010 and eight in 2009. Schultz has 31 career goals, needing five more to join the ranks of SPU's all-time top-10 scorers.

This Week's Opponents
University of Mary (2-7-2) -- The Marauders hail from Bismarck, N.D. Nikola Nikolic leads the Mary attack with five goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Michael Frenzel averages over five saves per game. SPU visited Mary on Sept. 21 and came away with a 5-2 victory led by a three-goal performance from Tyler Schultz.  The Falcons were victorious in all four of their games against Mary, including an 8-1 home win last year that featured a hat trick from Blaine Carver. The 2009 meeting, at a neutral site in Billings, Mont., was dramatic as Richie Evoy created two goals during the final 83 seconds of the 2-1 SPU victory. Evoy scored the equalizer at 88:37 and 43 seconds later drew a foul in the box to earn the winning penalty kick at 89:20 by Alec Nelson.

Saint Martin's (4-7-2, 3-2-1 GNAC) -- The Saints sit third in the GNAC standings with 10 points, just three behind second-place SPU. Xan Nixon leads SMU with eight goals. Goalkeeper JJ Olson has two shutouts. The Falcons swept both games last season to grab a 5-3 lead in the all-time series. They won 1-0 at Saint Martin's (Sept. 25) and 2-1 on Oct. 30 in Seattle.

Coach Collings
Fourth-year coach Mark Collings is the third head coach in the 44-year history of Seattle Pacific men's soccer. He has a 36-23-10 record with the Falcons. Collings was named the 2010 GNAC Co-Coach of the Year after directing SPU to a 10-6-2 overall record and a second-place league mark of 7-2-1. The Falcons were 11-5-3 in 2009, finishing third with a 4-3-1 league ledger. In his first season, SPU was 6-10-3 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
The Falcons don't intend to settle for second, even if that's where the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches predict they will finish. For the third straight season, the Seattle Pacific men were listed second in the preseason GNAC soccer poll. “We're certainly not going to settle for second place. It's probably a fair assessment on paper, now it's just a matter of putting everything into action,” said SPU coach Mark Collings. The Falcons lived up to the preseason projection last year, posting a 7-2-1 record as runners-up to Simon Fraser. SPU dealt the Clan its lone league defeat, a 4-0 drubbing in Burnaby, B.C. The conference coaches named the defending champion as this season's front-runner. The Clan return eight starters, including five first-team All-GNAC selections that helped the team to a 19-2 record in 2010. SFU was 9-1 in league play. Simon Fraser received four first-place votes and 33 points in the preseason poll. Seattle Pacific logged two first-place tallies and 30 points. Western Washington was selected third in the coaches poll with 24 points, followed by Montana State Billings (16), Northwest Nazarene (14) and Saint Martin's (7).

Fantastic Finish
The SPU men hope a tremendous ending in 2010 will carry over into 2011. The Falcons finished with 10 wins in their final 12 games to forge a 10-6-2 record in 2010. Included was a seven-game winning streak that was their longest since 2006. SPU started the season slow with on 0-4-2 record with an 0-4 record on a road trip. The Falcons were outscored 11-4 during their opening six games, but responded to outscore opponents by a 32-12 tally in their final 12 outings.