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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11
(#6) Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific
7:00.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
4:00.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• Webcast for both games:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
• LiveStats for both games:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/wsoc/
 
A matchup with league-leading and sixth-ranked Concordia (Ore.) starts a brief, two-game soccer homestand this week at Interbay Stadium for the Seattle Pacific women (8-3-1, 4-2-0 GNAC). SPU, fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, entertains the undefeated Cavaliers (8-0-2, 5-0-1) on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. as the nightcap of a doubleheader with the men, who play at 4:30 p.m. Concordia was victorious in last season's only meeting, 2-1 in Portland, to pick up its first win in five all-time encounters with the Falcons. On Saturday, Oct. 13 the SPU women play the first game of a doubleheader when they host sixth-place Western Oregon (4-6-2, 2-4-1) at 4 p.m. The Falcons are unbeaten in their last 29 meetings with the Wolves, posting a 28-0-1 record in that span.
 
High Ranked Foe
SPU's last win over a top-10 ranked opponent was a 1-0 double overtime decision over No. 2 West Florida on Dec. 6, 2008 in the NCAA championship game.
 
Get Your Tickets
Falcons fans can now obtain tickets in advance for all home events. Buy tickets online at: http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com   Tickets are also available at the venue on game day. All seats for SPU soccer are general admission and priced at $7 for adults and $5 for youth and senior citizens. SPU students and staff are admitted free. For reduced group and team rates please call (206) 281-2393 in advance.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Falcons compiled a 4-1-0 record at home this season, having out-scored opponents 9-3 at Interbay Stadium while registering three clean sheets.

 

Super Sophmore
SPU sophomore Sophia Chilczuk tops the conference in goals (7), game-winning goals (4) and total points (15). The 2017 GNAC freshman of the Year, Chilczuk assisted on Megan Moore's decisive score in Saturday's 2-1 win at MSU Billings and has played a role in five of SPU's eight game-winning goals. She picked up at least one point in half (6) of the Falcons 12 games this season. Chilczuk has two multi-goal games this year, scoring twice against both San Francisco State (Sept. 8) and Saint Martin's (Sept. 20). Six of her 11 career scorers were game-winning strikes.
 
Throw-Ins
It has been feast or famine for the Falcons, who netted two or more goals in each of their eight victories, but were shut out in their other four outings ... Megan Moore leads the team with six assists, the highest total by a Falcon since 2014 when Isabel Farrell and Laura Moore each had seven ... Six Falcons have started all 12 games (Megan Moore, Julia Devere, Makayla Sonstelie, Sydnee Smith, Megan Nielsen, Asia Cayetano) ... Freshman goalkeeper Riley Travis made a school-record 16 saves Sept. 6 at Chico State, eclipsing the previous SPU standard of 13 saves set by Molly Stinson on Oct. 29, 2016.
 
Last Week
Megan Moore assisted on the first goal with a through ball to Julia DeVere and scored the game-winner in the 49th minute of the Falcons 2-1 victory at MSU Billings (Oct. 6). SPU rebounded from its 4-0 loss at 18th-ranked Western Washington (Oct. 4) in the previous game, during which the visitors were out-shot by a 25-5 margin.
 
2018 Preview
Eight starters return from last year's SPU team, including the top-three point producers. Kasey Reeve paced the Falcons with 22 points (10 goals/2 assists). The All-West Region performer posted half (5) of the team's game-winning goals. Julia DeVere compiled 10 points (4/2). Sophia Chilczuk was honored as the GNAC Freshman of the Year after registering 11 points (4/3). The SPU midfield features Claire Neder, whose four assists topped the team in 2017. Kaytlin Willis, an All-West Region defender, returns to anchor a back line that posted four shutouts and yielded just over one goal per game (1.09) in 2017. Five of the six SPU players that garnered 2017 All-GNAC honors return.
 
Playoff Pursuit
Seattle Pacific seeks to ignite a new NCAA Division II Tournament streak after having its national-leading 14-year run halted in 2017. SPU qualified for the playoffs every season from 2003-16. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship and advanced to the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).
 
This Week's Opponents
Concordia (8-0-2, 5-0-1 GNAC) -- The defending regular-season conference champion Cavaliers are fourth-year members of the GNAC and the NCAA after previously competing in the NAIA. Concordia currently leads the league and is undefeated in 23 consecutive regular-season games, last losing on Sept. 8, 2017. The Cavaliers are out-scoring opponents 21-4 led by the five goals of Sydney VanSteenberge. Goalkeeper Hailey Asato compiled six shutouts and a 0.39 goals against average. SPU owns a 3-1-1 edge in the all-time series, but lost the last meeting 2-1 on Sept. 28, 2017 in Portland on an 87th-minute goal by Megan Myers. That was their only encounter last year.
 
Western Oregon (4-6-2, 2-4-1 GNAC) -- The Wolves lost their last three games after recording a three-game unbeaten streak. Alexie Morris tops the team with three goals. Alyssa Tomasina has factored into half (5) of WOU's 10 scores with two goals and three assists. Goalkeeper Alex Qualls has four clean sheets and a 1.51 goals against average. The Falcons own a 29-2-1 series lead after sweeping the 2017 season series. SPU notched a 2-1 overtime win on Sept. 30 in Monmouth behind a 103rd-minute golden goal by Sophia Chilczuk and then won the most recent meeting 1-0 on Oct. 28 in Seattle on Makayla Sonstelie's 44th-minute strike.
 
Coach Busey
Arby Busey is in his 13th year on the Seattle Pacific staff and his fourth as head coach. In 2017, he directed the Falcons to a 10-7-0 record and third-place GNAC finish (8-4-0). He has a 33-20-7 record at SPU, a ledger that doesn't include 10 wins from 2015 that were vacated due to the use of an ineligible player. SPU advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in Busey's first two seasons at the helm. He is the third coach in the 18-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.
 
Next Week
The SPU women play three games during a six-day span, beginning Oct. 18 with a visit to Simon Fraser. They return home to host their final two Interbay Stadium games, Oct. 20 versus Montana State Billings and Oct. 23 against Central Washington.