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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3 –
(#23) Seattle Pacific at (#2) Western Washington
7:30 p.m. PDT, Orca Field, Bellingham, Wash.
• LiveStats:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal 
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5 –
(#23) Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
1:00 p.m. PDT, Terry Fox Field, Burnaby, B.C.
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal

The game of the year in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference takes place Thursday night, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. on Orca Field in Bellingham, Wash. The 23rd-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (7-1, 4-0 GNAC) clashes with No. 2 Western Washington (7-0, 4-0) with first place, matching seven-game winning streaks and perfect league records on the line. Currently tied for first place, these Northwest rivals combined to capture the last six conference championships, with SPU claiming four and the Vikings winning twice. WWU won the 2012 GNAC crown despite losing both meetings with the Falcons. On Saturday, Oct. 5 the SPU women travel to Burnaby, B.C. to play Simon Fraser. Kick-off is 1 p.m. at Terry Fox Field. The Falcons have never lost to the Clan in six all-time meetings.
 


GNAC Title Hunt
Seattle Pacific seeks to reclaim the GNAC regular-season championship after having its three-year streak halted in 2012. Western Washington won the league crown with a 12-2-0 mark and SPU was second at 11-1-2. The Falcons were projected by a preseason poll of the league's coaches to finish second with WWU first. SPU won eight of the 12 titles since the GNAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 2001.
 
Dynamic Defense
The Falcons blanked six of their last seven opponents, outscoring foes 15-1 during that span. They surrendered just one goal in the last 640 minutes, since their season-opening 2-1 loss at third-ranked UC San Diego on Sept. 5. Senior goalkeeper Natalie Harold, who played all but one half in goal for SPU, boasts a 0.40 goals against average.
 
Last Week
The Falcons rallied from a 1-0 deficit with goals by Ashley Shaw and Demi Waitley during the final 10 minutes of a 2-1 home win over Montana State Billings (Sept. 26). Three first-half goals, two by Hannah Huesers and one by Laura Moore, powered SPU to a 3-0 home victory over Northwest Nazarene (Sept. 28).
 
Falcons Fast Fact
Sophomore midfielder Laura Moore has a point (at least one goal or assist) in seven of eight games this season, leading the team with five goals and three assists.
 
2013 Preview
Ten starters return from the SPU squad that reached the West Regional semifinals of the 2012 NCAA Division II Tournament. Eight of the team's top-nine scorers are back, led by junior forwards Ali Martin and Heather Young who each netted six goals last season. Primary goalkeeper Natalie Harold returns along with her entire defensive back line that produced eight shutouts and limited opponents to 0.78 goals per game. Sophomore defender Shayla Page was a 2012 first-team All-GNAC and all-region honoree.
 
Playoff Pursuit
Seattle Pacific seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 11th straight season. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship. Last year they advanced to the West Region semifinal before losing 2-1 in double overtime at UC San Diego. SPU reached the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).
 
2012 Review
The Falcons forged a 15-4-2 overall record in 2012 and placed second in the GNAC with an 11-1-2 mark. The SPU women participated in the postseason for the 10th straight season. They defeated BYU-Hawaii 1-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 2-1 in double overtime at UC San Diego. Departed forward Megan Lindsay was a second-team All-American who led the team with 12 goals. Lindsay was the only starter to depart.
 
This Week's Opponents
Western Washington (7-0-0, 4-0-0 GNAC) -- The No. 2-ranked Vikings are undefeated in seven outings, outscoring opponents 18-1. They lone opposing score was an own goal. Catherine Miles leads the attack with five goals. Goalkeeper Alyssa Beauchamp has four shutouts and a 0.16 goals against average. Eleventh-year coach Travis Connell, a four-year SPU men's soccer letterman (1991-95), owns WWU's all-time mark with 128 coaching wins. The Falcons swept the season series in 2012. They won 2-1 on Sept. 19 in Seattle, when Kaylie Winston scored on a header with 15 seconds left in regulation, and got a goal from Heather Young in a 1-0 decision on Oct. 27 in Bellingham. SPU won the last five encounters to increase its series lead to 18-4-3.
 
Simon Fraser (0-4-2, 0-2-2 GNAC) -- The Clan are the newest members of the GNAC, entering the league in 2010 after becoming the first Canadian school to join the NCAA. Shelley Howieson is in her 25th season as head coach, having directed SFU to two NAIA national championships, in 1996 and 2000. The Clan have been outscored 12-1 for the season with Sophie D'Souza netting the lone goal. Three goalkeepers combined for a 1.86 goals against average. The Falcons own a 5-0-1 series edge, including a 2-0 home and 4-0 road win in 2012.
 
GNAC Poll
The SPU women won three of the last four Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships. Last year's runner-up, SPU was selected by the GNAC coaches to again place second in their preseason poll. Western Washington was projected to repeat as league champion, receiving five first-place votes and 61 points. SPU collected the remaining three first-place tallies en route to a 58-point total. The Northwest rivals will clash twice during a 10-day period this season. SPU visits Bellingham on Oct. 3 and the Vikings play in Seattle on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. Montana State Billings was third in the preseason poll with 41 points followed by Western Oregon (35), Central Washington (34), Saint Martin's (33), Northwest Nazarene (17) and Simon Fraser (9). SPU won eight of the 12 titles since the GNAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 2001.
 
Coach Chuck Sekyra
In his 11th season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 189-24-16 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.
 
Next Week
The SPU women visit Central Washington on Oct. 3 before hosting No. 2 Western Washington on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.