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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 –
Seattle Pacific at South Dakota School of Mines
6:30 p.m. PDT (7:30 MDT), Sioux Park Stadium, Rapid City, S.D. 
(No Live Game Coverage)
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 –
Seattle Pacific at U-Mary
5:00 p.m. PDT (7:00 p.m. CDT, Community Bowl, Bismarck, N.D.
• LiveStats:  http://216.235.170.75/livestats/soccer_men/xlive.htm
 
Stingy Seattle Pacific opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on the road this week after allowing just one goal in three non-league outings. The Falcons (2-1) welcome newest member South Dakota School of Mines (0-3) to the GNAC with its inaugural conference contest, Thursday, Sept. 19 in Rapid City. Kick off is 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time (7:30 Mountain) at Sioux Park Stadium. On Saturday, Sept. 21 SPU visits Bismarck, N.D. to clash with U-Mary (0-2). That game kicks off at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Central) at the Community Bowl. SPU won the first six series meetings before the Marauders drew a 1-1 tie last season in Bismarck. The Falcons are vying for their 33rd NCAA Division II Tournament berth. They participated in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
 
Dynamic Defense
SPU has not allowed a goal in the last 237 minutes, since Chico State scored in the 33rd minute of the Sept. 7 season opener. Red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Cody Lang played all 270 minutes between the posts, compiling seven saves, two shutouts and a 0.33 goals against average. The Falcons defense limited their three opponents to 26 shots, just eight of them directly on goal.
 


Last Week
SPU blanked both opponents by the same 2-0 score. Sean Russell and Graham Reid netted second half goals 10 minutes apart at Dixie State (Sept. 10). Against Notre Dame de Namur (Sept. 14) at home, Ian Adams and Garrett Jones tallied second-half goals. Four different players scored for SPU, which has done all its damage after halftime.
 
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.
 
Throw-In
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 the league favorite.
 
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.
 
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 54-29-15, Collings ranks No. 2 in all-time SPU coaching wins. McCrath was 512-190-87 at SPU.
 
Next Week
The SPU men return to Seattle for a pair of GNAC contests. They host Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m. and Montana State Billings on Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
 
This Week's Opponents
South Dakota School of Mines (0-3-0, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Hardrockers are first-year men's soccer-only members of the GNAC from Rapid City. SD Mines is still in search of its first goal, having been outscored 8-0. Goalkeeper Timothy Tribbett has a 2.67 goals against average while making eight saves per game. Thursday marks the first ever meeting between SPU and the Hardrockers.
 
University of Mary (0-2-0, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Marauders hail from Bismarck, N.D. and are second-year GNAC members, competing in men's soccer only. U-Mary scored one goal in each of its first two contests of 2013, but dropped both as the Marauders lost 2-1 to Fort Lewis and 3-1 to Texas A&M International. Jonathon Sellars played a part in both U-Mary scores with one goal and one assist. Goalkeeper Jack West compiled a 2.50 goals against average. The Falcons won the first six meetings in the series, including a 3-1 victory on Sept. 15, 2012 in Seattle, before the teams drew 1-1 at U-Mary on Oct. 18, 2012.
 
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 54-29-15 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." Simon Fraser was ranked No. 3 in the preseason national poll and SPU was first among those also receiving votes, essentially placing them 26th. The two Northwest rivals will square off in Seattle on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. and again on Nov. 2 in Burnaby, B.C. Western Washington was selected fourth in the coaches poll with 37 points, followed by Montana State Billings (34), University of Mary (30), Saint Martin's (15) and newest league member South Dakota School of Mines (10). Mary and Mines are GNAC members for men's soccer only.