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     • VIDEO: Coach Mark Collings
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 --
Sioux Falls at (#2) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 --
U-Mary at (#2) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium (900), Seattle, Wash.

LiveStats for Both Games:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc
 
Second-ranked Seattle Pacific (4-0) continues a hectic stretch of four games in nine days with a pair of home contests this week. The Falcons start Great Northwest Athletic Conference play against the league's two newest members, beginning on Thursday, Sept. 13 against Sioux Falls (0-3). Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. SPU won the only previous clash against the Cougars, a 5-1 decision last season. The Falcons host U-Mary (1-2-1) on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. They won all five previous encounters against the Marauders. The SPU men are vying for their 32nd NCAA Division II Tournament berth. They advanced to the West Regional championship game last fall.
 
Fast Start
The Falcons have won their opening four games of the season for the first time since 1993, which is the same year they claimed their most recent of five national championships. The school record for victories to start a season is six, established by the 1991 and 1985 SPU squads that each lost in their seventh outing that year.
 
Ranking Report
Undefeated Seattle Pacific received its highest men's soccer ranking in 18 years with a No. 2 listing in the NCAA Division II poll that was released Tuesday by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The Falcons hold their highest poll position since they were No. 1 nationally 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.
 


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.
 
Last Week
Blaine Carver's 93rd-minute golden goal gave SPU a 1-0 home win over Dixie State (Sept. 7). His three goals lead the team. Goalkeeper Zach Johnson recorded his first shutout of the season and the 16th of his career. In their most recent game (Sept. 10), the Falcons rallied during the final 11 minutes behind two goals from freshman Ian Adams to post a 2-1 win over a Grand Canyon squad that is ranked No. 8 in the present poll.
 
2012 Preview
Eight starters return from the SPU men's soccer team that registered a 14-4-2 record and advanced to the West 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.
 
Next Week
The Falcons embark on a five-game road trip that starts at Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 20 followed by a visit to Montana State Billings on Sept. 22.
 
This Week's Opponents
University of Sioux Falls (0-3-0) -- The Cougars are in their first year of full NCAA Division II membership. They are also first-year men's soccer-only members of the GNAC, along with U-Mary. USF is winless in three outings, but two of them were road games against ranked opponents Fort Hays State (3-1) and Northeastern State (4-1). Brice Holiday leads the Cougars with three points on one goal and two assists. SPU won the only previous meeting, a 5-1 neutral-site decision on Sept. 23, 2011 in Bismarck, N.D.
 
University of Mary (1-2-1) -- The Marauders hail from Bismarck, N.D. and are first-year GNAC members, competing in men's soccer only. After opening with two defeats, U-Mary tied Rocky Mountain 3-3 and then beat South Dakota Mines 2-0 in its last outing. Rory Pratt leads the Marauders attack with two goals. The Falcons were victorious in all five of their games against U-Mary, including a 5-0 home victory and 5-2 road win last season.
 
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 45-25-10 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.
 
GNAC Poll
Coming off their first NCAA men's soccer tournament appearance in five years, the Seattle Pacific Falcons head into the 2012 season as the No. 2 pick for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title in the preseason coaches poll. The Falcons received one first-place vote and 57 points in the polling. Simon Fraser, which has won both league crowns since joining the GNAC two years ago as the first Canadian member of the NCAA, is the favorite to make it three straight. The Clan collected the other seven first-place votes and a total of 62 points. After those two, it's a significant drop to the No. 3 spot, which belongs to Montana State Billings with 44 points. In addition to their No. 2 position in the GNAC, the Falcons are ranked No. 11 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll – the same spot they occupied on last year's final NSCAA list. Simon Fraser is No. 9 in that poll. SPU and the Clan will square off on Sept. 27 in Burnaby, B.C., and again on Oct. 27 in Seattle.
 
“With Simon Fraser running the table last year (18-0-1, 9-0-1 GNAC) and returning quite a few players, they're definitely who I picked to have a great shot to win it again,” SPU head coach Mark Collings said. “But we're certainly not going to concede it to them. We're going to do our best to give them a run for it. The thing about our conference is that I don't think people realize how difficult it is. The quality of the teams is getting better every year, and the amount of travel that we do takes quite a toll.”