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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 –
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
3:00 p.m. PDT, CWU Soccer Field, Ellensburg, Wash.
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 –
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
• LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc/
 
A four-game road trip comes to an end this week and a season-closing homestand begins for Seattle Pacific. The third-place Falcons (9-3-1, 5-3-1 GNAC) travel to Ellensburg for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference clash with Central Washington (5-8-0, 3-5-0) on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. That is the only encounter between these rivals, who have met twice every season since the SPU program was formed in 2001. With the addition of a ninth team, the GNAC is not implementing a double round-robin schedule and the Falcons play four league foes just once (Concordia, MSU Billings, Simon Fraser). SPU completes its regular-season slate with three home games, beginning on Saturday, Oct. 24 against Saint Martin's (1-11-0, 0-8-0). Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium where the Falcons have a 4-1-1 record this year. SPU won all 17 previous meetings versus the Saints.
 
Ticket Talk
Tickets for SPU soccer games can be purchased at Interbay Stadium (3027 17th Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to kickoff. All seats are general admission, priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. SPU students and staff are admitted free with i.d.
 
Ranking Report
The SPU women dropped out of the national coaches rankings after six weeks. They polled at No. 19 last week and did not receive any votes in the preseason poll.


 

Throw-Ins
Sophomore Mickayla Mury had a four-game assist streak stopped Saturday at Western Washington. She set up the game-winning goal in three straight contests prior to the setback in Bellingham ... Four of senior Laura Moore's five goals were game-winners.

Fantastic Forward
SPU junior forward Hannah Huesers leads the GNAC with 11 goals this season. She has been on a tear recently, amassing seven goals during the last five games. Huesers topped all GNAC scorers last season with 15 goals. She ranks fourth among all-time SPU scorers with 32 career goals. 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. Huesers' 0.68 goals per game is the top mark in SPU history, a figure that currently tops the standard of 0.57 established by Sarah Martinez (2004-07). Huesers has registered seven multi-goal performances during her career, including a hat trick at Western Oregon Oct. 10.

 

Last Week
The Falcons split a pair of road games. They notched a 1-0 win at Montana State Billings (Oct. 15) on a goal by Laura Moore in the 50th minute. Goalkeeper Molly Stinson picked up her fifth shutout. SPU then lost 3-1 at second-ranked Western Washington (Oct. 17), giving up multiple goals for just the second time this season. Hannah Huesers scored for the Falcons in the 80th minute, capping a 30-yard dribbling run with a brilliant 20-yard blast into the upper left corner.
 
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).
 
This Week's Opponents
Central Washington (5-8-0, 3-5-0 GNAC) -- The Wildcats won two of their last three games, the lone loss a 1-0 setback versus No. 2 Western Washington. Whitney Lowe and Cassie Ripley lead CWU with four goals apiece while Mackenzie Nolte tops the team with six assists. Goalkeeper Amanda White has a 1.67 goals against average. The teams split last year with Central winning 1-0 on Oct. 2 in Seattle and SPU getting a 1-0 decision on Nov. 1 in Ellensburg. The Falcons lead the all-time series 22-5-2.
 
Saint Martin's (1-11-0, 0-8-0 GNAC) -- The Saints lost their last eight games and were scoreless in the last four. Abby McFaul leads the SMU attack with three goals and three assists. SPU won all 17 previous meetings with the Saints, but it took a miraculous finish to emerge victorious is this year's first encounter. The Saints scored in the 35th minute and held that lead until SPU's Hannah Huesers scored with seven seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Laura Moore netted a golden goal 1:15 into the extra session to clinch the victory.
 
Coach Arby Busey
Arby Busey is in 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 a 9-3-1 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 conclude the regular-season schedule with a pair of home games. They entertain Western Oregon to cap GNAC play on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. The Interbay Stadium home finalé is a non-conference tilt against Carroll College on Oct. 31 at 1:30 p.m.