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NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament -- West Regional
1st & 2nd Rounds at Triton Soccer Stadium; La Jolla, Calif.
(hosted by UC San Diego)
•LiveStats for first two rounds:  www.ucsdtritons.com
 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8 –
Game 1: (6) BYU-Hawaii vs. (3) Seattle Pacific, 1:00 pm PST
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 –
Game 2: Region Semifinal – Game 1 winner vs. (2) UC San Diego, 6:00 pm PST
 
Nov. 15 -- West Region final (at South Central Region site)
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 Seattle Pacific women's soccer team will participate in the postseason for the 10th consecutive year with a first-round game on Thursday in La Jolla, Calif. SPU was listed as the No. 3 seed in the 48-team NCAA Division II Tournament field. The Falcons (14-3-2) have a first-round clash against No. 6 seed BYU-Hawaii (10-4-3) on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. That game will be hosted at Triton Soccer Stadium by No. 2 seed UC San Diego (14-2-3), which plays the winner on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m.
 
The Rest of the West
On the other side of the West bracket, Sonoma State (16-2-2) drew the top seed in the region and will host a second-round game against the first-round winner between No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona (10-5-3) and No. 5 Western Washington (17-3-0). The two winning second-round teams from the West Region will meet at the site of the highest remaining seed from the South Central Region in the West Region championship contest on Nov. 17 with the victor advancing to the Nov. 19 quarterfinals at the same venue. The top two seeds in the South Central are Dallas Baptist and St. Edward's.
 
Tournament Format
The NCAA Division II Tournament is a single-elimination playoff starting with a 48-team field divided into eight, six-team regions. The 2012 NCAA semifinals and championship game are scheduled for Nov. 29 and Dec. 1 in Evans, Ga. Defending NCAA Division II champion Saint Rose is the No. 3 seed in the East Region this year
 


Road Warriors
Opening the playoffs on the road might not be bad for the Falcons who have flourished away from home. SPU lost just three times on enemy fields in the last three seasons and won 19 of its last 22 road games. The Falcons lone road loss this season was a 2-1 setback at Montana State Billings on Sept. 13. They were 7-0 on the road in 2010, 7-1 in 2011 and 5-1-1 this season.
 
SPU Tournament History
This marks the 10th straight playoff berth for SPU, which has a 14-7-3 record in all-time postseason games. The Falcons won the 2008 championship with a 1-0 double-overtime triumph over top-ranked and undefeated West Florida. Janae Godoy scored the golden goal in the 108th minute. Last season they beat Grand Canyon 4-0 to advance to the West Region semifinal before losing 2-1 at Cal State L.A. on an 80th-minute goal. SPU reached the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008), participating in the 2005 and 2008 national title games.
 
Magnificent Megan
Senior forward Megan Lindsay was a first-team selection to the All-GNAC squad for the third straight season. Lindsay 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 and four of them were game-winning strikes. An honorable mention All-American in 2011, Lindsay led all GNAC players with 12 goals last season.
 
Scouting Seattle Pacific (14-3-2, 11-1-2 GNAC)
The Falcons finished one-point back in the standings to Western Washington to have their three-year reign ended as Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions. They are coming off a 1-0 loss to Montana State Billings in the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament, a defeat that snapped a nine-game winning streak and 13-game unbeaten skein. SPU is outscoring opponents 39-15 led by the 11 goals of senior forward Megan Lindsay. Sophomore Ali Martin has six goals and is the top playmaker with six assists. The defense is anchored by Shayla Page, the lone freshman All-GNAC first team selection. Goalkeeper Natalie Harold took part in five of the team's seven shutouts and has a 0.88 goals against average. The Falcons are undefeated in 11 games when they scored two-or-more goals this season.
 
The Opponents
BYU Hawaii (10-4-3) -- The PacWest Conference champion Seasiders are undefeated in the last six games with a 4-0-2 mark during that span. BYUH was particularly tough at home where they posted an 8-0-1 record compared to 2-4-2 on the road. The Seasiders outscored opponents 23-13 behind the team-leading seven goals of Terryn Soelberg. Abbie Fronk distributed a team-high seven assists. Goalkeeper Megan McCain had six of her team's eight shutouts and a 0.80 goals against average. SPU won the first meeting in the series, a 1-0 decision in Seattle during the 2009 season. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in their last encounter, on Sept. 8, 2010 in Honolulu.
 
UC San Diego (14-2-3) -- The fifth-ranked Tritons claimed the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament title with a 4-2 penalty-kick tiebreaker decision over Sonoma State after the teams tied 1-1. UCSD is unbeaten in its last five outings. The Tritons outscored foes 39-12 led by the high-scoring trio of Cassie Callahan (9 goals), Izzy Pozurama (8) and Gabi Hernandez (7). Callahan and Alexa Enlow are tied for top assist honors with seven apiece. Goalkeeper Kelcie Brodsky compiled eighth shutouts and a 0.55 goals against average. If the Seattle Pacific women win their opening-round game, they will meet UC San Diego for the fifth time in NCAA Tournament play. It would also be a matchup of two former national champions as SPU won in 2008 and the Tritons won back-to-back crowns in 2000 and 2001. UCSD claimed a 3-2 series lead with a 2-0 win on Sept. 3, 2011 in Seattle that was their only regular-season encounter. The Tritons were 1-0 victors in the 2010 West Region Championship game in Austin, Texas. The Falcons won a 3-1 decision in Seattle during the second round of the 2008 playoffs. The Tritons won 3-0 at La Jolla in 2006 and SPU claimed a 2-0 victory in 2005.
 
Falcons vs. the Field
Seattle Pacific played two games this season against opponents from the 48-team NCAA Tournament field. The Falcons defeated West No. 5 seed Western Washington twice, winning 2-1 on Sept. 19 in Seattle and 1-0 on Oct. 27 in Bellingham.
 
Coach Chuck  Sekyra
In his 10th season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 181-22-16 record, three Final Four appearances and the 2008 national championship. He directed seven of those teams to GNAC championships, and all 10 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 Honors
Eight Seattle Pacific student-athletes, including first-team selections Megan Lindsay and Shayla Page, were named 2012 Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Stars. A senior forward from Spokane's (Wash.) Gonzaga Prep High School, Lindsay leads the conference with 11 goals. She garnered first-team acclaim for the third straight season. Lindsay is one of three unanimous selections, joining defenders Jennifer Larsen of Montana State Billings and Brina Sych of Western Washington. Page is the only freshman on the 11-player first team. A product of Eastlake High School in Redmond, Wash., she sparked an SPU defense that shut out seven opponents. Page pressed forward to tally three goals, including the game-winning header with 15 seconds left in regulation time of a 2-1 home win over regular-season champion Western Washington on Sept. 19. Two Falcons were featured on the second team. Sophomore forward Ali Martin (Beaverton, Ore.) amassed six goals and six assists. Sophomore midfielder Annie Thomas (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS) compiled one goal and three assists. The honorable mention All-GNAC list included the SPU quartet of freshman Laura Moore (Kent, Wash./Kentwood HS), sophomore Alexa Diaz (Burien, Wash./Kennedy HS), junior Josie Graybeal (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) and freshman Emma Holm (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington HS).