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2014 GNAC WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Starfire Stadium / Tukwila, Wash.
•Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/gnac/

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6 (semifinal games)
Game 1 -- (3) Seattle Pacific vs. (2) Montana State Billings, 4:00 p.m. PST
Game 2 -- (4) Central Washington vs. (1) Western Washington, 7:00 p.m. PST
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8 (championship game)
Game 3 -- Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 1:00 p.m. PST
 
The Seattle Pacific women will need a repeat of last season's GNAC Tournament heroics to extend their lengthy NCAA soccer playoff streak. The defending champion Falcons (11-4-2) need to win the conference tournament again to receive an automatic berth into the Division II Tournament. It will be a tough task as No. 3 seed SPU's opening round foe is No. 2 Montana State Billings (11-3-2), which won the first regular-season meeting 2-1 at home before the teams played to a scoreless tie in Seattle. The semifinal clash takes place on Thursday, Nov. 6. Kick-off is 4 p.m. at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash. where top-seeded and 12th-ranked Western Washington (15-0-3) meets No. 4 Central Washington (8-7-3) at 7 p.m. in the nightcap. Thursday's semifinal winners square off in the GNAC championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.
 
GNAC Tourney Tidbits
This is the third-annual GNAC Tournament. SPU and Western Washington tied 1-1 through two overtime in the 2014 final before the Falcons claimed the championship with a 4-1 decision in the penalty kick tiebreaker. SPU goalkeeper Natalie Harold was the MVP. Western defeated Montana State Billings 2-0 to win the inaugural conference postseason crown in 2012. SPU lost 1-0 to Billings in the 2012 semifinal round. This year's field has three repeat teams from 2013 (SPU, WWU, Central Washington) with MSU Billings the lone new entry. GNAC Tournament tickets are available at the Starfire Stadium gate and priced at $9 for adults and $5 for students, children and senior citizens.

 

Playoff Pursuit
The Seattle Pacific women seek to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 12th straight season. The top-six teams in the West region receive Tournament invitations and SPU was not among the top-10 last week. The Falcons participated in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, winning the 2008 national championship. Last year they reached to the regional semifinal before losing 2-0 at Western Washington. SPU advanced to the Final Four three times (2005, 2007, 2008).
 
NCAA Format
The top-two teams in the West Region will host first- and second-round NCAA Division II Tournament games on Nov.13 and 15. The 48-team NCAA Division II championship field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com.
 
GNAC Honors
The GNAC All-Star Team was announced Tuesday and SPU's Isabel Farrell was honored as both the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Joining her on the first team were teammates Hannah Huesers and Laura Moore. Shayla Page was a second-team selection while Alexa Diaz and Ashley Shaw were honorable mention picks.

 

Dynamic Duo
SPU is the highest scoring team in the conference with 35 goals. Of those scores, 21 came from the prolific pair of Hannah Huesers (14) and Isabel Farrell (7), who rank first and third among GNAC scoring leaders.
 
Throw-Ins
MSU Billings was the only team to score more than one goal against SPU this season (Sept. 27) ... Chuck Sekyra recorded his 200th coaching victory at SPU on Sept. 18 with a 4-1 home win over Simon Fraser. He has a 208-33-19 record in 12 seasons.
 
Scouting the GNAC Tournament Field
Montana State Billings (11-3-2, 9-3-2 GNAC) -- The second-seeded Yellowjackets bring a season-best five-game winning streak into the GNAC Tournament. Their last loss was a 2-1 overtime decision at Western Washington on Oct. 16.  Alisa Sagdahl leads the MSUB attack with seven goals and five assists. Goalkeeper Krystal Daniels compiled eight shutouts and a 0.66 goals against average. Billings and SPU tied for second place in the GNAC standings. The Yellowjackets won this season's first meeting 2-1, scoring two second-half goals on Sept. 27 in Billings. Hannah Huesers netted SPU's lone tally in the seventh minute. The teams battled to a scoreless draw in the Oct. 9 rematch in Seattle.  The Falcons own a 15-4-1 series lead, outscoring the Yellowjackets 43-11 all-time.
 
Western Washington (15-0-3, 11-0-3) -- The 12th-ranked Vikings won their third straight GNAC regular-season title with an undefeated 11-0-3 mark. After winning last year's regular-season crown, they lost the 2013 league tournament championship to SPU on a penalty kick tiebreaker. WWU compiled a 20-2-1 record last year and advanced to the national semifinals. The Vikings surrendered just four goals this season as goalkeeper Ashley Haden has racked up 15 shutouts and a 0.22 goals against average. Catherine Miles paces the offense with seven goals. Twelfth-year coach Travis Connell, a four-year SPU men's soccer letterman (1991-95), owns WWU's all-time mark with 156 coaching wins. The Falcons lead the all-time series 18-8-5 despite not beating Western since Oct. 27, 2012. The teams tied 1-1 on Sept. 20 in Seattle during this season's first meeting and the Vikings were 1-0 victors on Oct. 23 in Bellingham on a 57th-minute goal by Lexi Klinkenberg.
 
Central Washington (8-7-3, 7-4-3 GNAC) -- The fourth-place Wildcats lost 1-0 to SPU in their last outing to stop a four-game unbeaten streak. CWU was the runner-up in the 2013 GNAC regular-season standings and then lost 2-1 to SPU in last year's conference tournament semifinals. Mackenzie Nolte, the 2014 GNAC Freshman of the Year, leads the Wildcats attack with eight goals. Goalkeeper Kayla Lipston compiled seven shutouts and a 1.06 goals against average.  Central won this year's first meeting 1-0 on Oct. 2 in Seattle on a 69th-minute goal by Viktoriya Vasina. The Falcons victory in the Nov. 1 rematch in Ellensburg came on a goal in the 63rd minute by Hannah Huesers. SPU owns a 22-5-2 advantage in the all-time series.

 

Coach Chuck  Sekyra
In his 12th season, Chuck Sekyra has guided Seattle Pacific to a remarkable 208-33-19 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.