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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 –
(#11) Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
3:30 p.m. PDT (4:30 pm MDT), NNU Soccer Field, Nampa, Idaho
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 –
(#11) Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
3:15 p.m. PDT, SMU Soccer Field, Lacey, Wash.
 
• LiveStats for both games:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
The 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (4-0-1, 0-0-1 GNAC) embarks on its first league road trip of the season with stops in Idaho and Lacey, Washington this week. The Falcons visit Nampa on Thursday, Sept. 24 to meet Northwest Nazarene (3-3-0, 0-1-0) at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Mountain). SPU was victorious in the last 27 encounters with the Crusaders, including both games last year. On Saturday, Sept. 26 the Falcons visit Saint Martin's (1-3-0, 0-0-0) for a 3:15 p.m. PDT game. SPU won all 16 previous meetings against the Saints. After this week, the Falcons begin a three-game homestand.
 
GNAC Title Hunt
The Falcons aim to reclaim the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season championship after having a three-year streak halted with Western Washington wins in 2012, 2013 and 2014. They are projected second in 2015 by a preseason coaches' poll, but got two first-place votes. WWU was picked first, garnering six of the remaining seven first-place tallies. SPU won eight of the 14 titles since the GNAC began sponsoring women's soccer in 2001. The Falcons won the last two conference tournament titles.
 
Ranking Report
The SPU women dropped to No. 11 in this week's national coaches rankings after polling at No. 7 last week. They did not receive any votes in the preseason poll.


 
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).
 
Throw-Ins
Four players account for all of the Falcons points, Laura Moore (3 goals/2 assists), Hannah Huesers (3/1), Brooke Lancaster (1/0) and Isabel Farrell (0/2) ... SPU is undefeated through its opening five games for the first time since the 2010 squad reeled off an eight-game streak with seven wins and a tie.
 
Last Week
Sophomore goalkeeper Molly Stinson compiled a career-high 10 saves to preserve a 0-0 draw with Simon Fraser in Saturday's league opener at Interbay Stadium.
 
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
Northwest Nazarene (3-3-0, 0-1-0 GNAC) -- The Crusaders lost their GNAC opener 2-0 at Montana State Billings on Saturday. The have outscored opponents 12-8 paced by the four goals of Nicole Nsa. Goalkeeper Danielle Ortiz has three shutouts and a 1.31 goals against average. The Crusaders trail the all-time series with SPU by a 27-1 margin, their lone win coming in 2001 during the inaugural encounter. The Falcons swept both games last season by a combined 10-2 margin. SPU won 4-1 on Sept. 25 in Nampa, Idaho and 6-1 on Oct. 11 in Seattle behind a Laura Moore hat trick.
 
Saint Martin's (1-3-0, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Saints stopped a three-game slide with a 4-0 home win over Trinity Lutheran Sept. 14. SMU opens its GNAC slate on Thursday at Western Washington. Abby McFaul leads the Saints attack with three goals. The goalkeeping tandem of Sunny De Boer and Ali Kohler combined for 22 saves and a 1.95 goals against average. SPU won all 16 previous meetings with the Saints, including both 2014 encounters. The Falcons won 2-1 on Oct. 4 in Seattle and 3-1 on Oct. 16 in Lacey. Hannah Huesers netted one goal in the first meeting and two in the second.

 

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 a 4-0-1 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' start a three-game homestand by hosting fifth-ranked Western Washington on Oct. 1 and Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 3.