• Complete Release (pdf)      |      • VIDEO: Davis Karaica

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17 –
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
3:30 p.m. PDT (4:30 pm MDT), NNU Soccer Field, Nampa, Idaho
• LiveStats:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 –
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
12:00 p.m. PDT (1:00 p.m. MDT), Yellowjacket Field, Billings, Mont.
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal
 
Undefeated in its last nine outings, the streaking Seattle Pacific men's soccer team embarks on a road swing this week for a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. The second-place Falcons (7-1-2, 5-0-2 GNAC) travel to Nampa, Idaho for a meeting with Northwest Nazarene (3-3-4, 3-2-2) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Mountain). NNU and SPU battled to ties in each of the last three meetings, including a 1-1 draw on Sept. 26 in Seattle. On Saturday, Oct. 19 at noon PDT (1 p.m. MDT) the Falcons play at Montana State Billings (2-6-3, 2-3-2). The Falcons are unbeaten in their last eight matchups with Billings, including two ties. Those two games start a stretch in which SPU plays six of its final eight outings on the road. The Falcons, vying for their 33rd NCAA Division II Tournament berth, participated in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
 
Streaking SPU
The Falcons (7-1-2) are undefeated in their last nine games, having not lost since a 1-0 home setback against Chico State in the Sept. 7 season opener. They have seven wins and two ties in that span, forging the program's longest unbeaten streak since 2009 (6-0-3). The 2004 SPU squad was the last to put together a run of 10 games without a loss (9-0-1). At 5-0-2, the current Falcons are the only team undefeated in GNAC play.
 


Dynamic Defense
SPU has allowed just four goals from the run of play in the last 907 minutes. They gave up two penalty kicks during that span. Red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Cody Lang has played all 940 minutes between the posts this season, compiling 32 saves, four shutouts and a 0.67 goals against average. The Falcons defense limited their 10 opponents to 100 shots and just 39 attempts directly on goal.
 
Throw-Ins
SPU's 0.67 goals against average leads the GNAC and ranks No. 13 nationally ... Eleven different Falcons have recorded a goal, led by the four scores of freshman Stephen MacDonald ... Three of MacDonald's team-leading four goals were game-winners.
 
Last Week
Freshman Jordan Kollars assisted on the first two goals, leading Seattle Pacific to a 3-0 home victory over Saint Martin's (Oct. 12). Davis Karaica, Stephen MacDonald and Matt Merchant scored for the Falcons, all in the second half. Goalkeeper Cody Lang had three saves en route to his fourth clean sheet.
 
2013 Preview
Youth will be served this season as 18 underclassmen fill the 25-man roster. Nine freshmen and nine sophomores seek to grow up quickly under the leadership of three seniors and four juniors. The goal is a third consecutive playoff berth. Four starters return from last year's team, including leading scorer Blaine Carver. The All-GNAC forward netted eight goals with a league-leading five game-winning strikes. Carver, Kodiac Gamble and honorable mention All-GNAC pick Anthony Mohammed are the lone seniors. Sophomore forward Ian Adams was an honorable mention all-league performer in 2012.
 
Fastest to Fifty
Mark Collings registered his 50th victory on Oct. 11, 2012 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 59-29-17, Collings ranks No. 2 in all-time SPU coaching wins. McCrath was 512-190-87 at SPU.
 
2012 Review
The Falcons compiled an 11-3-5 record in 2012 and competed in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second straight season. Despite a 1-1 tie against Cal State L.A. in a first-round playoff game, SPU's season was ended by a 5-4 setback in the penalty kick tiebreaker. The Falcons won their first six games in 2012, equaling the best start in school history. SPU posted a 7-3-4 league ledger to place third in the GNAC.
 
This Week's Opponents
Northwest Nazarene (3-3-4, 3-2-2 GNAC) -- The fourth-place Crusaders are unbeaten in their last five games with three wins and two ties. They drew 0-0 with MSU Billings in the last outing as leading scorer Fredy Razo was held scoreless for the first time. The junior forward netted eight goals in nine games, accounting for over half of his team's scores. Goalkeeper Ryan Foo has three shutouts and a 1.01 goals against average. SPU won the first 11 meetings in the series before the teams drew in each of the last three encounters. This season's first matchup, on Sept. 26 in Seattle, resulted in a 1-1 tie.
 
Montana State Billings (2-6-3, 2-3-2 GNAC) -- The sixth-place Yellowjackets battled Northwest Nazarene to a scoreless tie in their last outing after winning their previous two games. Haley Klarich leads the MSUB attack with four goals. Goalkeeper Eoin Hurley has three shutouts and a 1.34 goals against average. SPU posted a 3-2 win over the Yellowjackets in this season's first meeting on Sept. 28 in Seattle. That increased the Falcons series advantage to 11-3-4.
 
Coach Collings
Fifth-year coach Mark Collings is the third head coach in the 46-year history of Seattle Pacific men's soccer. He has a 59-29-17 record with the Falcons. Collings led SPU to an 11-3-5 record in 2012 and the team's second straight playoff berth. The Falcons matched the best start in school history with six season-opening wins. A 7-3-4 GNAC record put SPU in third place. They tied Cal State L.A. 1-1 in the first round of the playoffs, but lost the penalty-kick tiebreaker 5-4. In 2011, Collings directed SPU to a 14-4-2 record 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
For the fifth straight season, the Seattle Pacific men were projected second in the preseason Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer poll. The conference coaches named three-time defending champion Simon Fraser as this season's frontrunner. The Clan claimed the conference title in 2012 with a 12-1-1 record en route to the national semifinals. They received seven of eight first-place votes and 61 points in the preseason poll. SPU compiled 51 points to edge Northwest Nazarene for second. The Crusaders logged one first-place tally and 50 overall points. "I'm surprised we were picked second. That's setting a lofty goal for our group," Collings said. "We're very young. We lost quite a bit from last year with 10 seniors being gone."
 
Next Week
SPU plays its final two regular-season home games next week, beginning on Oct. 24 at 4:30 p.m. against U-Mary. The home finale on Oct. 26 against South Dakota School of Mines features a tribute to SPU's three seniors prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff.