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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12 –
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
7:00.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
• Webcast:  https://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/ 
• LiveStats:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc/
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 –
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
1:00 p.m. PDT, SMU Soccer Field, Seattle, Wash.
• Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
Seattle Pacific gets a brief respite from the road with a single home game before going away again. Fresh off a four-game road trip, the Falcons (6-5-0, 4-3-0 GNAC) stay in Seattle on Thursday, Oct. 12 to host Central Washington (1-7-3, 0-4-2). Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. That is this year's only encounter between SPU and the Wildcats. With the addition of a ninth team in 2015, the GNAC is not implementing a double round-robin schedule and the Falcons play four league foes just once (also Concordia, Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser). Central beat the Falcons 2-1 in the last meeting, a first-round 2016 NCAA Tournament game in Bellingham. On Saturday, Oct. 14 the SPU women visit Lacey, Wash. for their final regular-season road contest. The Falcons won all 19 previous meetings against the Saints, including a 4-0 decision in last season's lone encounter.
 
Get Your Tickets
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 $7 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens. SPU students and staff are admitted free. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for reduced ticket rates by calling (206) 281-2393 in advance.

Senior Shot Stopper
Senior goalkeeper Molly Stinson amassed a school-record total of 106 saves in 2016. On Oct. 29, 2016 she stopped 13 shots to establish a new SPU single-game record. The previous mark of 12 was set by Jennifer Hull in 2001. Stinson should soon add the school's career record to her game and season marks. Her current career total stands at 260, just 11 shy of Hull's (2001-04) SPU record of 271.
 
Throw-Ins
The Falcons were blanked 1-0 in each of the last two games. Those were the fifth back-to-back shutouts in program history and they have never gone three games without a goal.  ... Ten of 11 Falcons games have been decided by one-goal margins ... Kasey Reeve leads the team with six goals, including four game-winning strikes ... SPU started slow in games this season (outscored 8-4 in first halves), but finished fast (11-4 advantage in second halves) ... Four of this season's six wins were of the come-from-behind variety ... While the scoring load has been shared by just six Falcons, 13 have set them up. Claire Neder and Maddy Booster both have two assists and the others each have one.

 

Brace Yourself
Three different Falcons have produced a two-goal game this season, two of them in the same contest. Both Julia DeVere and Simone Herzberg scored twice in a 4-1 home win over Saint Martin's (Sept. 21). Kasey Reeve got her brace in the season-opening 3-2 victory over Chico State (Aug. 31), helping SPU rally from a two-goal deficit.
 
Playoff Pursuit
Seattle Pacific seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 15th straight year. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship and advanced to the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).Their current run of 14 consecutive playoff appearances is tied for the longest active streak among Division II women's soccer teams. West Chester has also a participated in the playoffs every season since 2003.
 
2017 Preview
Six starters return from last year's playoff team, including goalkeeper Molly Stinson. The senior shot-stopper set a school single-season record with 106 saves in 2016 while compiling a fine 0.96 goals against average. A trio of defensive starters return to the back line that recorded nine shutouts; Kaytlin Willis, Maddie Sjothun and Asia Cayetano. SPU outscored opponents 31-20 last season, but just 11 of those goals return and the Falcons lost their top-two scorers, Hannah Huesers (13) and Maddie Krauss (4). Heading the list of SPU's offensive returnees is junior midfielder Brooke Lancaster, who contributed two goals and three assists in 2016. Also netting a pair of goals last year were returnees Megan Moore, Kasey Reeve and Julia DeVere. Senior Simone Herzberg is back in her midfield post after topping the team with four assists.
 
This Week's Opponents
Central Washington (1-7-3, 0-4-2 GNAC) -- The Wildcats are winless in their last eight games with an 0-5-3 mark during that span. Mackenzie Nolte leads the attack, having scored half (6) of the team's 12 goals. CWU made its NCAA Tournament debut last season and defeated the Falcons 2-1 in the first round on Nov. 10, 2016 in Bellingham. The teams met four times last season with the Wildcats posting a 2-1-1 record in those contests, the lone loss a 2-0 SPU win in the GNAC Tournament semifinals. The Falcons lead the all-time series 23-7-4.
 
Saint Martin's (1-9-1, 1-4-1 GNAC) -- The Saints picked up their first win of the season in the last outing, notching a 2-0 victory at Montana State Billings on Saturday. They have been outscored 38-6 this season and Lauren Allison accounted for half (3) of those SMU goals.  SPU won all 19 previous meetings with the Saints and was a 4-0 victor on Sept. 22, 2016 in last season's only encounter.
 
Coach Busey
Arby Busey is in his 12th year on the Seattle Pacific staff and his third as head coach. In 2016, he directed the Falcons to an 11-5-4 record, third-place GNAC finish (7-2-3) and GNAC Tournament finals berth. SPU advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the 14th consecutive season. Busey has a 21-15-6 record at SPU, a ledger that doesn't include 10 wins from 2015 that were vacated due to the use of an ineligible player. He is the third coach in the 17-year history of the program, including 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 where he had an 8-40-7 record.
 
2016 Review
The Falcons fashioned an 11-5-4 overall record in 2016 and placed third in the GNAC with a 7-2-3 mark. They advanced to the GNAC Tournament championship game for the fourth straight season before losing 3-1 to eventual national champion Western Washington. SPU participated in the postseason for the 14th straight season, falling 2-1 in the first round to Central Washington. Graduated forward Hannah Huesers netted 13 goals to lead all GNAC scorers for the third straight season.
 
Next Week
The Falcons close out their regular-season schedule with a three-game homestand. They host defending national champion Western Washington on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., Montana State Billings on Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. and Western Oregon on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.