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     • VIDEO: Laura Moore

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
Dixie State at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
• LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Notre Dame de Namur at Seattle Pacific
4:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
• LiveStats:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc
 
Falcons fans can catch their first glimpse of the 2013 women's soccer team at a pair of home games this week. Seattle Pacific (1-1) plays its Interbay Stadium opener on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. against Dixie State (0-0-1). SPU won both previous meetings against the Red Storm, which had its home game Saturday shortened due to thunderstorms. This Saturday, Sept. 14 the Falcons entertain Notre Dame de Namur (2-1) at 4:30 p.m. as the opener of a doubleheader with the men who play the Argonauts at 7 p.m. SPU won the last six encounters with NDNU, including a 3-1 road win at Belmont, Calif. in last year's season opener.
 
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.
 
Home Sweet Home
The SPU women are undefeated in their last 13 games at Interbay Stadium. They lost just three times in their last 72 homes games with a 64-3-5 mark since Sept. 30, 2006. SPU had a 45-game home unbeaten streak snapped on Sept. 30, 2010 with a 1-0 loss to Western Washington. The Falcons forged an 8-0-1 home record last year. They were 9-2-0 at home in 2011, 7-1-1 in 2010, 11-0-1 in 2009, 11-0-2 in 2008 and 15-0 in 2007.
 


Player of the Week
SPU sophomore midfielder Laura Moore, who scored a goal in both games last week, received the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award for women's soccer on Monday. Moore netted the initial score in the ninth minute of Thursday's 2-1 loss at No. 3 UC San Diego. That goal was assisted by Alexa Diaz, as was Saturday's opening goal by Moore during the 10th minute of a 3-0 victory at Point Loma Nazarene. "Laura was fantastic in both games getting our team off to early leads," said Coach Chuck Sekyra. "Two goals in two games is no easy task on the road against those two programs." Moore has already matched the entire two-goal output from her freshman season. Three of her four career goals were game-winning strikes.
 
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).
 
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 (Corvallis, Ore.) and Heather Young (Lacombe, Alberta) who each netted six goals last season. Primary goalkeeper Natalie Harold (Vancouver, Wash./Heritage HS) 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 (Redmond, Wash./Eastlake HS) garnered first-team All-GNAC and all-region accolades last year.
 
Last Week
Despite a 20-7 shot advantage, the Falcons fell 2-1 at third-ranked UC San Diego (Sept. 5) on two second-half tallies. SPU rebounded for a 3-0 victory at Point Loma Nazarene (Sept. 7) on goals by Laura Moore, Kelly Gould and Alexa Diaz.
 
Throw-In
The Seattle Pacific women won at least 15 games in each of Coach Chuck Sekyra's previous 10 seasons, averaging just 2.3 losses per season during that span.
 
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
Dixie State (0-0-1) -- Coach Kacey Bingham takes over a Red Storm squad that posted a 6-10-2 record last season. Dixie drew a 0-0 home tie against Montana State Billings on Saturday in a game that was halted in the 93rd minute due to thunderstorms. Preseason All-Pacific West forward Jennifer Mason leads DSU with four shots. Goalkeeper Stacie Gubler made four saves in the shutout. SPU won both previous meetings, beating the Red Storm 3-0 in Seattle in 2002 and 2-1 in 2006 at a neutral site contest in Phoenix.
 
Notre Dame de Namur (2-1-0) -- The Argonauts, members of the PacWest Conference, posted an 8-9-1 record last season and finished strong with wins in their final three games. High-scoring Adriana Cortes leads the NDNU attack with five goals and an assist in just three games. She compiled seven goals and five assists in 2012. Goalkeeper Amy Rich has one shutout and a 1.00 goals agianst average. After losing the first meeting 1-0 in overtime during their inaugural season of 2001, SPU won the last six series encounters against the Argos by a combined 19-2 score. The Falcons were 3-1 victors last season in Belmont, Calif. and won the last Seattle meeting 6-1 in 2011 behind a pair of goals from Ali Martin. The Argos play at Western Washington on Thursday.
 
GNAC Poll
The SPU women won three of the last four Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships. They begin pursuit of another at home on Sept. 19 against Western Oregon. 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 183-24-16 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
Great Northwest Athletic Conference play begins at home for SPU, which hosts Western Oregon on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. before visiting Saint Martin's on Sept. 21 at 3 p.m.