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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 –
(#9) Seattle Pacific at Concordia
4:30 p.m., Tuominen Yard, Portland, Ore.
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 –
(#9) Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
2:00 p.m. PDT (3:00 pm MDT), NNU Soccer Field, Nampa, Idaho
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
It's Payback Week Part II. The ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific men's soccer team closes out its regular-season road slate against two opponents that induced draws in this season's first meetings. The first-place Falcons (10-1-2, 6-1-2 GNAC) travel to Portland, Ore. to play first-year Great Northwest Athletic Conference member Concordia (5-3-4, 3-2-4) on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. The fifth-place Cavaliers battled to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 26 in Seattle. On Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time (3 p.m. MDT), the Falcons visit Nampa, Idaho to clash with third-place Northwest Nazarene (9-4-1, 5-3-1). This year's first meeting resulted in a scoreless tie. The Falcons' lone loss this season was a 1-0 decision on Oct. 3 at Simon Fraser and they avenged that result last week in Seattle (Oct. 15) with a 3-2 victory.
 
Ranking Report
The Falcons climbed three spots, to No. 9, in this week's national rankings. They were listed No. 8 in the preseason poll and as high as No. 3, on Sept. 22. The SPU men polled as high as second in 2014. Their last No. 1 ranking came Sept. 20, 1994.
 
Throw-Ins
After scoring just 10 goals in its opening nine games (1.1 per game), SPU erupted for 14 in its last four outings (3.5 gpg) ... Gabe Kellum compiled two goals and five assists during that same span ... Mori Tsuchiya, the Oct. 12 GNAC Player of the Week, netted a goal in three of the last four games.


 
Last Week
Jordan Kollars put a corner kick in at 5:40 and Gabe Kellum scored at 9:45, starting SPU on its way to a 3-2 home win over Simon Fraser (Oct. 15). Danny Olivas netted the game-winner on a 51st-minute penalty kick. The Falcons opened an even quicker two-goal lead versus Western Washington (Oct. 17) as Mori Tsuchiya (1:34) and Chaz Jenkins (3:25) ignited a 4-0 home victory. Kellum and Matt Merchant also scored.
 
Dynamic Defense
SPU has allowed just six goals in 13 games this season.  Junior goalkeeper Cody Lang compiled seven shutouts and a 0.45 goals against average that leads the GNAC and ranks No. 4 nationally. The Falcons defense registered eight shutouts, limiting their 13 opponents to 130 shots overall and just 44 attempts directly on goal.
 
Cody's Clean Sheets
Cody Lang blanked seven opponents this year, increasing his career total to 25 shutouts. That figure ranks him for fourth among SPU career leaders. He needs seven more shutouts to tie for the No. 3 spot with Jeff Storrs (32 from 1985-88). The school record is a lofty total of 46 compiled by former Premier League keeper Marcus Hahnemann, who minded the Falcons nets from 1990-93.
 
Spectacular Start
SPU started the season 6-0-2, going deeper into the campaign without a loss than all but three previous SPU squads. The school record is 15 games without a loss to start the season, established last year (14-0-1 in 2014).
 
Speedy Scores
The Falcons tied a 26-year-old school record for the shortest time between goals when Ian Adams and Mori Tsuchiya scored 0:13 apart in a 3-1 win at Montana State Billings on Oct. 8. They matched the 13-second feat of former Falcons Doug Morrill and Vasco Rubio, who netted swift successive scores during a win over Jacksonville on Sept. 1, 1989 in Las Vegas. That mark tied for 10th on the list of quickest back-to-back goals among NCAA Division II men's teams.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Concordia (5-3-4, 3-2-4 GNAC): The Cavaliers, from Portland, Oregon, are first-year members of the GNAC. They had a seven-game unbeaten streak (3-0-4) snapped with a 3-2 loss at Montana State Billings in their last outing. Matt Paine collected eight goals and six assists to pace the CU offense that outscored opponents 25-20. Paine ranks second among GNAC players with 22 points. The Cavaliers drew a 1-1 tie on Oct. 26 in Seattle during their first ever meeting with SPU. The Falcons trailed 1-0 before Bryson Pavel netted he equalizer in the 57th minute.
 
Northwest Nazarene (9-4-1, 5-3-1 GNAC): The Crusaders were GNAC runners-up and made their NCAA playoff debut in 2014 after recording a school-record 14 wins. They won 3-2 at U-Mary on Saturday to halt a three-game losing streak. NNU has outscored foes 19-11 led by four goals apiece from Abraham Placito and Alex Mitrovic. Julio Castillo distributed a league-leading 10 assists. Goalkeeper Ryan Foo has six shutouts and a 0.76 goals against average. The Crusaders dealt Seattle Pacific its lone 2014 league loss, a 1-0 decision on Oct. 30 in Nampa. The Falcons won last season's first meeting 1-0 in Seattle. SPU won the NCAA West Region semifinal matchup 2-1 on goals by Jordan Kollars and Danny Olivas. The Falcons lead the series 13-1-5. They played to a scoreless draw in this year's first encounter, on Sept. 24 in Seattle.

 

Coach Collings
Eighth-year coach Mark Collings is the third head coach in the 48-year history of Seattle Pacific men's soccer. He has a 90-35-22 record with the Falcons, including school-record streaks of 13 consecutive victories and 15 games unbeaten established in 2014. Collings collected his second GNAC Co-Coach of the Year award (also 2010) after directing SPU to a 16-2-2 record in 2014 and the team's fourth straight NCAA Division II playoff berth. They won the GNAC championship with a 12-1-1 record and advanced to the West Region championship game. The Falcons were 12-4-3 in 2013 with a second-place league mark of 10-1-3. In 2012, Collings coached SPU to a 11-3-5 record and in 2011 a 14-4-2 record was capped by the first playoff appearance in five years. He led SPU to a 10-6-2 mark in 2010 after records of 11-5-3 in 2009 and 6-10-3 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.
 
SPU Visits Spain
The Seattle Pacific men had the unique opportunity to travel to Spain from August 6-16 and stay in Madrid where they visited the Real Madrid training complex and Bernabéu Stadium. The Falcons played four games, winning two of them. Ian Adams compiled three goals and an assist during the trip, Stephen MacDonald tallied two goals and an assist and Keenan dePinna scored twice. They also visited museums and toured the historic Spanish cities of Segovia and Toledo.
 
2014 Review
The SPU men registered a 16-2-2 overall record in 2014, won the GNAC championship with a 12-1-1 mark and participated in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. They defeated Northwest Nazarene 2-1 in the playoffs before falling 1-0 in overtime against Cal State L.A. in the West Regional final. The Falcons forged a 13-game winning streak and 15-game unbeaten streak, both school records. Two seniors departed, both of them starters: defender Evan Robicheau and forward Sean Russell. SPU outscored foes 37-10 led by Stephen MacDonald's 9-goal, 8-assist performance.
 
Record Runs
The Falcons established two new, school-record stretches last season with a 13-game winning streak (previous record 10) and a 15-game unbeaten streak (13) in 2014.
 
Next Week
The Falcons return home for their final three regular-season games, two of them next week. They host U-Mary on Oct. 29 at 4:30 p.m. On Oct. 31, second-place Montana State Billings invades Interbay Stadium for a 4 p.m. clash.