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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 --
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 --
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

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

All good things come to an end. That includes the season-opening, five-game soccer homestand for the Seattle Pacific men (1-1-1), who begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with two games this week. On Thursday, Sept. 15, the Falcons host Northwest Nazarene (3-0-1), a team they have never lost to in nine all-time meetings. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium, where SPU will entertain Montana State Billings (2-2) on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. to complete the homestand. The Falcons won the last three meetings to take an 8-3-2 series advantage over the Yellowjackets. The Falcons are vying for their 31st NCAA Division II Tournament berth, the first since 2006.

Hit the Road
After this week, the SPU men will not return to Interbay Stadium for over a month (Oct.20) as they embark on an eight-game road trip that starts Sept. 21 in North Dakota.

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.

Notable
After going scoreless for the opening 193-minutes of the season, the SPU men netted three goals in their next 21 minutes of play, beginning with Ryan Brand's 83rd-minute tally vs. Notre Dame de Namur (Sept. 8) and continuing with two goals in the opening 13:50 against Metro State (Sept. 10) ... Junior goalkeeper Zach Johnson is averaging five saves per game, topped by a six-stop performance against Metro State (Sept. 10).



Recent Recap
The Falcons got in the win column with a 2-1 victory over Metro State (Sept. 10), powered by goals in the opening 14 minutes by Ryan Brand and Tyler Schultz that came less than five minutes apart. That victory followed the season's first setback, a 3-1 loss to Notre Dame de Namur (Sept. 8). Brand scored in the 84th-minute of that one.

2011 Preview
The full 11-man starting lineup returns intact from last year's team that posted a 10-6-2 record and placed second in the GNAC with a 7-2-1 mark. Heading the list of returning talent is senior midfielder Tyler Schultz who topped the team with 10 goals last year. A first-team All-GNAC selection, Schultz ranked third among conference scorers with 23 points. Also back is forward Blaine Carver, who was honored as the GNAC Freshman of the Year. He was second on the team with eight goals last fall. Junior goalkeeper Zach Johnson returns after compiling four shutouts and a 1.36 goals against average. The defense features junior Jon Pearman, a second-team All-West Region honoree.

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 28-22-9 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.

This Week's Opponents
Northwest Nazarene (3-0-1, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Crusaders are fourth-year GNAC men's soccer competitors who finished with an 8-8 record in 2010 and a 4-6 league mark. NNU won three straight games to start the season before tying Mary in the last outing. Alex Mangeac tops the team with three goals. Goalkeeper Zander Engeman posted one shutout and a 0.81 goals against average. SPU won all nine previous meetings with Northwest Nazarene, including a pair of victories last season. The Falcons won the first 2010 matchup 4-2 in Seattle (Oct. 2) and were 3-2 victors in the most recent meeting, in Nampa, Idaho (Oct. 21).

Montana State Billings (2-2-0, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Yellowjackets won their last two games, over May (2-1) and Colorado Christian (4-2) to even their record at 2-2. Two players account for all of the Billings scoring, Garion Holian with four goals and Kyle Emerick with two. Goalkeeper Eoin Hurley has a 2.00 goals against average. The Falcons finally won at MSUB last season, a 2-0 decision on Sept. 30 that snapped a three-game winless streak in Billings. SPU also won the rematch, a 2-1 overtime game on Oct. 23 in Seattle that was ended by Elliot Morton's 95th-minute golden goal. The Falcons own an 8-3-2 lead in the all-time series.

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 to the start of 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.

Terrific Tyler
Sparking Seattle Pacific's 2010 second-half surge was the remarkable play of All-West Region second-teamer Tyler Schultz. The now senior midfielder amassed six goals during the final seven games. He finished with a team-leading 10 goals in 2010, two more than his eight-goal total that topped the Falcons in 2009. The 10 goals by Schultz were the highest total by a Falcon since Brent Egbert netted 13 in 2004.