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     • LiveStats (Wednesday at Mary)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 --
Seattle Pacific at University of Mary
5:00 p.m. PDT, Bismarck Community Bowl, Bismarck, N.D.
LiveStats: www.umary.edu/sports/LiveStats.php?team=soccer_men

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 --
Seattle Pacific vs. University of Sioux Falls
1:30 p.m. PDT, Reichert Field, Bismarck, N.D. (No LiveStats)

Say goodbye to Interbay Stadium for a month! After starting the season with five consecutive home games, the Seattle Pacific men's soccer team (3-1-1, 2-0 GNAC) plays the next eight away from Interbay. The Falcons bring a three-game winning streak into the lengthy road trip that begins Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the University of Mary (0-2-2). Kick-off is 5 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Central) at the Bismarck Community Bowl in North Dakota. SPU routed the Marauders 8-1 in their last meeting on Oct. 16, 2010 in Seattle. The Falcons remain in Bismarck for a neutral-site game against Sioux Falls (1-4) on Friday, Sept. 23. That contest is slated for 1:30 p.m. PDT (3:30 MDT) at Reichert Field. This is the first ever meeting between SPU and the Cougars, who are in the process of re-classifying to become an NCAA Division II member. The Falcons' next home game is Oct. 20 against Mary.

Notable
After going scoreless for the opening 193-minutes of the season, the SPU men netted seven goals in 277 subsequent minutes ... Both goals by Tyler Schultz were game-winners. He is tied with Ryan Brand for the SPU scoring lead ... Junior goalkeeper Zach Johnson posted three shutouts and is averaging four saves per game, topped by a six-stop performance against Metro State (Sept. 10) ... Johnson's efforts helped the Falcons accumulate their current shutout streak of 226-minutes, 47-seconds. The last opposing goal was by Metro State at 43:13 on Sept. 10 after which SPU held foes scoreless for five halves.



Recent Recap
The Falcons opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a pair of 2-0 home victories last week. Tyler Schultz and Drew Williams each had a goal and assist in the win over Northwest Nazarene (Sept. 15). Against Montana State Billings (Sept. 17) Kodiac Gamble headed in his first collegiate goal before halftime and Richie Evoy added an insurance tally with 37 seconds left in the game.

Playoff Pursuit
The SPU men are vying for their 31st NCAA Division II Tournament berth, the first since 2006. They won five national titles; in 1978, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1993.

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 30-22-9 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
University of Mary (0-2-2) -- Mary has three opponents in common with Seattle Pacific. The Marauders tied Metro State (2-2) and Northwest Nazarene (1-1) and lost to Montana State Billings (1-2). SPU defeated all three of those teams. Aaron Mcelwee and Nikola Nikolic each have two goals to lead Mary. Goalkeeper Michael Frenzel has a 1.85 goals against average. SPU and the Marauders will meet again later this season, on Oct. 20 in Seattle. The Falcons were victorious in all three 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.

University of Sioux Falls (1-4-0) -- The Cougars are in their third and final year of NCAA Division II reclassification. They registered a 13-6-1 record in 2010, their last competing as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). USF defeated Mount Marty 3-2 in its last outing to halt a four-game losing skid. Connor Shefte lead the Cougars with two goals and Ryan Keohane is the top playmaker with three assists. Friday marks the first ever meeting between SPU and Sioux Falls.

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. Schultz is tied for team-high honors with two goals this season, both of them game-winners.