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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
4:00 p.m. PDT (5:00 p.m. MDT), NNU Soccer Field, Nampa, Idaho
 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
3:00 p.m. PDT, Saints Field, Lacey, Wash.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats for both games:  http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
Seattle Pacific begins the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of its women's soccer schedule this week with two road games. The Falcons (2-4-0) travel to Idaho on Thursday, Sept. 26 for a clash with Northwest Nazarene (3-3-0). Kick-off is 4 p.m. Pacific Time (5 p.m. Mountain). The Nighthawks were 1-0 overtime victors the last time these teams played in Nampa, in 2017. SPU won last year's lone meeting 2-1 to increase its series lead to 31-3-0. On Saturday, Sept. 28 the Falcons make the short trip south to Lacey for a 3 p.m. game at Saint Martin's (2-3-2). SPU won all 22 previous encounters versus the Saints.
 
Falcons Fast Fact
Half (3) of SPU's games this season have gone into overtime, including both outings last week in San Diego. Each ended with a 2-1 result on an early golden goal. Claire Neder's 97th-minute header produced a victory at Point Loma (Sept. 19) while the Falcons lost versus Cal Poly Pomona (Sept. 21) and earlier at Dixie State (Sept. 7).
 
 
Last Week
A wild weekend in San Diego! Both games were decided by golden goals that created 2-1 scorelines. Sierra Smith found the goal in the 14th minute and then Claire Neder gave SPU the win at Point Loma (Sept. 19) with a header 6:23 into overtime. Reserve goalkeeper Kaylie Nelson came on in the 12th minute and played well. Nelson then started and made nine saves versus Cal Poly Pomona (Sept. 21) in a game that saw Mariah Alexander red-carded in the 24th minute. Despite playing short-handed, the Falcons got an own goal and forced overtime before losing on a score 1:24 into the extra session.
 
Throw-Ins
Junior midfielder Claire Neder has accounted for three of the four goals scored by Falcons, with Sierra Smith netting the other. They benefited from one own goal ... SPU has been outscored 7-5 on the season despite outshooting opponents by a 69-67 margin ... SPU took more corner kicks than an opponent just once this year (Sept. 5) ... After using the same lineup for the first five games, SPU's last outing saw Kaylie Nelson start in goal and Taylor Menkens as the holding midfielder. That was the first career start for both.
 
2019 Season Preview
Six starters return from the NCAA playoff team that outscored opponents 40-19 in 2018. That's a fine foundation for the Falcons to build upon, but there are some holes to fill as less than half (18 of 40) of last season's goals were netted by returning players. The Falcons lost their second- and third-leading scorers in Kasey Reeve (7 goals) and Julia DeVere (4), the GNAC Defender of the Year who distributed a team-high seven assists. Heading the list of SPU's offensive returnees is junior forward Sophia Chilczuk, who topped the team with eight goals in 2018 en route to second-team All-West Region accolades. She had five game-winning strikes. Senior midfielder Megan Moore was a third-team all-region recipient with three goals and six assists to her credit. Junior midfielder Claire Neder chipped in three goals and three assists. The senior duo of Megan Nielsen and Asia Cayetano returns after starting every game last season on the back line. The defense is supported by sophomore goalkeeper Riley Travis, who posted five of the team's eight shutouts while compiling an outstanding 1.08 goals against average. Seven talented freshmen and MSU Billings transfer Samea Aljundi will vie for playing time.
 
This Week's Opponents
Northwest Nazarene (3-3-0, 0-0-0) -- The Nighthawks had a three-game winning streak snapped with a pair of one-goal losses last weekend in San Diego. They lost 3-2 to Cal Poly Pomona and 2-1 at Point Loma. SPU played those same opponents, beating PLNU 2-1 and losing 2-1 to Pomona. NNU is outscoring opponents by a 13-9 margin paced by the six goals of Rikki Myers. Goalkeeper Aexis Montoya has one shutout and a 1.53 goals against average. The Falcons won last season's lone meeting 2-1 in Seattle behind goals from Claire Neder and Sophia Chilczuk. That gave SPU a commanding 31-3 advantage in the all-time series.
 
Saint Martin's (2-3-2, 0-0-0 GNAC) -- Four of seven games have gone into overtime for the Saints, who came away with two ties, a win and a loss in those extended contests. They were dealt a 5-0 loss by Hawaii Pacific in their last outing. SMU has been outscored 9-1 in losses and has a 6-3 advantage in all other games. Jessica Moskowitz compiled two goals and two assists to lead the Saints, who also got two goals from Shea McKnight. The Falcons won all 22 previous meetings versus SMU and were victorious in last season's lone meeting, by a 4-0 count. Sophia Chilczuk tallied the first two goals followed by scores from Claire Neder and Sierra Smith in Lacey, Wash. on Sept. 20, 2018.
 
 

Coach Busey
Arby Busey is in his 14th year on the Seattle Pacific staff and his fifth as head coach. In 2018, he directed the Falcons to a 12-6-2 record and a third-place tie in the GNAC standings (8-3-1) en route to an NCAA Tournament berth. He has a 39-27-8 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 and again last year. From his assistant post from 2006-14, Busey helped the Falcons to an impressive 95-30-12 record and playoff appearances each year. SPU won the 2008 NCAA Division II championship and reached the 2007 national semifinals. He is a 1993 graduate of Villanova and was the Idaho head coach from 2002-04 where he had an 8-40-7 record.
 
GNAC Tournament
Seattle Pacific's Interbay Stadium will host the 2019 GNAC Women's Soccer Tournament. Semifinal games are slated for 4 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 with the winners meeting in the championship game on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. The champion receives the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
2018 Season Review
The SPU women returned to the NCAA playoffs in 2018 after a one-year absence. The Falcons fashioned a 12-6-2 overall record and tied for third in the GNAC standings with an 8-3-1 mark. They outscored opponents 40-19 led by the eight goals of Sophia Chilczuk. Departing seniors accounted for 22 goals with seven of them from Kasey Reeve and four from All-American defender Julia DeVere, who topped the team with seven assists. DeVere was voted the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Next Week
The Seattle Pacific women play their first GNAC home game on Oct. 3 at 4:30, hosting Concordia-Portland at Interbay Stadium. The Falcons then travel to Monmouth, Ore. for an Oct. 5 clash with Western Oregon.