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     • NCAA Tournament Bracket
 
NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament -- West Regional
1st & 2nd Rounds at GCU Soccer Field; Phoenix, Ariz.
(hosted by Grand Canyon)
• LiveStats for first two rounds:  www.sidearmstats.com/gcu/msoc
 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8 --
Game 1: (6) Cal State L.A. vs. (3) Seattle Pacific,  6:00 pm PST (7:00 pm MST)
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 --
Game 2: Region Semifinal – Game 1 winner vs. (2) Grand Canyon, 6:00 pm PST
 
Nov. 15 -- West Region Final (at site of highest remaining West Region seed)
Nov. 17 -- NCAA Quarterfinals (at same venue as previous round)
Nov. 29 -- NCAA Semifinals at Evans, Georgia
Dec. 1 -- NCAA Championship Game at Evans, Georgia
 
The 21st-ranked Seattle Pacific men (11-3-4) hit the road for their second straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament. The five-time national champion Falcons' 32nd foray into the playoffs begins in Phoenix, Ariz. as they received the West Region's No. 3 seed into the 35-team field. The first round features a rematch of last season's West Region championship game, a 3-2 win by Cal State L.A. in Seattle. The sixth-seeded Golden Eagles (11-4-3) and SPU meet again on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Mountain). That game will be contested at GCU Soccer Stadium where No. 2 seed Grand Canyon (15-2-1) plays the winner on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. PST. The Falcons defeated GCU earlier this season in Seattle, a 2-1 decision on Sept. 10.
 
SPU Tournament History
This marks the 32nd playoff berth for SPU, which has a 38-23-8 record in all-time postseason games. The Falcons have five national championships to their credit (1978, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1993). They reached the championship game on 10 occasions and were national semifinalists 14 times. Under a different format last year, SPU parlayed the homefield advantage into an opening-round 2-1 overtime win against Cal State Dominguez. The Falcons fell 3-2 in the second round versus Cal State L.A. In 2006, the Golden Eagles dealt a first-round knockout in SPU's previous postseason participation.
 


Tournament Format
The NCAA Division II Tournament is a single-elimination playoff starting with a 35-team field divided into four super regions. Simon Fraser (16-1-1) drew the top seed in the West Region and will await the first-round winner between No. 4 Cal State Stanislaus (11-4-3) and No. 5 Notre Dame de Namur (13-4-1) in Hayward, Calif. The two winning second-round teams from the West Region will meet at the site of the higher seed for a regional championship clash on Nov. 15 with the victor advancing to the Nov. 17 quarterfinals against the South Central Region champion. The semifinals and title game are scheduled for Nov. 29 and Dec. 1 at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga. Cal State L.A. was the West Region champion last year and Fort Lewis won the 2011 championship.
 
Scouting Seattle Pacific (11-3-4, 7-3-4 GNAC)
Two of 21st-ranked SPU's three losses came against currently second-ranked Simon Fraser, the top seed in the West. The Falcons are outscoring foes 34-19 led by the eight goals of Blaine Carver, a first-team All-GNAC selection. Two-time GNAC Defender of the Year Jon Pearman and first-team all-league goalkeeper Zach Johnson anchor a defense that compiled eight shutouts and a 0.89 goals against average. Senior Christopher Morris is the top playmaker with five assists.
 
Falcons vs. the Field
Seattle Pacific played four games this season against opponents from the 35-team NCAA Tournament field, posting a 2-2-0 record in those games. The Falcons won 4-2 at Notre Dame de Namur (Aug. 30) and were 2-1 home victors against Grand Canyon 2-1 (Sept. 1). SPU lost 5-1 at Simon Fraser (Sept. 27) before a 1-0 overtime home defeat to the Clan (Oct. 27).
 
The Opponents
Cal State L.A. (11-4-3, 10-2-3 CCAA) -- The Golden Eagles lost 4-1 to Cal State Stanislaus in their last outing to halt a seven-game unbeaten streak. CSULA outscored opponents 28-21 and has been shut out just twice this season. Rosario Bras leads the team with nine goals while Antti Arvola had eight goals and a team-high seven assists. Goalkeeper Waleed Cassis registered six shutouts and a 1.08 goals against average. SPU owns a 6-5-1 series edge despite going 0-4-1 during the last five meetings. The Eagles were 3-2 victors in the most recent encounter, on Nov. 12, 2012 at an NCAA West Region championship game in Seattle.
 
Grand Canyon (15-2-1, 12-1-1 PacWest) -- The seventh-ranked Antelopes bring a 12-game undefeated streak into the playoffs with an 11-0-1 mark during that span. GCU is led by the 17 scores of Saeed Robinson, who amassed 16 goals in 2011. Goalkeeper Joshua Zehring has five shutouts and a 0.93 goals against average. The Antelopes and SPU have met 16 times sine 2001 and at least once in each of the last 12 years. SPU leads the all-time series 16-3-5, including five consecutive wins. Freshman Ian Adams netted two second-half goals to help the Falcons rally for a 2-1 win on Sept. 10 in Seattle.
 
Fastest to Fifty
Mark Collings registered his 50th victory on Oct. 11 in his 88th game as head coach. That is the fastest to the 50-win mark for any Falcons coach. Legendary SPU coach Cliff McCrath (1970-2007) got his 50th win in game No. 94. At 52-28-14, Collings ranks No. 2 in all-time SPU coaching wins. McCrath had a 512-190-87 SPU record.
 
Coach Collings
Fifth-year coach Mark Collings is the third head coach in the 45-year history of Seattle Pacific men's soccer. He has a 52-28-14 record with the Falcons. Collings directed SPU to a 14-4-2 record in 2011, capped by its first playoff appearance in five years. The Falcons earned the top seed in the West and advanced to the regional championship game. Collings was named the 2010 GNAC Co-Coach of the Year after leading 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.
 
Stellar Start
This year's Falcons matched the best start in school history with six season-opening wins. The 1985 and 1991 SPU squads each started 6-0 before losing in their seventh outing. The 1985 team proceeded to win the third of SPU's five NCAA titles.
 
Ranking Report
Seattle Pacific climbed one place to No. 21 in this week's national poll. On Sept. 10, SPU received its highest men's soccer ranking in 18 years with a No. 2 listing in the NCAA Division II poll that was released by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). That was the Falcons highest poll position since a No. 1 ranking on Sept. 20, 1994. Current SPU assistant coach Nate Daligcon was a starting midfielder on that top-ranked team. Fifth-year head coach Mark Collings played for the Falcons from 1995-98, but none of the SPU teams he played on climbed as high in the rankings as the current team he is coaching. No. 2 Simon Fraser is the only other ranked GNAC team.
 
2012 Preview
Eight starters return from the SPU men's soccer team that advanced to the regional final of the 2011 NCAA Division II Tournament. Heading the list of returnees are first-team All-America defender Jon Pearman and honorable mention goalkeeper selection Zach Johnson. They anchor a defense that compiled 11 shutouts and surrendered an average of just 0.88 goals per game. The midfield features first-team All-GNAC standout Caleb Nyone. Helping ease the loss of the team's top-three scorers, including All-American Tyler Schultz, is junior forward Blaine Carver along with frontline mates Elliot Morton and Kyle Peterman who were both sidelined last season due to injury.
 
Conference Honors
Four Seattle Pacific players were named to the first team, including Jon Pearman who received the Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight season, when the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer all-star squad was released. Joining Pearman as two-time all-league honorees were Falcons seniors Zach Johnson and Caleb Nyone. SPU junior Blaine Carver also garnered first-team accolades. Pearman and Nyone were two of just five unanimous selections. A senior from Glendale, Ariz., Pearman earned All-GNAC recognition for the third straight season. He anchored a defense that shut out eight opponents and surrendered an average of just one goal per game. Pearman was an All-American in 2011. The SPU back line was helped by Nyone (Happy Valley, Ore.), a defensive midfielder who pushed forward to register one goal and an assist. Carver (Soldotna, Ak.) leads the team with eight goals and five of those were game-winning strikes. He was the 2010 GNAC Freshman of the Year. A product of Snohomish (Wash.) High School, Johnson compiled eight shutouts and a 0.89 goals against average this season. He has 23 career shutouts, the fourth-highest figure in school history. A pair of Falcons received honorable mention accolades: junior midfielder Anthony Mohammed (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) and freshman forward Ian Adams (Shoreline, Wash./Shorecrest HS).