• VIDEO: Rodney  Greiling

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 –
Saint Martin's at (#7) Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• LiveStats for all games:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/
 
Having already secured a share of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer championship, Seattle Pacific sets out Saturday to prevent anybody else from claiming a piece of that title. The seventh-ranked Falcons (13-1-3, 9-1-3 GNAC) host Saint Martin's on Nov. 7 in the final regular-season game for both teams. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium where the Falcons are undefeated this year (6-0-2). SPU won a hard-fought 1-0 decision over the Saints on Sept. 19 in Lacey, Wash. The Falcons are undefeated in their last eight outings with seven wins and one tie.
 
Title Talk
The defending champion Falcons have a 9-1-3 league ledger and a 30-point total that provides a three-point cushion over second-place Simon Fraser with one game left to play. They can clinch this year's GNAC title outright with a win or draw on Saturday. Additionally, in the event of an SPU defeat, a loss or tie by Simon Fraser at home Saturday versus Western Washington would give the Falcons their second straight outright league championship. The SPU men won their first outright GNAC men's soccer crown in 2014 with a 12-1-1 mark. They shared the 2006 league championship with Seattle University.
 
Senior Salute
Prior to Saturday's game, a ceremony will be conducted to honor SPU's seven seniors. Ian Adams, Shamele Battan, Rodney Greiling, Garrett Jones, Matt Merchant, Danny Olivas and Bryson Pavel will make their final regular-season home appearances at Interbay Stadium. That seven-player class helped the Falcons compile a 52-10-13 record during their collegiate careers (27-4-6 at Interbay) and earn NCAA Tournament berths every season.
 


Get Your Tickets
Tickets for Saturday's game 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.
 
Playoff Pursuit
The 35-team championship field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. Pacific Time via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com. The Falcons are vying for their fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament berth and their 35th overall. They advanced to the West Regional championship game last fall. SPU won five national championships, in 1978, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1993.
 
NCAA Format
The top-two teams from the West Region will host the opening rounds of the NCAA Division II Tournament and also get first-round byes. Cal State Dominguez Hills and Seattle Pacific were ranked one-two in last week's regional rankings followed by Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State L.A., Cal State Stanislaus and Fresno Pacific. Last year, the Falcons beat Northwest Nazarene 2-1 in a second-round matchup in Seattle before falling 1-0 in overtime against Cal State L.A. in the West Region championship game.
 
Ranking Report
The Falcons climbed two spots, to No. 7, 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.

 

Dynamic Defense
SPU has allowed just eight goals in 17 games this season.  Junior goalkeeper Cody Lang compiled nine clean sheets and a 0.47 goals against average that leads the GNAC and ranks No. 5 nationally. The Falcons defense registered 10 shutouts, limiting their 17 opponents to 166 shots overall and just 61 attempts directly on goal, an average of 3.6 per game.
 
Cody's Clean Sheets
Cody Lang blanked nine opponents this year, increasing his career total to 27 shutouts. That figure ranks him for fourth among SPU career leaders. He needs five 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.
 
Scouting Saint Martin's (6-11-1, 4-9-0 GNAC)
The Saints won their last three games, beating GNAC opponents Montana State Billings (2-0) and U-Mary (3-2) before trouncing non-league foe Trinity Lutheran 9-0 on Nov. 2. The 13 goals they amassed during those three games equal the total from the previous 15 games combined. Kyle Witzel leads the SMU attack with eighth of the team's 26 goals. Nick Rosato has a 2.38 goals against average and leads all GNAC goalkeepers with 86 saves. SPU won this season's first meting 1-0 on Sept. 19 in Lacey, Wash. on a sixth-minute penalty kick from Matt Merchant. The Falcons own a 13-3-1 advantage in the all-time series.
 
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.
 
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 93-35-23 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 posted 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 straight season. They beat 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.