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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 --
Saint Martin's at (#21) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 --
Western Oregon at (#21) Seattle Pacific
7:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

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

With Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in full swing, the 21st-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (5-1-0, 2-0 GNAC) returns to Interbay Stadium for a four-game homestand. The first-place Falcons host Saint Martin's (0-4-2, 0-2 GNAC) on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. SPU has not lost in eight all-time meetings versus the Saints with a pair of wins last season by a combined 6-1 score. On Saturday, Sept. 24, Western Oregon (2-2-2, 1-0-1 GNAC) visits for a 7:30 p.m. game. SPU won the last 16 games in their series with the Wolves. The Falcons remain home next week to host MSU Billings (Sept. 29) and Northwest Nazarene (Oct. 1).

Youth Movement
Despite a veteran lineup with nine returning starters, two freshmen are leading SPU in scoring. Heather Young tops the team with three goals, including two game-winning strikes. Ali Martin leads the Falcons with seven points on two goals and three assists. Five other newcomers have made their way into the SPU starting lineup at least once; Arizona State transfer Josie Graybeal, red-shirt freshmen Natalie Harold and Annie Thomas and true freshmen Riley Dopps and Alexa Diaz.

Throw-In
SPU is outscoring opponents 16-4 with a 14-1 margin in the last four games.



Recent Recap
The Falcons won their first two GNAC games last week, both of them by shutout on the road. Freshman Heather Young netted the lone goal in the 62nd minute of a 1-0 victory at Western Washington (Sept. 14). At Simon Fraser (Sept. 17), Megan Lindsay and Taylor Sawyer both scored early in the second half to lead a 2-0 winning effort. SPU completed non-conference play with a 3-1 record, including a 5-0 blanking of NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha (Sept. 10).

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 collected 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. Western Washington was projected to finish second, garnering 52 points. Simon Fraser received the remaining first-place vote and finished third in the poll with 46 points. Montana State Billings was fourth in the preseason projections with 40 points followed by Central Washington (33), Saint Martin's (24), Western Oregon (16) and Northwest Nazarene (14).

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. Lindsay, a junior forward led the team with 11 goals in 2010. Sawyer is a junior defender who helped the defense limit opponents to 10 goals. SPU boasts three of the GNAC's top-four returning scorers, including Lindsay. Senior Brandi Hamre tallied six goals last year and tied for the league lead with nine assists. Kellie Zakrzewski scored eight goals en route to 2010 GNAC Freshman of the Year honors. The Falcons won the national championship in 2008. They advanced to the national semifinals in 2005 and 2007.

This Week's Opponents
Saint Martin's (0-4-2, 0-2-0 GNAC) -- The Saints lost their first two GNAC games after drawing a pair of ties in their final non-conference contests. SMU's four goals have come from four difference players. Goalkeeper Gina Cardenas averages over five saves per game. SPU won all eight previous meetings with the Saints, including two in 2010. The Falcons were 3-1 victors on Sept. 23 in Lacey, Wash. and won 3-0 on Oct. 30 in Seattle.

Western Oregon (2-2-2, 1-0-1 GNAC) -- The Wolves are unbeaten in conference play with a 3-0 win over Northwest Nazarene and 1-1 tie with Montana State Billings to their credit. Marina Austin leads the attack with two goals. Brittney Rightrup has played every minute in goal and surrendered just three scores. She compiled three shutouts and a 0.45 goals against average. SPU won the last 16 meetings to take a 17-2 series lead. The Falcons won both meetings last season by a composite 9-0 score. SPU won 6-0 on Sept. 25 in Monmouth, Ore. 3-0 on Oct. 28 in Seattle.

Coach Chuck  Sekyra
In his ninth season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 155-17-14 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 three assists and netted the game-winner in the season-opening 2-1 win over Chico State. She scored six goals last season and three of them were game-winning tallies, 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 then came to Seattle to play from 1976-79 with the Sounders of the NASL.

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 re-joined the national rankings, assuming the No. 21 position this week (Sept. 20) after dropping out on Sept. 6. The Falcons started the season at No. 10 in the NSCAA coaches poll, exactly where they finished the 2010 campaign.