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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 --
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
• LiveStats:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 –
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
3:00 p.m. PDT, SMU Soccer Field, Lacey, Wash.
• LiveStats:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal#
 
The Seattle Pacific women (3-1-0) begin pursuit of a ninth league soccer title when they start Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this week. The Falcons host undefeated Western Oregon (2-0-2) on Thursday, Sept. 19. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. SPU has not lost in the last 20 meetings versus the Wolves with 19 wins and one tie. On Saturday, Sept. 21, the Falcons visit Lacey, Wash. for a 3 p.m. encounter with Saint Martin's (1-2-0) at SMU Soccer Field. That clash features a matchup of the GNAC's top-two scorers as SPU's Laura Moore leads with four and the Saints' Kelli Bannerman has three. The Falcons won all 12 previous encounters against SMU.
 
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 15 games at Interbay Stadium. They lost just three times in their last 74 homes games with a 66-3-5 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.
 
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.
 
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 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 garnered first-team All-GNAC and all-region accolades last year.
 
Last Week
SPU posted its second and third straight shutouts, beating Dixie State 3-0 (Sept. 12) and Notre Dame de Namur 2-0 (Sept. 14) at home to cap non-league play at 3-1.
 
Throw-Ins
Laura Moore netted a goal in all four SPU games this season ... Alexa Diaz distributed an assist in every game and ranks No. 4 nationally with four ... Goalkeeper Stephanie Harold has three straight shutouts and has not allowed a goal in 280 minutes.
 
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 Oregon (2-0-2, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The undefeated Wolves are off to the best start in school history. The trio of two-goal scorers in Taija Bjorgo, Allison Frost and Makana Pundyke lead a WOU attack that is outscoring opponents 7-1. Goalkeepers Amanda Rose Johnson and Kelsey Lindsey combined for three shutouts and a 0.22 goals against average.  SPU, which owns a 20-2-1 series lead, won 18 consecutive encounters before tying the Wolves 1-1 on Sept. 27, 2012 in Monmouth, Ore. The Falcons won last season's rematch 2-0 on Oct. 20 in Seattle.
 
Saint Martin's (1-2-0, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Saints got a hat trick from Kelli Bannerman in a 4-0 win over Holy Names (Sept. 12). She was honored as the GNAC Player of the Week. Goalkeeper Gina Cardenas has a 2.17 goals against average. SPU won all 12 previous meetings with the Saints, including a 2-1 double-overtime decision on Sept. 29, 2012 that Shayla Page ended with 10 seconds left on the clock on a header off a corner kick. The Falcons won the last meeting 4-2 on Oct. 18, 2012 in Lacey, Wash.
 
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 185-24-16 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 play a pair of home games next week, hosting Montana State Billings on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. and Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.