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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Point Loma at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
(#3) Azusa Pacific at Seattle Pacific
7:00 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash.
 
• Buy Tickets:  http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com
• Webcast for Both Games:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
• LiveStats for Both Games:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/
 
Seattle Pacific hopes the advent of a six-game homestand ignites a stretch of success. The Falcons (0-2-1) close out the non-conference portion of their schedule this week against a pair of streaking opponents from the PacWest Conference with a combined 9-1-0 record. Seattle Pacific entertains Point Loma (4-1-0) at Interbay Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. SPU was a 2-1 victor over the Sea Lions last season in San Diego. On Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m., third-ranked Azusa Pacific (5-0-0) brings its perfect record to Seattle. The Cougars beat SPU 3-2 at home last year behind three unanswered second-half goals.
 
Ranked Foes
The Falcons are winless in their last 11 meetings against ranked opponents with an 0-8-3 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 0-5-1 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. 3 Azusa Pacific was on Oct. 3, 2013 in Seattle with a 2-1 upset of No. 1 Simon Fraser.
 
Super 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. Marwood's dozen stops are the most for a Falcon since Ken Hall had a 13-save effort on Nov. 22, 1975. The SPU school record of 14 saves was established by Yoder, who did it twice in 1972.


 
Recent Recap
The Falcons dropped both games of a difficult Midwest road trip. Lars Helleren amassed nine saves, but a 56th-minute shot snuck by for a 1-0 Colorado Mines win on Sept. 13. At sixth-ranked West Texas A&M on Sept. 16, some early SPU chances didn't produce goals in a 3-0 setback. Freshman Jordan Marwood drew his first start and registered 12 saves.
 
Falcons Fast Fact
SPU has not been winless three games into a season like this since the 2010 squad took until the seventh game to post a victory, going 0-4-2 up to that point.
 
Cancelling Chico
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.

 

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.
 
This Week's Opponents
Point Loma (4-1-0) -- The Sea Lions' lone loss was a 3-1 setback against then fourth-ranked Azusa Pacific in a non-league matchup versus their PacWest rivals. PLNU won its last two games and is outscoring foes 7-5 behind a team-high three goals from Hunter Loomis. Goalkeeper Connor McEwen has two shutouts and a 1.21 goals against average. The Falcons took a 2-1 edge in the all-time series with a 2-1 win at Point Loma on Sept. 8, 2018 behind goals from Titus Grant and Travis Swallow. SPU won the first meeting 2-0 on the road in 1982 and Point Loma notched a 2-1 road decision in 1995.
 
Azusa Pacific (5-0-0) -- The third-ranked Cougars are undefeated, but four of the five wins came by just one goal, including a 4-3 overtime victory versus Cal Poly Pomona on Sept. 12. The Azusa attack produced a 15-6 scoring advantage over opponents led by five goals from James Ndubueze and four from Davis Kwinn. The goalkeeping tandem of Brendan Fix and Nathanael Lindquist combined for one shutout and a 1.20 goals against average. Red-shirt freshman Elisha Burbridge, who was on the SPU roster last season, has played four games and distributed an assist for the Cougars. The Falcons and APU met for the first time ever last season, on Sept. 6, 2018, and Azusa won 3-2 in California behind three unanswered second-half goals.
 
Coach Collings
Mark Collings enters his 12th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has directed Seattle Pacific to a 119-59-31 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.
 
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 at 4-8-0. They featured high-scoring forward Titus Grant, a first-team All-GNAC 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.
 
Next Week
The SPU men continue the current six-game homestand while beginning Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Falcons host Western Washington on Oct. 3 and Simon Fraser on Oct. 5. Kick-off for both games is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.