• VIDEO: MADDY  BOOSTER

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26 –
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
7:00.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• Webcast:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
• LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/
 
The soccer regular season comes to a close on Thursday at home for the Seattle Pacific women. The Falcons (9-6-0, 7-4-0 GNAC) entertain Western Oregon on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. in Interbay Stadium for their annual Senior Night game. SPU is unbeaten in its last 28 meetings with the Wolves (2-10-2, 1-7-2), compiling a 27-0-1 record during that span. This season's first encounter was thrilling as the Falcons rallied from an early deficit for a 2-1 overtime win on Sept. 30 in Monmouth, Ore. Kasey Reeve forced the extra session with an 84th-minute strike and Sophia Chilczuk ended the game with a golden goal in the 103rd minute.

Get Your Tickets
Tickets for Thursday's game 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.
 
Senior Salute
Prior to kickoff of Thursday's game, a ceremony will be conducted to honor SPU's six seniors. Maddy Booster, Simone Herzberg, Brooke Holland, Brooke Pingrey, Maddie Sjothun and Molly Stinson will play their final home game at Interbay Stadium. That six-player class helped the Falcons compile a 46-21-9 record in their collegiate careers (21-5-6 at Interbay), win the 2014 GNAC Tournament and earn three NCAA playoff berths.


 
GNAC Jockeying
The four-team field is set for next week's GNAC Tournament, but that quartet is still jockeying for seeds. Defending champion Western Washington currently owns a two-point lead in the standings with 30 points by virtue of a perfect 10-0-0 league ledger. Second-place Concordia (Ore.) is just two points back (28, 9-0-1) and those two meet on Saturday. Western and Concordia will be the top-two seeds as neither the Falcons nor Northwest Nazarene can catch them. They are tied for third place with 21 points, but the Crusaders at 7-3-0 have one game in hand on SPU, which is 7-4-0.
 
GNAC Format
The 2017 GNAC Tournament will be contested at Concordia's Tuominen Yard in Portland, Ore. The semifinals are slated for No. 2 at 4 and 7 p.m. and the championship game is set for Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. The winner gets the league's automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs. SPU won GNAC Tournament titles in 2013 and 2014.
 
Senior Shot Stopper
Senior goalkeeper Molly Stinson became Seattle Pacific's all-time saves leader in the last outing, on Oct. 21. She stopped three shots in a 3-0 home shutout victory over Montana State Billings to increase her career total to 273. Stinson moved past Jennifer Hull, who compiled 271 saves from 2001-04. With the career mark in the books Stinson now owns every SPU save record. She amassed a single-season 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 Hull in 2001. Stinson has started 59 of her 62 games in goal for the Falcons, producing a 37-17-7 record. She has taken part in 25 career shutouts, including 18 complete-game clean sheets.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Falcons have a 5-1-0 record in home games this season. The lone loss was a 1-0 decision against defending national champion Western Washington on Oct. 19. SPU has outscored opponents by a combined 14-6 tally at Interbay Stadium.

 

Brace Yourself
Four different Falcons have produced a two-goal game this season and two of them did it twice. Both Julia DeVere and Simone Herzberg scored two goals in a 4-1 home win over Saint Martin's (Sept. 21). Herzberg repeated that feat on Oct. 21, scoring twice versus Montana State Billings. Kasey Reeve had a pair of goals in the season-opening 3-2 victory over Chico State (Aug. 31) and achieved a hat trick at Saint Martin's (Oct. 14). Sophia Chilczuk got a brace in 3-2 overtime win over Central Washington (Oct. 12).
 


Throw-Ins
The Falcons scored three or more goals on five occasions this season, including a six-goal outburst at Saint Martin's on Oct. 14 … Twelve of the 15 Falcons games have been decided by one-goal margins ... Five of this season's eight wins were of the come-from-behind variety.
 
Scouting Western Oregon (2-8-2, 1-5-2 GNAC)
The Wolves are winless in the last four outings. Alyssa Tomasina and Meli Cortez top the team with two goals apiece, combining for four of the team's 10 scores. Caitlin Kastelic ranks fourth among GNAC goalkeepers with 5.36 saves per game. The Falcons own a 28-2-1 series lead and got a 2-1 overtime win on Sept. 30 in Monmouth on a 103rd-minute golden goal by Sophia Chilczuk.
 
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 24-16-6 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.