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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Seattle Pacific at Colorado Mines
4:30 p.m. PDT (5:30 p.m. MDT), Stermole Soccer Stadium, Golden, Colorado
• Webcast:  https://portal.stretchinternet.com/csm/ 
• LiveStats:  http://sidearmstats/mines/msoc/
 
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
Seattle Pacific at (#6) West Texas A&M
5:00 p.m. PDT (7:00 p.m. CDT), The Pitch, Canyon, Texas
• Webcast: http://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/wt/
• LiveStats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=275064
 
Seattle Pacific hits the road for the first time in the 2019 men's soccer season with a two-game trip to the Midwest. The Falcons (0-0-1) visit Golden, Colo. to take on Colorado Mines (1-1-0) on Friday, Sept. 13 at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time (5:30 Mountain). SPU then travels to Canyon, Texas for a Monday, Sept. 16 clash with sixth-ranked West Texas A&M (1-0-0) at 5 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. Central). It has been 20 years since SPU played either team. The Falcons and Colorado Mines split two meetings, in 1996 and 1998. SPU is undefeated versus West Texas at 2-0-1. Those games could have major playoff implications under the new Super Regional format implemented for 2019 NCAA Division II Tournament selection.
 
Falcons Fast Fact
• In SPU's 3-1 win over West Texas A&M on Sept. 25, 1998, current head coach Mark Collings scored the first goal and assistant Erik Skipper netted the second.
 
Ranked Foes
The Falcons are winless in their last 10 meetings with ranked opponents with an 0-7-3 record since their last triumph, a 1-0 home decision over No. 22 Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 11, 2014. Factored into that record is an 0-4-1 mark versus top-10 teams, including two losses versus No. 1 Simon Fraser last season. The last time SPU emerged victorious against a team ranked as high as No. 6 West Texas A&M was a 2-1 upset of No. 1 Simon Fraser on Oct. 3, 2013 in Seattle.


 
Throw-Ins
Two players officially made their Falcons debut last week (Eduardo Calvo-Salinas, Skylor Rose). The "official" distinction is necessary as freshman Jake Williams entered in the 31st minute of Saturday's game (Sept. 7) that was stopped by lightning four minutes later and then cancelled after a two-hour wait ... All stats from that game were voided, including an eighth-minute header by defender Ed Weise that gave SPU a 1-0 lead over Chico State ... Every player in the Falcons starting 11 on opening night (Sept. 5) had drawn a start in previous years and eight were primary starters last season.
 
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 in 2018 and also topped the team with five assists for a 31-point total. 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. The cadre of returning regulars is bolstered by 10 new players on the roster, with seven incoming freshmen joining transfers Eduardo Calvo-Salinas (Portland), Musa Ali (Cal State Dominguez Hills) and Cam Welty (Cal State Monterey Bay).

 

Last Week
The SPU men opened the season at home with a 1-1 draw against Sonoma State (Sept. 5). Mario Vukic put the Falcons ahead with a brilliant strike 54 seconds into the second half off an Alden Massey pass. That one-goal margin held until Sonoma equalized with two minutes left in regulation and the teams were scoreless in two overtimes. The Sept. 7 game against Chico State was suspended late in the first half and eventually cancelled when lightning in the vicinity of Interbay Stadium forced the stoppage of play. The game was officially declared a no-contest at 9:31 p.m. The Falcons led 1-0, on an eighth-minute goal by Ed Weise, when the severe weather delay began at 7:39 p.m.
  
This Week's Opponents
Colorado School of Mines (1-1-0) -- The Orediggers, from Golden, Colorado, were ranked 16th in the preseason poll before dropping out after a 3-1 loss at currently 25th-ranked St. Mary's (Texas). They opened the season with a 2-0 victory at St. Edward's.  Mines returns eight starters from last season's squad that posted an 18-2-1 record and won the RMAC championship, finishing the season ranked No. 8 nationally. Heading the list of returnees is All-American and RMAC Defender of the Year Jason Zobott along with all-region goalkeeper Drew Johnson. Thursday marks the first meeting in 21 years and the third ever between SPU and the Orediggers. The Falcons won the most recent encounter 3-0 in Seattle in 1998 after losing 3-1 at Colorado Mines in 1996.
 
West Texas A&M (1-0-0) -- The sixth-ranked Buffaloes hail from Canyon, Texas and are coached for the 29th season by Butch Lauffer.  They won the Heartland Conference and South Central Regional championships with a 17-3-3 record, the most wins in school history. Now in the Lone Star Conference, the Buffs feature preseason all-league honorees Lucca Lima (Offensive Player of the Year) and Alexander Vencel (Goalkeeper of the Year).  The Falcons own a 2-0-1 lead in the all-time series and the last meeting resulted in a scoreless draw during 1999 in Texas. SPU won the previous encounter 3-1 on Sept. 25, 1998 in Seattle behind goals from current head coach Mark Collings and assistant Erik Skipper. The first game, a neutral-site matchup in Plano, Texas, produced a 1-0 Falcons victory.
 
Coach Collings
Mark Collings enters his 12th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has directed Seattle Pacific to a 119-57-31 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). 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.
 
The Schedule
A mid-season stretch of six straight home contests highlights the 18-game Seattle Pacific men's soccer schedule that features 10 home contests at Interbay Stadium. The homestand opens with the final two non-conference games, versus Point Loma (Sept. 26) and Azusa Pacific (Sept. 28). Then, GNAC play starts against Western Washington (Oct. 3) before three-time league champion Simon Fraser visits (Oct. 5). The Falcons complete their three-week homestand against NNU (Oct. 10) and MSUB (Oct. 12).

2018 Season Review
The young Seattle Pacific men's squad owned a winning record late in the 2018 campaign before ending the season 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, finished 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 tallied at least one point in nine of the final 11 games, with 11 goals and two assists during that stretch. Grant was the first Falcon to achieve a double-figure scoring season since Tyler Shultz netted 16 goals in 2011. Grant registered a rapid hat trick with three goals in an 8-minute, 19-second first-half span during a 3-2 home win on Oct. 13. 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.
 
Upcoming Action
The SPU men take a week off from competition before beginning a six-game homestand. They host Point Loma on Sept. 26 and fifth-ranked Azusa Pacific on Sept. 28. Kick-off for both games at Interbay Stadium is 7 p.m.