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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
3:00 p.m. PDT, SMU Soccer Field, Lacey, Wash.
 
   • Webcast & LiveStats:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26
Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
   • Buy Tickets:  www.spufalcons.com/tickets
   • Webcast:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
   • LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/
 
A lone road game on Thursday precedes a Saturday rematch. The Seattle Pacific men's soccer team (2-7-1, 1-4-0 GNAC) makes the brief, 61-mile trip south to Lacey, Wash. on Oct. 24 for a clash with Saint Martin's. Kick-off is 3 p.m. at SMU Soccer Field. The Saints (7-4-2, 2-3-1) won the most recent meeting in last season's final game to stop a 17-game unbeaten streak versus SPU. On Oct. 26, Concordia-Portland invades Interbay Stadium for a 7 p.m. contest. That comes nine days after the Cavaliers (6-4-0, 3-2-0) beat SPU 2-0 in Portland behind two goals from Brendan Laun. Concordia was victorious in each of the last three encounters with the Falcons, who had gone 5-0-2 in the first seven meetings. 
 
Falcons Fast Fact
SPU scored the game's first goal just twice in 10 outings this season, both times at home. An opening tally led to a 1-1 draw with Sonoma State on Sept. 5 and a 5-2 win over Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 10. The Falcons built only one halftime lead this year, 3-0 in the NNU victory, having been tied four times and trailed on five occasions.
 


Last Week
SPU suffered its second straight setback, losing 2-0 at Concordia-Portland on Oct. 17. Brendan Laun netted both goals for the Cavaliers, who had a 12-4 second-half shot advantage after the first half was level at 7-7. Lars Helleren stopped five shots for SPU and Alex Mejia's four shots led the attack, two of them requiring saves.
 
Throw-Ins
Junior midfielder Sam Malloch tops the team with four assists, a figure that ties him with five other players for the GNAC lead. He set up both of SPU's game-winning goals ... Titus Grant is the only Falcon with a multi-goal game this season, netting two versus Northwest Nazarene (Oct. 10). He leads the team with five goals ... SPU has been shut out five times, including each of the last two outings ... Sixteen different Falcons have drawn at least two starts this season with three of them making SPU starting debuts.
 
Shot Stoppers
SPU has two different goalkeepers with a double-digit save game during the same season for the first time since 1972 when Rex Yoder (14) and Dave Landry (12) accomplished the feat. Lars Helleren stopped 10 Sonoma State shots on Sept. 5 and Jordan Marwood compiled 12 saves at West Texas A&M on Sept. 16. The SPU school record of 14 saves was established by Yoder, who did it twice in 1972.
 
Chico Cancelled
SPU's Sept. 7 home game versus Chico State was stopped in the 35th minute and eventually cancelled due to persistent lightning. All stats from that game were voided, including an eighth-minute header by defender Ed Weise that gave SPU a 1-0 lead.
 
This Week's Opponents
Saint Martin's (7-4-2, 2-3-1 GNAC) -- The Saints won two of their past-three games, including a 3-2 home result over Concordia on Saturday in their last outing. SMU is outscoring opponents by a 29-22 margin paced by the GNAC-leading 12 goals of Brandon Madsen. Jason Fairhurst chipped in four goals and tops the team with four assists. Goalkeeper Dylan Shaw has a 1.86 goals against average. The Saints were 2-1 victors in the last meeting on Nov. 1, 2018, picking up their first win in the series since 2009. SPU was unbeaten in the previous 17 encounters, capped by a 1-0 win on Sept. 29, 2018 on a 13th-minute goal from Titus Grant. The Falcons lead the all-time series 19-4-1.
 
Concordia-Portland (6-4-0, 3-2-0 GNAC) -- Nine days after Concordia defeated SPU 2-0 in Portland (Oct. 17) the teams meet again, this time in Seattle. The fourth-place Cavaliers are outscoring foes by an 18-14 count, led by the six goals of Nicholas Denley. GNAC Player of the Week Brendan Laun has four goals and three assists, with two of the scores coming in the first SPU matchup. Goalkeeper Kenneth Symmes compiled two clean sheets and a 1.54 goals against average. He made two saves in shutting out the Falcons. The Cavs swept both meetings last season, their first wins in the series with the Falcons, who own a 5-3-2 series advantage. Concordia won 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 22, 2018 in Portland and then was a 1-0 victor in the rematch, on Oct. 18 in Seattle. Denley netted the game-winner in the 70th minute.

 

Coach Collings
Mark Collings is in his 12th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has directed Seattle Pacific to a 121-64-31 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 is the third head coach in the 51-year history of SPU men's soccer. Collings 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). The co-captain as a defender on SPU's 1998 Final Four team, Collings was a five-year assistant coach for the Falcons.
 
2019 Season Preview
Seattle Pacific was projected for a fourth-place finish by the GNAC coaches, but the talent is on hand to place much higher. Eight starters return from last year's team, including the top-five goal scorers. Headlining the list of returnees is first-team All-GNAC forward Titus Grant. The junior led the squad with 13 goals and five assists in 2018. Also back is sophomore Alden Massey, who netted six goals last season, sophomore Jake Ferry who had three and juniors Travis Swallow and Alex Mejia, who each scored twice. A trio of starters return on the backline in addition to holding midfielder Jose Benavides, a 2018 honorable mention All-GNAC honoree. Falcons defenders Nik Reierson and Ed Weise were similarly recognized by the conference.
 
2018 Season Review
The young SPU squad owned a winning record late in the 2018 campaign before ending with five straight losses, four of them one-goal decisions, to drop to 8-11-0 on the year. The Falcons, with eight underclassmen as primary starters, placed sixth in the GNAC standings with a 4-8-0 mark. The team featured high-scoring forward Titus Grant, a first-team all-conference and third-team All-West Region honoree whose 13 goals and 31 points ranked third in the league. He was the first Falcon to achieve a double-figure scoring season since Tyler Shultz netted 16 goals in 2011. Alden Massey, a second-team All-GNAC selection, contributed six goals. Holding midfielder Jose Benavides and defenders Nik Reierson and Ed Weise were honorable mention All-GNAC honorees.
 
Next Action
SPU plays a pair of road games against teams at the top of the table. The Falcons visit first-place Western Washington on Oct. 31 and second-place Simon Fraser on Nov. 2. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. kick-offs.