• Complete Release (pdf)   |   • VIDEO: Samuel  Agyei

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 –
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 –
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• LiveStats for both games:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/
 
A much-needed five-game homestand starts this week for the reeling Seattle Pacific men's soccer squad. In their first three-game winless stretch since 2012, the fourth-place Falcons (2-3-2, 0-1-1 GNAC) host second-place Montana State Billings (5-2-1, 1-0-1) on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. in Interbay Stadium. SPU won the last seven meetings versus the Yellowjackets. Both teams played to 3-3 draws on Saturday, the Falcons at Western Washington and MSUB at Concordia. On Saturday, Oct. 1 Northwest Nazarene (3-3-1, 0-1-0) visits Seattle for a 7 p.m. game. SPU posted two wins and a tie in the last three meetings since the Crusaders got their lone series victory in 2014.
 
Ticket Talk
Tickets for SPU soccer games can be purchased at Interbay Stadium (3027 17th Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to kickoff. All seats are general admission, priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. SPU students and staff are admitted free with i.d. Discounted group rates can be arranged by contacting the SPU Athletics Ticket Office in advance at:  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.
 


Last Week
Four players each scored a single goal as the Falcons drew a loss and tie on the road. They suffered a 3-1 setback at sixth-ranked Simon Fraser (Sept. 22), getting a penalty kick from game Gabe Kellum in the 75th minute to move within 2-1. SPU drew 3-3 at Western Washington (Sept. 24) when Ryan Higgins got the equalizer with 6:08 left in regulation. Mori Tsuchiya and Samuel Agyei also scored for the Falcons.
 
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.
 
Throw-Ins
SPU has amassed 17 goals, a rate of 2.28 goals per game that is the program's highest since the 2002 squad averaged 2.71 ... The Falcons have not produced a clean sheet, their longest season-opening run without a shutout since a similar seven-game streak in 2001. They waited until the eighth game to blank an opponent in 1995 ... At 2-3-2, 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 14 scores this season (1.97 GAA).
 
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. The impressive list of returning regulars is bolstered by six players that started at least twice in 2015 and six incoming freshmen who will challenge for playing time.
 
This Week's Opponents
Montana State Billings (5-2-1, 1-0-1 GNAC) -- The second-place Yellowjackets are hot with four wins and a tie in their last five outings. JD Hauenstein leads the attack with four goals while Julien Dragomir has three goals and four assists for an MSUB team that is outscoring foes by a 19-7 margin. The goalkeeping tandem of Joe Scott and Tom Lohmann have produced five shutouts and a 0.85 goals against average. SPU leads the all-time series 16-3-4 and won the last seven encounters, including a 3-1 decision last year in Billings during which Ian Adams and Mori Tsuchiya netted goals 13 seconds apart. The Falcons were 1-0 victors in the last meeting, on Oct. 31, 2015 in Seattle.
 
Northwest Nazarene (3-3-1, 0-1-0 GNAC): The Crusaders were outscored 6-1 while losing their last two games. They are led by first-year coach Joel Delass. Ebu Camara and Rafael Junqueira pace the NNU offense with three goals apiece. Goalkeeper Ryan Foo has a 2.08 goals against average. The Falcons lead the series 14-1-5. They played to a scoreless draw in last year's first encounter, on Sept. 24 in Seattle, and SPU won the most recent meeting with a 2-1 decision on Oct. 24 in Nampa, Idaho.
 
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 96-38-26 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.