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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11 --
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 --
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
1:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

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

Interbay Stadium will be the site of a pair of pivotal Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer contests this week. Third-place Seattle Pacific (8-2-2, 5-1-2 GNAC) entertains Northwest Nazarene (6-6-0, 3-5-0) on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. That is the nightcap of a doubleheader with the SPU men who play at 4:30 p.m. The Falcons women were victorious in their last 22 encounters with NNU. On Saturday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. second-place Montana State Billings (10-2-0, 6-2-0) invades Interbay. The Yellowjackets dealt SPU its only league loss, a 2-1 decision on Sept. 13 in Billings.
 
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.
 
Magnificent Megan
Senior forward Megan Lindsay played a part in all three SPU scores last week with two goals and an assist. She has 34 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 five goals this season tie her for the team scoring lead with Ali Martin. An honorable mention All-American in 2011, Lindsay led all GNAC players with 12 goals last season. 
 


Throw-Ins
Saturday's 2-0 win over Simon Fraser stopped a school-record streak of four consecutive overtime games for the Falcons. SPU, which did not play in an extra session last season, had never had more than two straight overtime games prior to this year ... Every SPU game was decided by two goals or less, including six one-goal decisions and two ties. 
 
Recent Recap
SPU blanked both opponents last week, beginning with a 1-0 overtime win against Central Washington (Oct. 4). The game was played in Yakima due to wildfire-induced poor air quality in Ellensburg. Megan Lindsay's 98th-minute golden goal ended the game. Lindsay assisted on Ali Martin's goal and scored one of her own, both in the second half, to lead the Falcons to a 2-0 home win against Simon Fraser (Oct. 6).
 
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
Northwest Nazarene (6-6-0, 3-5-0 GNAC) -- The Crusaders won two of their last three games, including a 2-1 double-overtime win over Saint Martin's in their most recent outing. Jenny Field leads the NNU attack with seven goals while Sarah Staropoli is the top playmaker with five assists. Goalkeeper Tanya Zickefoose compiled two shutouts and a 1.68 goals against average. The Crusaders trail the all-time series with SPU by a 22-1 margin, their lone win coming in 2001 during the inaugural encounter. The Falcons won this year's first meeting 3-1 on Sept. 15 in Nampa, Idaho.
 
Montana State Billings (10-2-0, 6-2-0 GNAC) -- The second-place Yellowjackets won their first nine games before sustaining two setbacks during their last three outings. MSUB lost 3-0 at Western Washington and 1-0 at Western Oregon. Billings is led by the five goals of Heidi Greenback and five assists from Jaucelyn Richter. Goalkeeper Aiko Johnson has seven shutouts and a 0.58 goals against average. The Yellowjackets dealt SPU its lone league loss last season, winning 1-0 on Sept. 29 in Seattle on a 45-yard Whitney Siler free kick that bounced in at 76:47. That stopped an 11-game series winning streak for the Falcons, who won the rematch in Billings 2-1 on Oct. 29. The Yellowjackets are responsible for SPU's lone league loss this year, a 2-1 decision on Sept. 13 in Billings. The Falcons have a 12-2 series lead, outscoring MSUB 34-7 all-time.
 
Home Sweet Home
The SPU women lost just three times in their last 69 homes games with a 61-3-5 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 have a 5-0-1 home record. They posted a 9-2-0 home mark 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 175-21-16 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 Seattle Pacific women visit Saint Martin's on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. before hosting Western Oregon in their final regular-season home game at Interbay Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 1 p.m.