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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 --
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
4:00 p.m. PDT, CWU Soccer Field, Ellensburg, Wash.
NO LIVESTATS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 --
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific
1:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.
LiveStats:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc
 
The Seattle Pacific women's soccer team begins its second sweep through the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule this week. The third-place Falcons (6-2-2, 3-1-2 GNAC) play at Central Washington (3-5-2, 2-3-1) on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. They meet for the second time in two weeks, following a 1-1 tie on Sept. 22 in Seattle. SPU then begins a three-game homestand with a Saturday, Oct. 6 clash with Simon Fraser (1-8-0, 0-6-0). Kick-off is 1 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. The Falcons swept the season series from SFU in 2011 by a combined 6-0 score.
 
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.
 
Throw-Ins
In their most recent outings, the Falcons played three consecutive overtime games for the first time in school history. They did not participate in an overtime game last season ... Senior Megan Lindsay has 32 career goals to rank No. 3 among al-time SPU scorers. Sarah Martinez (2004-07) is the Falcons' career leader with 49 goals and Shannon Lovejoy (2002-05) is second with 42 ... SPU is outscoring opponents 18-11, including a 9-3 advantage in the first half ... Sophomore Alexa Diaz distributed two of her team-high four assists during the last four games ... Sophomore Alexa Hughes, a transfer from Marshall, got her first action in goal and helped SPU defeat Saint Martin's 2-1 on Sept. 29.
 
Player of the Week
Freshman defender Shayla Page, who scored a goal in both games last week, received the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week award for women's soccer on Monday. Page netted a golden goal with 10 seconds left in the final overtime on Sept. 29, lifting the Falcons to a 2-1 home victory over Saint Martin's. She headed in a corner kick from Megan Lindsay to avoid a third consecutive 1-1 draw. The product of Redmond's (Wash.) Eastlake High School scored Sept. 27 on an 82nd-minute header to account for SPU's lone goal in a 1-1 tie with Western Oregon. Page tallied goals in three of the last four games.
 
Playoff Pursuit
The SPU women seek to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 10th straight year. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship. Last season they advanced to the West Region semifinal before losing 2-1 at Cal State L.A. on an 80th-minute goal. SPU advanced to the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).
 
2012 Preview
Six starters return from the GNAC championship SPU squad that reached the West Regional semifinals of the 2011 NCAA Division II Tournament. Topping the list of returnees is leading scorer Megan Lindsay, a senior who netted 12 goals last year. She had four game-winning strikes and helped SPU outscore opponents 56-13. Lindsay is joined on the forward line by sophomores Ali Martin and Heather Young, who both started strong last year before being sidelined with mid-season injuries. A pair of award-winning midfielders are back in second-team all-conference senior Brittany Langdon and sophomore Riley Dopps, the 2011 GNAC Freshman of the Year. The backline features first-team all-region defender Josie Graybeal. Junior goalkeeper Natalie Harold compiled a 0.62 goals against average in 11 starts last season.
 
2011 Review
The SPU women registered a 17-3-0 overall record in 2011, won their eighth GNAC title and participated in the postseason for the ninth straight season. They routed Grand Canyon 4-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 2-1 at Cal State L.A. Departed midfielder Kelsey Jenkins was the 2011 GNAC Player of the Year after leading the team with 11 assists. SPU lost its No. 2 scorer in Kellie Zakrzewski who netted 10 goals. The back line took the biggest blow with the departures of starting defenders Taylor Sawyer, Andrea Chan and Janie Wurth.
 
This Week's Opponents
Central Washington (3-5-2, 2-3-1 GNAC) -- The Wildcats are winless in their last three outings, beginning with a 1-1 tie at Seattle Pacific on Sept. 22. They lost 3-2 at Saint Martin's and 1-0 at Western Oregon last week. Kelsy Villegas and Carson McKole accounted for the majority of CWU's 13 goals with five goals apiece. Goalkeeper Kayla Lipston compiled three shutouts and a 1.57 goals against average. SPU leads the all-time series 19-2-2. The Sept. 22 draw stopped the Falcons four-game series winning streak. The last Wildcat win over SPU was a 3-1 decision in Ellensburg during the 2009 season.
 
Simon Fraser (1-8-0, 0-6-0 GNAC) -- The Clan are the newest members of the GNAC, entering the league in 2010 after becoming the first Canadian school to join the NCAA. Shelley Howieson is in her 24th season as head coach, having directed SFU to two NAIA national championships, in 1996 and 2000. The Clan have been outscored 21-3 for the season. Goalkeeper Amanda Gilliland has one shutout and a 2.00 goals against average. The Falcons own a 3-0-1 series edge, including a sweep of the 2011 season series. SPU won 2-0 in Burnaby, B.C. and 4-0 in Seattle.
 
Home Sweet Home
The SPU women lost just three times in their last 67 homes games with a 57-3-5 mark since Sept. 30, 2006. They had a 45-game home unbeaten streak snapped on Sept. 30, 2010 with a 1-0 loss to Western Washington. The Falcons posted a 9-2-0 home record last season and were 7-1-1 in 2010, 11-0-1 in 2009, 11-0-2 in 2008 and 15-0 in 2007.
 
Coach Chuck  Sekyra
In his 10th season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 173-21-16 record, three Final Four appearances and the 2008 national championship. He directed seven of those teams to GNAC championships, and all nine 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 six times (2003-05, 2007, 2009, 2011) and the Regional Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2007. He received the NSCAA National Coach of the Year award in 2007.
 
GNAC Title Chase
With eight championships in the 11-year history of the program, it's no surprise that Seattle Pacific is the favorite once again to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title. This time, it's unanimous. The Falcons received all eight first-place votes in the conference preseason coaches poll. The three-time defending champion Falcons seek to match the record of the SPU squads from 2002-2005 that collected four straight GNAC crowns. They return six starters from last season's team that captured the GNAC championship with a 13-1 record. SPU won eight of the 11 titles since the GNAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 2001.
 
Next Week
The SPU women complete a three-game homestand next week, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. and first-place Montana State Billings on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. Both games take place at Interbay Stadium.