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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 –
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
4:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 –
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
4:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• Webcast for Both Games:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
• LiveStats for Both Games:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/
 
Back home for the first time in nearly a month, Seattle Pacific hosts a four-game men's soccer homestand. The Falcons (8-3-1, 4-2-1 GNAC) return to play at Interbay Stadium for the first time since Sept. 23 when Northwest Nazarene visits on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 4:30 p.m. The Crusaders (5-5-1, 2-3-1) lost this year's first meeting 4-1 on Sept. 30 in Nampa, Idaho. On Saturday, Oct. 21 Montana State Billings is at Interbay for a 4:30 p.m. contest. The Yellowjackets (5-8-0, 3-4-0) halted a seven-game losing skid versus SPU with a road tie and home win in last season's encounters. SPU rallied for a 2-1 victory on Sept. 28 in Billings.
 
GNAC Race
The Falcons are currently third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with 13 points, three back of co-leaders Simon Fraser and Western Washington.
 
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 $7 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens. SPU students and staff are admitted free. For group rates call (206) 281-2085.
 


Road Warriors
The SPU men compiled a 4-1-0 record on their recently completed five-game road trip. They lost just once on the road this season with a 6-1-0 record in contrast to a 2-2-1 home mark. The Falcons have outscored opponents 18-11 away from Seattle.
 
Balanced Attack
Five different SPU players notched a goal in the last outing, Oct. 12 at Saint Martin's. For the season, the attack features 12 players with at least one goal while 14 Falcons have distributed one or more assists.  Gabe Kellum (5 goals/5 assists) tops the team with 15 points and Gabriel Weber has 13 (5 goals/3 assists).
 
Last Week
Alex Mejia distributed an assist and scored the final goal, capping SPU's 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Saint Martin's on Oct. 12 in Lacey. The Saints gained a 2-0 lead in the opening 17 minutes on a pair of goals less than two minutes apart. The visitors cut the deficit in half just three seconds before halftime on a penalty kick by Gabe Kellum. The Falcons got second-half goals by Gabriel Weber, Jacob Bohl, Jess Cayetano and Mejia. SPU posted its highest goal total of the season and its best offensive output since Sept. 8, 2016. The eight goals marked the highest combined scoring total in an SPU game since Oct. 6, 2012 when the same two teams registered the exact same score at SMU.
 
Throw-Ins
SPU has scored 28 times, a 2.33 goals-per-game average that is the program's highest ratio since the 2002 squad averaged 2.79 ... With 29 assists in 12 games, the current rate of 2.42 per game is SPU's best since the 2000 squad averaged 3.68 assists (70 in 19 games) ... Gabe Kellum (Sept. 2), Mori Tsuchiya (Sept. 7) and Gabriel Weber  (Sept. 9) each have a two-goal game to his credit this season ... One third of the roster (9 of 27 players) is comprised of newcomers and eight Falcons made their SPU playing debut this year.
 
Playoff Pursuit
The Falcons are vying for their 36th NCAA Division II Tournament berth. They participated in the playoffs five straight seasons from 2011-15, a streak that stopped last year. SPU has won five national championships (1978, 1983, 1985, 1986 & 1993).
 
2017 Preview
Seven starters return from last year's 6-6-5 squad, including players accounting for 19 of the team's 33 goals. Senior forward Gabe Kellum is the top returning scorer with six goals in 2016. Senior midfielder Jess Cayetano, an honorable mention All-GNAC pick, had four goals. A trio of defensive starters is back in Ryan Higgins, Luke Postma and Julian White. Six other returnees started at least once in 2016.
 
This Week's Opponents
Northwest Nazarene (5-5-1, 2-3-1 GNAC) -- The Crusaders beat MSU Billings 3-1 on Saturday to half a three-game winless streak. They are led by second-year coach Joel Delass. Michael Bryant and Jake Levine pace the NNU offense with three goals apiece. Goalkeeper Jacob Hillyer has two shutouts and a 1.45 goals against average. The Falcons lead the series 15-2-6. SPU was a 4-1 victor on Sept. 30 in Nampa, Idaho on goals from Gabe Kellum, Alex Mejia, Samual Agyei and Andrew Ivaldi.
 
Montana State Billings (5-8-0, 3-4-0 GNAC) -- The Yellowjackets lost their last three games after putting together a stretch of five wins in six games. Guillame Kremer leads the attack with five goals and four assists and JD Hauenstein also has five goals. Goalkeeper Tom Lohmann crafted a 1.83 goals against average. SPU leads the all-time series 17-4-5 and won this year's first encounter, 2-1 on Sept. 28 in Billings. MSUB took and early lead in the 20th minute, before the Falcons got second-half goals from Gabriel Weber and Alex Mejia.
 
Coach Collings
Mark Collings is in his 10th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has directed Seattle Pacific to a 108-44-30 record, two GNAC championships and a stretch of five consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament berths from 2011-15. His coaching highlights include school-record streaks of 13 consecutive victories and 15 games unbeaten established in 2014 along with absorbing the fewest losses in a campaign with just one in 2015 (14-1-4). Collings registered his 100th coaching victory with the Falcons on Oct. 28, 2016. He collected his third GNAC Coach of the Year award in 2015 (also 2010 & 2014). Collings is the third head coach in the 50-year history of SPU men's soccer. He replaced Cliff McCrath (512-190-87 record from 1970-2007). Arnie Aizstrauts was 1-14-1 from 1968-69. The co-captain as a defender on SPU's 1998 Final Four team, Collings was a five-year assistant coach for the Falcons.
 
2016 Review
Last year, the SPU men posted a 6-6-5 record and were absent from the NCAA field for the first time since 2010, snapping a five-year playoff streak. They injury-depleted Falcons finished fifth in the GNAC standings with a 4-4-4 league ledger. Five Falcons, including four-time, first-team defender Davis Karaica, were named to the All-GNAC squad. Karaica was a two-time All-American who participated in 30 shutouts while starting each of his 73 career games at SPU. Seniors Jeffrey Collings and Cody Lang were recognized as second-team selections. Senior Jordan Kollars and junior Jess Cayetano received honorable mention acclaim.
 
Next Week
The SPU men remain at home to complete a four-game homestand with Interbay Stadium games against Concordia, on Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m., and Saint Mrtin's, at 7 p.m. The regular season slate concludes on Nov. 4 at Simon Fraser.