• Complete Release (pdf)     |     • VIDEO: Alexa Diaz

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30 –
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
** Breast Cancer Awareness Game **
• LiveStats:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1 –
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
11:00 a.m. PDT, CWU Soccer Field, Ellensburg, Wash.
• LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/cwu/ 
 
The regular-season comes to a close this week for the Seattle Pacific women's soccer team that plays one game at home and one away. The second-place Falcons (9-4-2, 7-3-2 GNAC) entertain fifth-place Western Oregon (6-6-4, 4-4-4) on Thursday, Oct. 30 in their final Interbay Stadium game. A brief ceremony to honor SPU's seven seniors will be conducted prior to the 7 p.m. kick-off.  The Falcons shut out WOU in each of the last four meetings, including 1-0 on Oct. 18 in Seattle. On Saturday, Nov. 1 SPU closes out the regular season at fourth-place Central Washington (7-6-3, 6-3-3) in Ellensburg at 11 a.m. The Wildcats won the last three regular-season meetings, including a 1-0 decision on Oct. 2 in Seattle. The Falcons have already secured a GNAC Tournament berth and are playing for the No. 2 seed and positioning themselves for an NCAA Division II playoff berth.
 
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. For group rates call (206) 281-2085.
 
Senior Salute
Prior to Thursday's game, a ceremony will be conducted to honor SPU's seven seniors. Alexa Diaz, Alexa Hughes, Ali Martin, Arden Matro, Annie Thomas, Demi Waitley and Heather Young will make their final home appearances at Interbay Stadium. That seven-player class helped the Falcons compile a 56-17-5 record during their collegiate careers (29-5-3 at Interbay) and earn NCAA Tournament berths every season.
 


GNAC Tourney
The four-team field is nearly set for next week's 2014 GNAC Tournament at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash. Seattle Pacific will be joined by Western Washington, Montana State Billings and either Central Washington or Western Oregon. The pairings will be determined by this week's results and their impact on the final regular-season standings. The Nos. 2 & 3 seeds play the first semifinal on Nov. 6 at 4 p.m., followed by the Nos. 1 & 4 seeds at 7 p.m. The championship game is set for Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. The winner gets the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. SPU is the defending champion after tying Western Washington 1-1 before a 4-1 penalty kick tiebreaker victory.
 
Dynamic Duo
SPU is the highest scoring team in the conference with 31 goals. Nineteen of those scores came from the prolific pair of Hannah Huesers (12) and Isabel Farrell (7), who rank first and second among GNAC scoring leaders.
 
Recapping Last Week
The Falcons rebounded from a tough 1-0 loss at 20th-ranked Western Washington with Saturday's 2-1 win at Simon Fraser. Hannah Huesers netted both goals for SPU, in the 7th and 47th minutes. In Bellingham on Thursday, Western scored in the 57th minute and held on for the win.

 

Throw-Ins
Junior Isabel Farrell picked up a point in four of the last five games with two goals and three assists ... Chuck Sekyra recorded his 200th coaching victory at SPU on Sept. 18 with a 4-1 home win over Simon Fraser. He has a 206-33-19 record in 12 seasons.
 
Playoff Pursuit
The Falcons eye a return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 12th straight year. They won the 2008 national championship. Last season SPU reached the West Region semifinal before losing 2-0 at Western Washington. The Falcons advanced to the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).
 
This Week's Opponents
Western Oregon (6-6-4, 4-4-4 GNAC) -- The fifth-place Wolves are battling with Central Washington for the final berth into next week's four-team GNAC Tournament.  They are outscoring opponents 16-13 paced by the four goals of Makana Pundyke. Goalkeeper Amanda Rose Johnson posted six shutouts and a 0.67 goals against average. SPU, which owns a 23-2-1 series lead, won 18 consecutive encounters before tying the Wolves 1-1 on Sept. 27, 2012 in Monmouth, Ore. The Falcons won this season's first meeting 1-0 on Oct. 18 in Monmouth on a 29th-minute penalty kick by Isabel Farrell.
 
Central Washington (7-6-3, 6-3-3 GNAC) -- The fourth-place Wildcats are undefeated in their last four games with two ties and two wins. CWU is coming off a runner-up finish in the 2013 GNAC standings. Mackenzie Nolte leads the Central attack with seven goals. Goalkeeper Kayla Lipston compiled six shutouts and a 1.13 goals against average. The Wildcats swept the regular-season series last year with matching 1-0 wins in Ellensburg and Seattle before SPU got a 2-1 result in the GNAC Tournament semifinals.  Central won this year's first meeting 1-0 on Oct. 2 in Seattle on a 69th-minute goal by Viktoriya Vasina. The Falcons lead the all-time series 21-5-2.
 
Coach Chuck  Sekyra
In his 12th season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 206-33-19 record, three Final Four appearances and the 2008 national championship. Sekyra posted his 200th win on Sept. 18, 2013 with a 4-1 home victory over Simon Fraser. He directed the 2013 unit to the GNAC Tournament title. Seven of Sekyra's SPU squads won GNAC regular-season championships and all 12 of his teams 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 2007 NSCAA National Coach of the Year award.
 
2014 Preview
Nine starters return from the 2013 GNAC Tournament champions, including first-team All-West Region forward Laura Moore who topped SPU with eight goals. Also back is Shayla Page, a two-time all-region defender who helped the team blank 11 opponents and compile a 0.72 goals against average. The top-nine goal producers return from last season's Falcons, who outscored foes 39-16. Alexa Diaz is back after distributing a team-leading eight assists in 2013. A trio of All-GNAC midfielders returns in senior Demi Waitley and juniors Emma Holm and Ashley Shaw. Senior Alexa Hughes takes over primary goalkeeping duties after not surrendering a goal in 180 minutes during 2013. Junior Isabel Farrell, a transfer from Washington, adds a dynamic midfield presence.
 
2013 Review
The SPU women registered a 15-6-1 overall record in 2013, won GNAC Tournament championship and participated in the postseason for the 11th straight season. They beat Sonoma State 1-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 2-0 at Western Washington. The Falcons had a 10-4-0 conference record, finishing third in the GNAC standings. Graduated goalkeeper Natalie Harold was the GNAC Tournament MVP and defender Josie Graybeal is the only other departed starter. SPU outscored foes 39-16 led by the eight goals of Laura Moore and six from Hannah Huesers. The defense blanked 11 opponents.