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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 –
(#1) Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 –
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific (Senior Day)
1:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• LiveStats for both games:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc/
 
The home slate comes to a close this week for the Seattle Pacific women's soccer team with two significant games at Interbay Stadium. The third-place Falcons (8-2-3, 5-1-2 GNAC) host top-ranked Western Washington (13-0-1, 8-0-0) on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. The Vikings bring a 13-game winning streak to Seattle along with a 46-game unbeaten skein versus Great Northwest Athletic Conference foes. On Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. SPU conducts its last home game, versus Montana State Billings (3-8-2, 3-4-1). The Falcons won the last three meetings with the Yellowjackets, including a 1-0 win last week in Billings.
 
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.


 
Falcon Thursdays
Fans are encouraged to wear SPU gear to all games, but especially on Falcon Thursdays. Every Thursday throughout the academic year, students, faculty and staff on campus will be showing their maroon colors and wearing SPU gear to celebrate Falcon Thursdays.
 
Senior Salute
Before Saturday's game, a ceremony will be conducted to honor SPU's six seniors. Haley Ayers, Kelly Gould, Hannah Huesers, Emma Holm, Maddie Krauss and Hannah Lemm will play their final home games at Interbay Stadium. That six-player class helped the Falcons compile a 49-18-9 record during their collegiate careers (23-5-5 at Interbay), win back-to-back GNAC Tournaments and earn three NCAA playoff berths.

 

Fantastic Forward
Senior forward Hannah Huesers tops the GNAC with seven goals. She was the 2015 conference and West Region Player of the Year and led the league in scoring in both 2015 (14 goals) and 2014 (15). She is tied for second (Shannon Lovejoy) among the school's career scoring leaders with 42 goals, seven shy of the standard of 49 established by Sarah Martinez (2004-07). Huesers is tied for third among all-time Falcons with 13 career game-winning goals, a list topped by the 21 game-winners of Martinez.
 
Throw-Ins
The Falcons have compiled four shutouts and a 0.47 goals against average in their eight GNAC games … They lost just once in their last 10 outings ... The SPU defense allowed more than one goal just once this season, in a 3-2 win over Cal State East Bay on Sept. 12 ... Sixteen different Falcons have picked up at least one point with a goal and/or assist and six separate players have netted a game-winning goal.
 
Last Week
Haley Ayers' first goal as a Falcon, in the 78th minute at Billings (Oct. 13), lifted the team to a 1-0 win over Montana State. SPU then blanked Simon Fraser 3-0 at home (Oct. 15) behind a goal and assist from Brooke Lancaster. Maddie Krauss had two assists while Hannah Huesers and Julia DeVere netted goals.

 

Player of the Week
Molly Stinson, who produced shutouts in two victories, was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time on Monday. The junior goalkeeper stopped the only two shots directly on goal in a 1-0 decision at Montana State Billings (Oct. 13). She kept Simon Fraser at bay with seven saves against a 19-shot barrage (Oct. 15). Stinson has not yielded a goal during her last 222 minutes between the posts.
 
2016 Preview
Seven starters return from the 2015 NCAA Tournament team, including players that accounted for 23 goals for SPU, which outscored opponents 35-17. Heading the list of returnees is senior forward Hannah Huesers, the 2015 West Region Player of the Year. She netted 14 goals to claim the GNAC scoring title for the second time. Senior midfielder Emma Holm was an honorable mention All-GNAC honoree in 2015. The defense is backed by junior goalkeeper Molly Stinson who compiled seven clean sheets and an outstanding 0.81 goals against average. Adding to the talent base are six veterans that each drew at least one start last year, along with six incoming freshmen.
 
This Week's Opponents
Western Washington (13-0-1, 8-0-0 GNAC) -- The top-ranked Vikings won 13 consecutive games after tying 0-0 at Sonoma State in their season opener. They won the last four GNAC regular-season titles and are undefeated (34-0-4) in the last 38 league regular-season contests. WWU is outscoring opponents 34-4, paced by six goals from Caitlyn Jobanek. Goalkeeper Ashley Homer has nine shutouts and a 0.22 goals against average. Travis Connell, a four-year SPU men's soccer letterman (1991-95), is in his 14th year and owns WWU's all-time mark with 191 coaching wins. The Falcons lead the all-time series 18-12-6 despite not beating Western since Oct. 27, 2012, covering a span of 11 games during which WWU went 8-0-3. The Vikings won all four meetings last year against SPU, which lost only one other game. Western was a 1-0 victor in the last meeting, on Nov. 14, 2015, in the NCAA West Region semifinals on an 86th-minute goal from Catherine Miles.
 
Montana State Billings (3-8-2, 3-4-1 GNAC) -- The Yellowjackets lost four of their last five games, including a 1-0 home setback on Oct. 13 against SPU on a 78th-minute goal from Haley Ayers. Dana Lubieniecki paces the MSUB attack with five goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Lili Delgadillo has one shutout and a 1.63 goals against average. The Falcons own an 18-4-1 series lead, outscoring the Yellowjackets 46-11 all-time.
 
Coach Busey
Arby Busey is in his 11th year on the Seattle Pacific staff and his second as head coach. In 2015, he directed the Falcons to a 14-5-2 record, third-place GNAC finish (7-3-2) and GNAC Tournament finals berth. SPU advanced to the West Regional semifinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Busey has a 22-7-5 record as the third coach in the 16-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, and the 12-year run of Chuck Sekyra who was 209-34-20 from 2003-2014. From his assistant post from 2006-14, 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. He is a 1993 graduate of Villanova and was the Idaho head coach from 2002-04.
 
Playoff Pursuit
Seattle Pacific seeks to return to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th straight year. The current run of 13 consecutive appearances is tied for the longest active playoff streak among Division II women's soccer teams. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship. Last season they reached the West Region semifinal.
 
2015 Review
The Falcons fashioned a 14-5-2 overall record in 2015 and finished third in the conference standings with a 7-3-2 mark. They advanced to the GNAC Tournament championship game for the third straight season before losing 3-1 to Western Washington. The SPU women participated in the postseason for the 13th straight season. They defeated UC San Diego 2-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 1-0 at WWU. A trio of graduated seniors were All-West Region honorees, Laura Moore, Shayla Page and Isabel Farrell, the 2014 GNAC Player of the Year. Junior forward Hannah Huesers led the league with 14 goals en route to 2015 GNAC Player of the Year acclaim.