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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 –
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
3:15 p.m. PDT (4:15 pm MDT), NNU Soccer Field, Nampa, Idaho
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 –
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
2:00 p.m. PDT (3:00 pm MDT), Yellowjacket Field, Billings, Mont.
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
Following an undefeated five-game homestand, the Seattle Pacific men's soccer squad now embarks on a four-game road trip. The third-place Falcons (4-3-5, 2-1-4 GNAC) play a pair of rematches of games that ended in draws, beginning on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 3:15 p.m. Pacific time against second-place Northwest Nazarene (6-3-3, 3-1-2). SPU compiled two wins and two ties, including a scoreless draw on Oct. 1 in Seattle, in the last four meetings since the Crusaders got their lone series victory in 2014. On Saturday, Oct. 22 the Falcons find themselves at Montana State Billings for a 2 p.m. PDT clash. The fourth-place Yellowjackets (6-4-3, 2-2-3) battled to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 29 in Seattle, halting SPU's seven-game winning streak in the series.
 
Century Mark
Ninth-year head coach Mark Collings is two victories away from the 100-win milestone. He enters the week with a 98-38-29 overall record. If he gets those victories this week, Collings will match his predecessor, Cliff McCrath, by reaching 100 wins in his 167th game with the Falcons. McCrath achieved his 100th win in 1978, his ninth season.


 
Throw-Ins
After losing the GNAC opener at currently fourth-ranked Simon Fraser on Sept. 22, the Falcons are unbeaten in the last six outings ...SPU has amassed 26 goals, a 2.16 goals-per-game clip that is the program's highest since the 2002 squad averaged 2.79 ... At 4-3-5, the Falcons have already lost two more games than last year when they had a program-best one-loss season (14-1-4) ... SPU, which led the nation with a 0.45 goals against average in 2015 while allowing only nine goals, has surrendered 20 scores this season (1.53 GAA).

 

Player of the Week
Jeffrey Collings, who scored the game-winning goal and distributed two assists in SPU's 4-2 win over Saint Martin's (Oct. 13), earned his second GNAC Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday. Collings played a role in three of the team's goals, starting with a long cross that set up Samuel Agyei's goal 1:09 before halftime to provide a 2-0 lead. Collings found the goal himself in the 66th minute with a six-yard finish of a free kick for his first collegiate goal. Four minutes later, Collings found Gabe Kellum for a diving header at the left post with a long cross from the right flank. That pushed SPU's margin to 4-0. Jeffrey is the son of head coach Mark Collings.
 
Playoff Pursuit
The SPU men are vying for their 36th NCAA Division II Tournament berth. They participated in the playoffs in each of the last five years, the longest streak since 2000. The Falcons won five national championships, in 1978, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1993.
 
2016 Preview
Six starters return from the SPU team that lost only one game (14-1-4), won its second straight GNAC championship and earned the No. 2 seed in the West Region. Four of SPU's returning starters received all-conference acclaim last year, including All-Americans Cody Lang and Davis Karaica. The 2015 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, Lang posted nine shutouts last year. The senior netminder is fronted by a defensive unit led by Karaica as a central defender and senior holding midfielder Jordan Kollars, an honorable mention All-GNAC pick. SPU was the nation's stingiest defense last season, surrendering an average of only 0.45 goals per game. Junior forwards Gabe Kellum and Mori Tsuchiya are the top returning scorers with four goals apiece in 2015. Falcons senior forward Stephen MacDonald returns after an injury-plagued season limited him to two goals and just eight games. He paced SPU with nine goals and eight assists in 2014.
 
This Week's Opponents
Northwest Nazarene (6-3-3, 3-1-2 GNAC): The Crusaders are undefeated in their last five games, including a 2-2 tied with second-ranked Simon Fraser on Oct. 6. They are led by first-year coach Joel Delass. Logan Wood paces the NNU offense with five goals while Michael Mollay has four goals and five assists. Goalkeeper Ryan Foo has two clean sheets and a 1.70 goals against average. The Falcons lead the series 14-1-6. They played to a scoreless draw in this year's first encounter, on Oct. 1 in Seattle.
 
Montana State Billings (6-4-3, 2-2-3 GNAC) -- The fourth-place Yellowjackets are averaging over two goals per game, including three-goal efforts in each of their last two outings. Julien Dragomir leads the attack with seven goals and four assists for an MSUB team that is outscoring foes by a 28-16 margin. The goalkeeping tandem of Joe Scott and Tom Lohmann have produced five shutouts and a 1.16 goals against average. SPU leads the all-time series 16-3-5 and drew 1-1 with MSUB on Sept. 29 in Seattle after winning seven straight encounters. Last year's matchup in Billings on Oct. 8 was a 3-1 Falcons victory that featured conscecutive goals 13 seconds apart in the 62nd minute by Ian Adams and Mori Tsuchiya.

 

Coach Collings
Ninth-year coach Mark Collings is the third head coach in the 49-year history of Seattle Pacific men's soccer. He has a 98-38-29 record with the Falcons, including school-record streaks of 13 consecutive victories and 15 games unbeaten established in 2014. Collings collected his third GNAC Coach of the Year award (also 2010 & 2014) after directing SPU to a 14-1-4 record in 2015 and the team's fifth straight NCAA Division II playoff berth. They won the GNAC championship with a 10-1-3 record and participated in the West Regional semifinal. SPU's lone setback marked the fewest losses in school history. Collings led the Falcons to a 16-2-2 record in 2014. They compiled a first-place record of 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.
 
2015 Review
Last year, the SPU men compiled a 14-1-4 record and competed in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season. They sustained the fewest losses ever for a program that has produced five national championships, falling only once with a 1-0 setback at Simon Fraser. All-Americans Cody Lang (GK), the 2015 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Davis Karaica (D) helped lead the nation's best defense that yielded just 0.45 goals per game. The season ended in the second round of the 2015 playoffs with a 1-1 draw against Cal State Dominguez Hills, which advanced by virtue of a 3-2 decision in the penalty kick tiebreaker.