• Complete Release (pdf)     |     • VIDEO: Ashley  Shaw

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29 –
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31 –
Carroll College at Seattle Pacific
1:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• LiveStats for both games:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc/
 
The regular-season comes to a close this week for the Seattle Pacific women's soccer team that plays two games at home in Interbay Stadium. The third-place Falcons (10-3-2, 6-3-2 GNAC) entertain Western Oregon (7-7-1, 3-6-1) on Thursday, Oct. 29 in their final league game. Kick-off is 7 p.m. for the nightcap of a doubleheader with the men, who play at 4:30 p.m. SPU defeated the Wolves in each of their last six meetings. On Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1:30 p.m. SPU closes out the regular season with a non-conference tilt against Carroll College (12-4-1). The Saints are NAIA competitors and the Cascade Collegiate Conference champions. The Falcons have already secured a spot in the GNAC Tournament and are 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
Before Saturday's game, a ceremony will be conducted to honor SPU's six seniors. Isabel Farrell, Monica Gomez, Taylor Hauck, Laura Moore, Shayla Page and Ashley Shaw will play their final home games at Interbay Stadium. That six-player class helped the Falcons compile a 52-18-8 record during their collegiate careers (26-4-4 at Interbay), win back-to-back GNAC Tournaments and earn three NCAA playoff berths.
 


GNAC Tourney
The four-team field is nearly set for next week's 2015 GNAC Tournament at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, B.C. Third-seeded Seattle Pacific clashes with No. 2 Concordia in a semifinal matchup on Nov. 5. Top seed Western Washington will meet Montana State Billings, Central Washington or Simon Fraser in the other semifinal. The championship game is set for Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. The winner gets the league's automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs. SPU is the two-time defending GNAC Tournament champion after tying Western Washington and winning the penalty kick tiebreaker in both 2013 and 2014.

 

Fantastic Forward
SPU junior forward Hannah Huesers leads the GNAC and ranks 26th nationally with 12 goals. She has been hot recently, amassing eight goals during the last seven games. Huesers topped all GNAC scorers last season with 15 goals. She ranks fourth among all-time SPU scorers with 33 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' 0.67 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 on Oct. 10.
 
Last Week
The Falcons rallied to forge a 1-1 road draw at Central Washington (Oct. 22) on a 47th-minute goal from Hannah Huesers. SPU then exploded for four second-half goals, two of them by Maddie Krauss, for a 4-0 home victory over Saint Martin's (Oct. 24).
 
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
Western Oregon (7-7-1, 3-6-1 GNAC) -- The Wolves are in seventh place in the GNAC standings, but just three points out of fifth. WOU is outscoring opponents 23-17 paced by the six goals of Makana Pundyke. Goalkeepers Lindsey Mabinuori and Nicole Tejada combined for four shutouts and a 1.11 goals against average. SPU owns a 25-2-1 series lead and won the last six encounters against the Wolves. The Falcons were 3-1 victors on Oct. 10 in Monmouth behind a Hannah Huesers hat trick.
 
Carroll College (12-4-1, 9-1-1 CCC): The Saints, from Helena, Mont., are NAIA members. They captured the Cascade Collegiate Conference championship on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Oregon Tech. Carroll outscored opponents 23-8 led by the seven goals and three assists of Lexi Pyette. Goalkeeper Jamie Carter compiled nine shutouts and a 0.43 goals against average. Saturday marks the second all-time meetings between SPU and the Saints. The Falcons won the first encounter 7-1 on Oct. 8, 2002 in Seattle.
 
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 10-3-3 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.

 

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.
 
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.