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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 –
(#23) Seattle Pacific at Notre Dame de Namur
11:00 a.m. PDT, Koret Field, Belmont, Calif.
• LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ndnu/
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 –
(#23) Seattle Pacific at Cal State East Bay
4:30 p.m., Pioneer Stadium, Hayward, Calif.
• LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/csueastbay/wsoc/
 
The 23rd-ranked Seattle Pacific women's soccer team (2-0-0) embarks on its first road trip of the season with a two-game trip to the Bay Area. The Falcons play Notre Dame de Namur (0-2) in Belmont, Calif. on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. SPU won the last eight meetings versus the Argonauts, including a 5-0 victory last season in Seattle. On Saturday, Sept. 12 the Falcons visit Hayward to clash with Cal State East Bay (1-2). This is just the second meeting between the Pioneers and SPU, which won the first encounter 1-0 in 2009.
 
Ranking Report
SPU jumped into the national coaches rankings in the No. 23 position this week after being unranked and not receiving any votes in the preseason poll.
 
Player of the Week
SPU senior Shayla Page, who anchored a unit that limited foes to 14 total shots, was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week. Only five of the opposing attempts were directly on goal. The Falcons defeated Humboldt State 2-0 on Sept. 3, holding the Lumberjacks to seven shots. They also surrendered seven shots versus Chico State, just two on goal, in a 1-0 win on Sept. 5. Page pushed forward to collect three shots on set pieces in that contest, including a 30th-minute header that forced the Wildcats goalkeeper to make a tremendous save. Page is a product of Eastlake High School in Redmond, Wash.


 
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. SPU advanced to the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).
 
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.
 
Throw-In
Arby Busey won his first game as the SPU interim coach, 2-0 versus Humboldt State on Sept. 3. The Falcons have never lost in a coaches' debut, winning for Chuck Sekyra (2003-14) and tying for Bobby Bruch (2001-02) in the program's inaugural game.

 

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.
 
This Week's Opponents
Notre Dame de Namur (0-2-0) -- The Argonauts, members of the PacWest Conference, are still seeking their first win after losses to Cal State Monterey Bay (4-2) and Cal State East Bay (3-0). Goalkeeper Abigail Cebrero amassed 12 saves in 135 minutes of action. After losing the first meeting 1-0 in overtime at NDNU during its inaugural season of 2001, SPU won the last eight series encounters against the Argos by a combined 26-2 score. The Falcons were 5-0 victors last season in Seattle fueled by two goals from Hannah Huesers.
 
Cal State East Bay (1-2-0) -- After opening the season with 2-0 losses to Fresno Pacific and Azusa Pacific, the Pioneers defeated Notre Dame de Namur 3-0 on Monday. Megan Ravenscroft, Janis Gamboa and Kianna Lamont scored for CSUEB. Saturday marks the second all-time meeting between SPU and East Bay. The teams met in 2009 with the Falcons winning 1-0 on a goal that was assisted by current SPU assistant Amanda (Johnson) Axelson.
 
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 2-0-0 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.
 
Next Week
Conference play commences at home when the Falcons host Simon Fraser on Sept. 19. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.