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     • VIDEO: Liviu  Bird

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 --
Saint Martin's at (#23) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.
• LiveStats:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc

A lot is on the line Saturday, Nov. 5 when 23rd-ranked Seattle Pacific (12-3-2, 6-2-1 GNAC) plays its final regular-season game. The second-place Falcons entertain third-place Saint Martin's (5-10-2, 4-4-1) in a 7 p.m. game at Interbay Stadium. They seek a sweep of the season series after shutting out the Saints 3-0 on Oct. 22 in Lacey, Wash. A win would likely secure an NCAA Division II Tournament berth for SPU, its first since 2006, and would enhance SPU's chances at serving as the host for the opening two rounds. The Falcons are currently the top seed in the West and would host the four-team regional if they maintain that position.

Senior Salute
Prior to Saturday's game, a brief ceremony will be conducted to honor SPU's six seniors. Dillon Ballard, Liviu Bird, Ryan Brand, Danny Brill, Tyler Schultz and Drew Williams will make their final regular-season home appearance at Interbay Stadium. That group helped the Falcons forge a 39-24-10 record during their four-year collegiate careers while combining for 58 goals and 41 assists.

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.

Poll Position
The Seattle Pacific men fell eight spots to No. 23 in this week's (Nov. 1) NCAA Division II coaches poll. They returned to the national rankings Oct. 11 for the first time in two years, receiving a No. 17 listing. SPU played four games against currently ranked opponents, defeating No. 21 Metro State 2-1 in Seattle, tying No. 15 Chico State 0-0 at home and losing twice (4-3 and 2-1) to No. 1 Simon Fraser.



Race to the Regional
The national ranking bodes well for the Falcons, who are poised to earn their first playoff berth since 2006. SPU is the top-ranked postseason eligible team from the West as Simon Fraser is still in its NCAA probationary period. If the Falcons are the West's top seed, they would get to 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).

Tournament Tidbits
The 32-team NCAA Division II championship field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com. SPU last competed in the postseason in 2006. Chico State advanced to the Elite Eight as the West Region champion last year and Northern Kentucky won the 2010 championship.

Recent Recap
SPU had a six-game shutout streak stopped with a 2-1 home loss to top-ranked Simon Fraser on Oct. 27. The Falcons recovered to post a 2-1 overtime win over Western Washington (Oct. 29) on a 100th-minute golden goal header from Tyler Schultz.

Terrific Tyler
SPU senior Tyler Schultz leads the GNAC and ranks 14th nationally with 14 goals. The two-time GNAC Athlete of the Week (Sept. 26 & Oct. 24) posted his first career hat trick in a 5-2 win at Mary (Sept. 21). Schultz leads the team with 31 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 36 career goals, tying as the No. 10 all-time scorer in SPU history with Vasco Rubio (1987-90). “To me he is playing like the player of the year in our conference,” SPU coach Mark Collings says about Schultz.

Falcons Fast Facts
SPU senior Drew Williams ranks No. 17 nationally with eight assists ... The Falcons' 12 wins tie the 2006 squad for their most single-season victories since they compiled 15 in 2005 ... Junior goalkeeper Zach Johnson has posted 10 shutouts and his 0.80 goals against average ranks 21st ... The 14 goals by Tyler Schultz are the most in a single season for a Falcon since Dana Garner scored 16 in 2000.

This Week's Opponent
Saint Martin's (5-10-2, 4-4-1 GNAC) -- The Saints sit third in the GNAC standings with 13 points, six behind second-place SPU. Xan Nixon leads SMU with eight goals. Goalkeeper JJ Olson has two shutouts. The Falcons won the last three games in the series, including a sweep of both games last year. They won 1-0 at Saint Martin's (Sept. 25, 2010) and 2-1 in Seattle (Oct. 30, 2010). SPU was a 3-0 victor on Oct. 22 in Lacey, Wash. to take a 6-3 series advantage. Tyler Schultz netted two goals in this season's first meeting.

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 39-24-10 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.