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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
3:00 p.m. PDT (4:00 pm MDT), NNU Soccer Field, Nampa, Idaho
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Seattle Pacific at Concordia (Ore.)
4:00 p.m. PDT, Tuominen Yard, Portland, Ore.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats for both games:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
Great Northwest Athletic Conference soccer play begins this week for the Seattle Pacific men, who return to the road for their next four outings. That will complete a stretch of eight road contests in their first 10 games of the season. The Falcons (3-3-0) visit Nampa, Idaho on Thursday, Sept. 20 for a 3 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. MDT) matchup with Northwest Nazarene. The Nighthawks (0-5-1), were swept by SPU in two meetings last season. Seattle Pacific travels to Portland, Oregon for a Saturday, Sept. 22 clash against Concordia at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers (2-2-1) are winless in seven all-time meetings with SPU, which leads the series 5-0-2. SPU won the last three games to even its record at 3-3-0. The Falcons visit Montana State Billings (Sept. 27) and Saint Martin's (Sept. 29) next week. Their reward for enduring the road-heavy early schedule is a streak of six straight home games at Interbay Stadium that begins Oct. 4 versus U-Mary.
 
GNAC Title Hunt
The SPU men seek their fourth title since the Great Northwest Athletic Conference began in 2001. They won the 2006 championship and captured back-to-back GNAC titles, in 2014 and 2015, before Simon Fraser won the last two crowns. The Falcons finished second in last season's standings (7-4-1) with 22 points, just two behind Simon Fraser's (7-2-3) winning 24-point total.  SPU was projected second in the coaches poll.
 
Streaking
After opening the season with three losses, SPU stormed back with wins in the last three games to level its record at 3-3-0. The Falcons out-scored opponents 9-2 during the winning streak while out-shooting them by a 46-21 margin.
 
 
Hat Trick
It took Falcons freshman Alden Massey less than a half to forge a hat trick Saturday (Sept. 15). He scored twice during the opening three minutes and netted his third in the 43rd minute of a 5-0 triumph over Hawaii Hilo. Massey, who did not play in the second half, posted the first three-goal game by an SPU player since Stephen MacDonald did the trick on Sept. 10, 2016. He initiated the first goal in Thursday's 2-1 win over Hawaii Pacific (Sept. 13), setting up Titus Grant in the 11th minute. Massey tops the Falcons in total points with eight on a team-high three goals and two assists.
 
Balanced Attack
Eight difference players have accounted for the 12 SPU tallies with just three multi-goal scorers. Underclassmen have done most of the damage with freshmen totaling six goals and sophomores four. Juniors Samuel Agyei and Jason Schmidt each netted one goal. Playmaking duties have also been spread out as the 11 assists were distributed by seven unique players. Sophomore Titus Grant tops the team with three assists.
 
Get Tickets in Advance
Falcons fans can now purchase tickets in advance for all home events. Buy tickets online at: http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com
 
 

Throw-Ins
Saturday's 5-0 home win over Hawaii Hilo marked SPU's first shutout of the season. Senior Kary Whitney was in goal. The previous two opponents were limited to one goal apiece ... The Falcons are out-shooting opponents by a combined 10-2 count in first halves ... Eight players debuted with SPU this year and freshmen Lars Helleren, Alden Massey, Mario Vukic and Ed Weise each drew at least four starts ... The Falcons played short-handed in their first two games, losses at Chico State and Sonoma State. Titus Grant drew two yellow cards on Aug. 30 and Sam Rucklos was shown red on Sept. 1.

 
This Week's Opponents
Northwest Nazarene (0-5-1, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Nighthawks are winless, having been outscored 14-7. Their last four games included three one-goal losses and a draw. Alex Mitrovic leads NNU with two goals. Goalkeepers Colin Anderson and Jacob Hillyer combined for a 2.20 goals against average. The Falcons lead the series 16-2-6, including season sweep in 2017. They were 1-0 double-overtime winners in the last encounter on Oct. 19. Trevor Lee's 107th-minute golden goal ended that contest in Seattle. SPU was a 4-1 victor over NNU on Sept. 30 in Nampa, Idaho.
 
Concordia (2-2-1, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- The Cavaliers, from Portland, Oregon, are fourth-year members of the GNAC and NCAA. Concordia tied Dominican 2-2 in its last outing after defeating Holy Names 3-0. Kieran McMinn's three goals lead the Cavaliers. Goalkeeper Grant Alcorn compiled two shutouts and a 1.38 goals against average. SPU won the last four meetings, with 2017 and 2016 season sweeps, to increase its series advantage to 5-0-2. Gabe Kellum netted a golden goal in the 107th minute on Oct. 26, 2017 to clinch a 3-2 SPU home win. The Falcons won last season's first encounter 2-1 on Oct. 7 in Portland.
 
Coach Collings
Mark Collings enters his 11th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has directed Seattle Pacific to a 114-49-30 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 is the third head coach in the 51-year history of SPU men's soccer. He collected his third GNAC Coach of the Year award in 2015 (also 2010 & 2014). 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 as a defender on SPU's 1998 Final Four team, Collings was a five-year assistant coach for the Falcons.
 
2018 Preview
SPU was projected to replicate last season's runner-up result according to the preseason GNAC coaches poll. Last year, the Falcons posted an 11-5-1 record, but were absent from the NCAA Division II Tournament field for only the second time since 2010. They finished second in the GNAC standings with a 7-4-1 record, just two points back of Simon Fraser. Five starters return from last year's team, including senior goalkeeper Kary Whitney, who opened all but one game last season while compiling a 1.43 goals against average. The defense features returning senior starters Jacob Bohl and Luke Postma. Sophomore Jose Benavides, an honorable mention All-GNAC performer, is back to bolster the midfield. The SPU offense looks to replace its top-four point producers. Sophomore Alex Mejia is the top returning scorer with eight points, on three goals and two assists. Junior forward Samuel Agyei netted two goals last year. The cadre of returning regulars is bolstered by six players that started at least once in 2017, along with eight true freshmen and University of Portland transfer Reid Baez.
 
Next Week
The Falcons remain on the road for two more GNAC games, playing at Montana State Billings on Sept. 27 at 2:30 p.m. PDT and Saint Martin's on Sept. 29 at 3:30 p.m.