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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 –
(#19) Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
12:00 p.m. PDT (1:00 p.m. MDT), Yellowjacket Field, Billings, Mont.
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 –
(#19) Seattle Pacific at (#2) Western Washington
7:00 p.m. PDT, Harrington Field, Bellingham, Wash.
•Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
An already difficult four-game road stretch gets even tougher for 19th-ranked Seattle Pacific with two women's soccer games against quality opponents this week. The Falcons (8-2-1, 4-2-1 GNAC) visit Montana State Billings (5-4-2, 3-3-1) on Thursday, Oct. 15 at noon Pacific Time (1 p.m. MDT). SPU lost in two of its last three visits to Yellowjacket Field. On Saturday, Oct. 17 the second-place Falcons invade Bellingham to clash with first-place and No. 2-ranked Western Washington (11-2-0, 6-0-0). Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Harrington Field. The Vikings won their last nine games and SPU brings a three-game winning streak into the clash of the 2014 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament champions (SPU) and the regular-season winner (WWU). The Falcons have not defeated Western since 2012, but drew three ties and prevailed in two shootouts during that span.
 
Ranking Report
The SPU women moved to 19th in this week's national coaches rankings after polling at No. 18 last week. This is their sixth consecutive week being ranked.
 
Player of the Week
Hannah Huesers, whose four-goal output in two SPU victories included a hat trick, was named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Huesers assisted on the game-winning goal and netted the team's third tally in a 3-1 home win over then first-place Concordia (Oct. 8). At Western Oregon (Oct. 10) she accounted for all three SPU scores, on only four shots, in another 3-1 triumph. The junior forward increased her league-leading total to 10 goals. She topped all GNAC scorers last season with 15 goals. Huesers continued her climb up the school's scoring chart. She has 31 career goals and is tied in fourth-place with Jocelyn Charette (2007-09). Huesers still has some work to do during the rest of this season and next to displace the top-three: Sarah Martinez (2004-07) with 49 goals, Shannon Lovejoy (2002-05) with 42 and Megan Lindsay (2009-12) with 41.
 


Playoff Pursuit
Seattle Pacific seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 13th straight year. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship. Last season they suffered a 2-1 double-overtime, first-round loss to Cal State Stanislaus in Bellingham, Wash. SPU advanced to the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).
 
2015 Preview
Seven starters return from the 2014 GNAC Tournament champions, including the league's Player of the Year and its leading scorer. Senior midfielder Isabel Farrell took home the league's top individual honor last year along with the Newcomer of the Year award, after transferring from Washington. She compiled eight goals and seven assists. Junior forward Hannah Huesers topped all GNAC scorers with 15 goals in 2014 and five of those were game-winning strikes. Those two were joined on the first-team all-conference squad by senior midfielder Laura Moore, who tallied four goals and seven assists for the Falcons. Returning players accounted for 32 goals last season, helping SPU outscore opponents by a 38-16 margin. The stingy SPU defense features second-team All-GNAC selection Shayla Page, a senior. Sophomore goalkeeper Molly Stinson took over the starting job for the final five games in 2014 and forged two shutouts and a fine 0.48 goals against average. Adding to the talent base are six veterans that each drew at least one start last year along with eight incoming freshman and Northern Arizona transfer Maddie Sjothun.
 
This Week's Opponents
Montana State Billings (5-4-2, 3-3-1 GNAC) -- After a hot 4-1-1 start, the Yellowjackets have just one win in their last five outings. MSUB is outscoring opponents by a 15-12 margin led by the five goals and four assists of Jessica Spang. Goalkeeper Chloe Hopps has two shutouts and a 1.05 goals against average. The teams split three games last season with Billings getting a 2-1 home win on Sept. 27, a scoreless draw on Oct. 9 in Seattle and a 1-0 SPU victory on Nov. 6 in the GNAC Tournament semifinals. Isabel Farrell got the game-winning goal on a 34th-minute free kick. The Falcons own a 16-4-1 series lead, outscoring the Yellowjackets 44-11 all-time.
 
Western Washington (11-1-0, 6-0-0) -- The second-ranked Vikings won their third straight GNAC regular-season title in 2014 with an undefeated 11-0-3 mark. They lost to SPU in each of last two GNAC Tournaments, both on shootouts. This year's Vikings are outscoring opponents 28-5, sparked by six goals apiece from Catherine Miles and Elise Aylward. Goalkeeper Ashley Haden compiled six shutouts and a 0.38 goals against average. Travis Connell, a four-year SPU men's soccer letterman (1991-95), is in his 13th year and owns WWU's all-time mark with 168 coaching wins. The Falcons lead the all-time series 18-9-6 despite not beating Western since Oct. 27, 2012, covering a span of eight games during which WWU went 5-0-3. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in the 2014 GNAC championship game before the Falcons were declared winners by winning the penalty-kick tiebreaker 5-4. Western won this year's first meeting 1-0 on Oct. 23 in Seattle on a goal in the 49th minute by Caitlyn Jobanek.

 

Coach Arby Busey
Arby Busey begins his 10th year on the Seattle Pacific staff and his first as the interim head coach. He served the previous nine seasons as an assistant to Chuck Sekyra, who resigned in January after compiling a 209-34-20 record in 12 seasons. Busey has an 8-2-1 record as the third coach in the 15-year history of the program. That list includes the two-year stint of inaugural coach Bobby Bruch, who posted a 21-14-3 mark from 2001-02. From his assistant post since 2006, Busey helped the Falcons to an impressive 95-30-12 record and playoff appearances each season. SPU won the 2008 NCAA Division II championship and reached the 2007 national semifinals during his tenure. Previously, Busey served as the head women's soccer coach at the University of Idaho from 2002-04 after two years as an assistant. He then returned to his Alma Mater as an assistant from 2005-06. He played at Villanova and graduated in 1993. Busey's first coaching job was an assistant post at Mercer Island (Wash.) High School from 1994-98. He has worked as an elite-level club coach with the Olympic Development Program, Northwest Nationals and Crossfire Premier.
 
2014 Review
The Falcons fashioned a 12-5-3 overall record in 2014 and tied for second in the GNAC with a 9-3-2 mark. They captured their second straight GNAC Tournament championship with a tiebreaker triumph over regular-season winner Western Washington after the teams tied 1-1. SPU made its 12th consecutive NCAA playoff appearance, but fell 2-1 in double overtime to Cal State Stanislaus in the opening round. Four starters departed from that squad, including midfielders Demi Waitley and Alexa Diaz along with defender Arden Matro. Goalkeeper Alexa Hughes started the first 15 games in 2014 before being replaced by Molly Stinson. SPU outscored foes 38-16 led by the 15 goals of GNAC leader Hannah Huesers and eight from league MVP Isabel Farrell.
 
Dynamic Duo
SPU was the highest scoring team in the conference with 38 goals during the 2014 season. Of those scores, 23 came from the prolific pair of Hannah Huesers (15) and Isabel Farrell (8), who ranked first and second among GNAC scoring leaders. Farrell was the 2014 GNAC Player of the Year and Huesers was a first-team all-league honoree.
 
Next Week
The Falcons complete a four-game road trip with an Oct. 22 visit to Central Washington before returing home to host Saint Martin's on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.