NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament
West Regional
1st & 2nd Rounds at Interbay Stadium;
Seattle, Wash. (hosted by SPU)

• Webcast for first two rounds:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
 • LiveStats for first two rounds:  https://spufalcons.comsidearmstats/wsoc/
 • Buy Tickets in Advance:  https://www.spufalcons.com/tickets
 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18
First Round: (5) Hawaii Hilo vs. (4) Sonoma State, 1:00 pm PST
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20
West Region Semifinal: First-round winner vs. (1) Seattle Pacific, 2:00 p.m. PST
 
Seeded No. 1 in the West Region for the first time since 2010, Seattle Pacific hosts the first two rounds of the 56-team NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament this week. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Falcons (17-1-1) have a first-round bye before playing at home Saturday to start their 16th foray into the playoffs. Fourth-ranked SPU, which brings a 13-game unbeaten streak into the postseason, received a first-round bye and will await its opponent for a second-round matchup at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 20. Fourth-seeded Sonoma State (14-5-0) and No. 5 Hawaii Hilo (12-3-0) will play a first-round contest on Thursday, Nov. 18 in Seattle. Kick-off is 1:00 p.m. at Interbay Stadium where the winner will play SPU on Saturday. PacWest Conference co-champion Hilo is making its NCAA playoff debut while Sonoma is participating for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
 
Home Sweet Home
SPU boasts a perfect 7-0-0 record this season at Interbay Stadium and won its last 14 games at its home field. The Falcons last hosted NCAA Tournament games in 2010 as a springboard to an appearance in the West Region title game. In 2008 they parlayed the home field advantage into a national championship run.

Interbay Stadium Entry Policy
Fans are welcome to attend games in person at Interbay Stadium. In compliance with King County guidelines, spectators 12-years-of-age and older attending SPU athletic events will need to provide proof of full vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 test. Before purchasing or picking up tickets at venue Will Call windows, attendees will be required to show evidence of vaccination. Acceptable forms of proof include a CDC-issued Vaccination Record Card, a photo of the card, the Washington state myIRmobile.com app or a document from a health care provider. Those who cannot provide proof of vaccination may instead present documentation of a negative FDA-approved COVID-19 test administered by a professional and dated within 72 hours of the event. For additional details, please click on the SPU ATHLETICS ENTRY POLICY webpage. Mask wearing is mandatory at all times and spectators are encouraged to social distance when possible. Save the wait in line and obtain your SPU soccer tickets in advance by purchasing them online the SPU TICKETS webpage.

MADISON IBALE INTERVIEW

The Rest of the West
GNAC runner-up Western Washington (14-4-3) drew the No. 2 seed in the West Region and will have a bye before hosting a second-round game against Thursday's first-round winner between No. 3 Point Loma (13-1-1) and No. 6 Cal State East Bay (11-5-4). The two victorious second-round teams from the West will meet in the regional championship match on Dec. 2 at the site of the highest remaining seed from the South Central region. The West Region champion advances to the Dec. 4 national quarterfinals.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
• Unbeaten for the last 13 games (12-0-1), including 8 straight wins, SPU has not had a longer streak since the 2008 squad was undefeated over its final 17 games (16-0-1) en route to the national championship
 
• Sophia Chilczuk leads the nation with 17 assists, helping her team rank No. 2 in D-II with 54 assists
 
• The Falcons are outscoring opponents 60-8 and have a 16-0-0 record when netting two or more goals
 
• SPU captured its ninth GNAC regular-season championship and its third GNAC Tournament title
 
Quoting Coach Arby  Busey
"Playing in familiar surroundings, sleeping in familiar surroundings, eating in familiar surroundings are all huge advantages of playing at home. Getting a bye is big this time of year. Everybody's got bumps and bruises and the extra day of rest can make a massive difference in terms of getting healthy and getting right. So, all those things factor into the hosting situation being a really big advantage for those teams that are getting the opportunity to do that. We've got two teams that were regular-season champions of their conference as well and they've been tested. Sonoma is a team that has been in these types of games for a long time so it's not going to be an environment that they're uncomfortable in. Hawaii Hilo is new to the party, but that gives you so much energy and so much confidence to be part of something like this. So, we'll have our hands full."
 
 

Scouting Seattle Pacific (17-1-1, No. 1 seed)
Fourth-ranked SPU outscores opponents 60-8 with 12 clean sheets. The Falcons feature forward Sophia Chilczuk, who leads the nation with 17 assists, a school single-season record. GNAC Player of the Year Makena Rietz leads the league with 12 goals from her midfield post. Freshman of the Year Lauren Forster tallied nine goals and Defensive Player of the Year Madison Ibale has two. Fourteen different players netted a goal, six of them with five or more. Backed by first-team All-GNAC goalkeeper Riley Travis with her eight shutouts and 0.43 goals against average is a defense yielding less than a goal per game (0.42).
 
Scouting Sonoma State (14-5-0, No. 4 seed)
The Seawolves won the CCAA regular-season championship, but lost 2-1 to Cal State East Bay in the tournament final. They are competing in the NCAA playoffs for the sixth straight season and the 17th time overall. Sonoma is outscoring opponents by a 36-10 margin with 12 shutouts. Malia Falk and Lexi Zandonella-Arasa pace a balanced attack with five goals apiece. Primary goalkeeper Phoebe Barnes compiled six clean sheets and a 0.65 goals against average. SPU leads the all-time series 5-3-0, including wins in five of the last six meetings with Sonoma. The Seawolves stopped a five-game series slide with a 1-0 win in the last encounter, on Sept. 14, 2019 in Seattle. The teams met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 14, 2013 and the Falcons were 1-0 victors in Bellingham, Washington.
 
Scouting Hawaii Hilo (12-3-0, No. 5 seed)
The Vulcans earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament after tying Point Loma for the PacWest championship. After losing the first two games of the season, Hilo won 12 of its final 13 outings, the last being a Nov. 13 forfeit versus Chaminade. Included in that run was a 1-0 home overtime victory over currently 19th-ranked Point Loma on Oct. 27. The Vulcans are outscoring foes 29-7 with nine clean sheets. The potent offense features junior forward Daelenn Tokunaga who produced 13 goals and four assists. Primary goalkeeper Viviana Poli has five shutouts and a 0.53 goals against average. SPU won both previous meetings, beginning with a 4-0 decision over the Vulcans in the 2007 season opener. The Falcons also won the rematch, 1-0 on Sept. 6, 2010 in Honolulu.
 
Tournament Format
The NCAA Division II Tournament is a single-elimination playoff starting with a 56-team field divided into eight regions. The 2021 NCAA semifinals and championship game are scheduled for Dec. 9 and 11 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colo. Defending champion Grand Valley State, a 1-0 overtime winner over Western Washington in the 2019 final, is seeded No. 1 in the Midwest Region. No NCAA Tournament was conducted in 2020 due to the COVID outbreak.
 
SPU Tournament History
Seattle Pacific will participate in the playoffs for the 16th time in the last 18 seasons and the first time since 2018. The Falcons earned the top seed in the West for the first time since 2010. A 14-year postseason streak was halted in 2017 when an NCAA bid was not extended. SPU did not receive a berth in 2019 and no playoffs were conducted in 2020. The Falcons qualified for the playoffs every season from 2003-2016. The Falcons have a 17-13-3 record in all-time postseason games. They captured the 2008 national championship with a 1-0 double-overtime triumph over top-ranked and previously undefeated West Florida on a Janae Godoy golden goal, and also advanced to the Final Four in 2005 and 2007. SPU's last NCAA appearance, on Nov. 8, 2018, resulted in a 2-1 first-round loss at Concordia-Portland.
 
 

Coach Busey
2021 GNAC Coach of the Year Arby Busey is in his 16th year on the Seattle Pacific staff, his seventh as head coach. In the abbreviated 2020-21 season, he directed the Falcons to an 8-0-1 record and No. 5 final ranking. Busey has a 74-32-10 record at SPU, a mark 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 in 2018. From his assistant post from 2006-14, Busey helped the Falcons to an impressive 95-30-12 record, playoff appearances each season and the 2008 NCAA Division II title.
 
2020-21 Recap
Coach Arby Busey returns all 11 starters from last season's squad that outscored opponents 39-7. The Falcons forged an 8-0-1 record in the shortened 2020-21 campaign and were ranked No. 5 in the final national poll. Sophia Chilczuk led all NCAA Division II players in assist average (1.0 per game) and was fourth in goals per game (1.25). The team scored at a 4.33-goal per-game clip to rank No. 2 nationally.