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2012 GNAC Tournament
Starfire Stadium • Tukwila, Wash.
• LiveStats for SPU games: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal#
 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 (Semifinals)
Game 1 – (#4) Western Oregon vs. (#1) Western Washington, 5:00 pm
Game 2 – (#3) Montana State Billings vs. (#2) Seattle Pacific, 8:00 pm
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (Championship)
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 2:00 pm
 
The postseason begins with a new twist for the 22nd-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team. After finishing second by one point in the regular-season standings, the Falcons (14-2-2, 11-1-2 GNAC) can still claim a conference championship and an automatic NCAA Division II Tournament berth. SPU clashes with No. 3 seed Montana State Billings (12-5-1, 8-5-1) on Thursday, Nov. 1 in the inaugural GNAC Tournament. Kick-off is 8 p.m. at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash. where top-seeded Western Washington (15-3-0, 12-2-0) meets No. 4 Western Oregon (8-9-1, 6-7-1) at 5 p.m. The Falcons bring a nine-game win streak into the tournament, including victories against each of the other three participants. They defeated MSUB 3-0 on Oct. 13 in Seattle in their last meeting. The Yellowjackets dealt SPU its only league loss, a 2-1 decision on Sept. 13 in Billings. Thursday's semifinal winners square off in the GNAC championship game on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m.
 
Throw-Ins
The SPU women are unbeaten in the last 13 games with an 11-0-2 record in that span ... The Falcons outscored foes 23-4 during the current nine-game winning streak ... SPU put together a streak of at least seven straight wins in each of the last 10 seasons. They were victorious in 10 consecutive 2011 games and won 23 straight in 2007.
 


GNAC Honors
Riley Dopps (offense) and Josie Graybeal (defense) were named the GNAC Players of the Week on Monday. The GNAC All-Star Team was announced Tuesday and SPU's Megan Lindsay and Shayla Page were first-team selections. Ali Martin and Annie Thomas were named to the second team while Laura Moore, Alexa Diaz, Josie Graybeal and Emma Holm were honorable mention picks.
 
Magnificent Megan
Senior forward Megan Lindsay was a first-team selection to the All-GNAC squad for the third straight season. Lindsay scored in six of the last eight games. She has 40 career goals to rank No. 3 among all-time SPU scorers. Sarah Martinez (2004-07) is the Falcons' career leader with 49 goals and Shannon Lovejoy (2002-05) is second with 42. Lindsay's 11 goals this season lead the league. An honorable mention All-American in 2011, Lindsay led all GNAC players with 12 goals last season.
 
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).
 
NCAA Format
The top-two teams in the West Region will host first- and second-round NCAA Division II Tournament games on Nov. 8 and 10. The 48-team NCAA Division II championship field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com. SPU has hosted early-round action five times at Interbay Stadium. Four years ago, the early postseason homefield advantage helped propel the Falcons to the 2008 national championship. In 2010, they defeated Montana State Billings 2-0 in the second round at home before falling 1-0 to UC San Diego in the West Region championship game in Austin, Texas. SPU advanced to the Final Four three times.
 
This Week's Opponents
Montana State Billings (12-5-1, 8-5-1 GNAC) -- The third-place Yellowjackets won their first nine games before posting a 3-5-1 record during the second half of the season. Billings is led by the eight goals of Heidi Greenback and five assists from first-team All-GNAC pick Jaucelyn Richter. Goalkeeper Alexandria Johnson has nine shutouts and a 0.81 goals against average. The Yellowjackets dealt SPU its lone league loss last season, winning 1-0 on Sept. 29, 2011 in Seattle on a 45-yard Whitney Siler free kick that bounced in at 76:47. That stopped an 11-game series win streak for the Falcons, who won the rematch in Billings 2-1 on Oct. 29, 2011. The Yellowjackets are responsible for SPU's lone league loss again this year, a 2-1 decision on Sept. 13 in Billings. The Falcons blanked MSUB 3-0 in the last meeting on Oct. 13 in Seattle. SPU compiled a 13-2 series lead, outscoring the Yellowjackets 37-7 all-time.
 
Western Washington (15-3-0, 12-2-0 GNAC) -- The GNAC regular-season champion Vikings outscored opponents 24-0 during a 10-game winning streak before losing 1-0 to SPU at home Saturdayin their last outing. Heather Young's 20th-minute goal stopped WWU's defensive scoreless streak at 919-minutes, 29-seconds. Tenth-year coach Travis Connell, a four-year SPU men's soccer letterman (1991-95), owns WWU's all-time mark with 117 coaching wins. Kristin Maris and Catherine Miles pace the Western attack with seven goals apiece. Goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs, the 2012 GNAC Player of the Year, has 14 shutouts and leads the nation with a 0.28 goals against average. Three of the five goals she surrendered this season were scored by Falcons. SPU won the last five encounters to increase its series lead to 18-4-3.  The Falcons were 2-1 victors over Western on Sept. 19 in Seattle when Kaylie Winston scored on a header with 15 seconds left in regulation.
 
Western Oregon (8-9-1, 6-7-1 GNAC) -- The Wolves held on to fourth place despite losing four of their last five games. WOU's Steve Ancheta was voted the 2012 GNAC Coach of the Year and defender Melissa Gonzalez was the Newcomer of the Year. Lindsay Bauman and Marina Austin each have five goals to tie for team-high honors. Goalkeepers Hilary Lutz and Kelsey Lindsey combined for six shutouts and a 1.29 goals against average.  SPU, which owns a 20-2-1 series lead, won 18 consecutive encounters before tying the Wolves 1-1 on Sept. 27 in Monmouth, Ore. The Falcons won the Oct. 20 rematch in Seattle 2-0 on goals by Megan Lindsay.
 
Coach Chuck  Sekyra
In his 10th season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 181-21-16 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.