SATURDAY, MAY 8
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
5:30 p.m. PDT, Interbay Stadium, Seattle, Wash. (spectators not allowed)
 
• Webcast:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
• LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/spu/msoc/
 
SATURDAY, MAY 15
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
1:00 p.m. PDT, Harrington Field, Bellingham, Wash. (spectators not allowed)
 
• Webcast:  https://www.youtube.com/WWUVikingsAthletics
• LiveStats:  https://wwuvikings.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
 
Two games against the same opponent, one week apart, completes the unique 2020-21 Seattle Pacific men's soccer season. Winners of their last three games, the Falcons (3-1-0) host Western Washington on Saturday, May 8 for a 5:30 p.m. game at Interbay Stadium. The Vikings (2-1-0) bring a two-game winning streak to Seattle. Western won the last three meetings. The following Saturday, May 15, the Falcons travel to Bellingham for a 1:00 p.m. matchup at WWU's Harrington Field. Spectators are not permitted at either game. The season ends after these games as there is no NCAA Division II Tournament this year.
 
Senior Salute
Saturday marks the final home playing appearance for one Falcon who will be recognized before the game with a brief Senior Day ceremony. Midfielder Sam Malloch is a four-year letterman and started 43 of the 53 games he played for the Falcons. He is tied for team honors with two goals this season. But it's how those goals were scored that is most impressive. Malloch finished a fabulous 16th-minute free kick in the March 24 season opener with Saint Martin's. He spotted the ball 26 yards from the goal and sent a low strike inside the left post, out of reach from the diving goalie. His second score ended the April 10 home clash with Puget Sound, a golden goal 33 seconds into overtime. Malloch's two goals came on just three shots this season and all of his attempts have been on frame. He has six career goals and 10 assists. The other SPU seniors are returning in the fall.

SAM MALLOCH GOLDEN GOAL (APRIL 10)

Throw-Ins
• Since a 2-1 home loss to Saint Martin's in the season opener, SPU is undefeated in its last three games
 
• Alden Massey's two scores in the last outing marked the second multi-goal game of his career. He registered a hat trick versus Hawaii-Hilo on Sept. 15, 2018
 
• That was the second brace by a Falcon as Tyler Speer scored twice vs Pacific Lutheran on March 27
 
• The Falcons are outscoring opponents by a 10-6 margin on the strength of a 66-36 advantage in total shots
 
• SPU's three game-winning goals came from different players: Alden Massey, Sam Malloch & Titus Grant
 
• Alex Mejia is the only Falcon with double-digit shots, but just barely. He attempted 10 shots this season
 
• Nine players made their debut in an SPU uniform this season: Donovahn Allen, Evan Aune, Tyler Collings, Cade Cooke, Owen Gortner, Judah Johnston, Matt Samson, Joey Van Horn and Aidan Zadrozny.
 
• SPU implemented a different lineup in all four games with 22 different Falcons drawing at least one start
 
• Two Falcons earned a GNAC Player of the Week award: Tyler Speer (March 29) & Alden Massey (April 26)
 
Scoring Spree
With 10 goals in four games, the Falcons are averaging 2.50 goals per game. They need three goals in the final two games to guarantee a goals average above 2.00 for just the second time since 2006. The 2017 SPU squad had a 2.02 average (36 goals/17 games). The last team above 2.50 was 2.71 in 2002 (53/19). The school record is an astounding 3.87 goals average posted by the 1985 national championship team (89/23).
 
Scouting Western Washington (2-1-0)
The Vikings won their last two games, both versus Saint Martin's, after losing 1-0 at home to Puget Sound in their opener. They beat SMU 1-0 in overtime at home and then 2-1 in Lacey. Western's three goals this season came from different scorers, including Iakov Shmelev who also has an assist. Primary goalkeeper Brandon Locke has not allowed a goal in 185 minutes between the posts. The Falcons own a 48-19-9 lead in the all-time series despite losing the last three meetings by lopsided margins. The then 23rd-ranked Vikings won the last encounter 4-0 on Oct. 31, 2019 in Bellingham to complete a season sweep following a 3-1 win on Oct. 3 in Seattle. WWU was a 5-1 victor on Oct. 27, 2018. The last SPU win in the series was a 4-2 decision on Oct. 11, 2018 behind goals from a quartet of current Falcons: Ed Weise, Travis Swallow, Titus Grant and Jake Ferry.
 
Coach Collings
 

Mark Collings is in his 13th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has directed Seattle Pacific to a 129-67-31 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 53-year history of SPU men's soccer. Collings collected his third GNAC Coach of the Year award in 2015 (also 2010 & 2014). He 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.
 
Notable
• The NCAA is not conducting a postseason tournament for Division II men's soccer, nor is the Great Northwest Athletic Conference sponsoring a season so no league champion will be crowned. This year's contests are considered regular-season, counting games and qualify for both coaching, team and individual records.
 
• SPU will contest its fewest games ever this season. Only twice have the Falcons played less than 10 men's soccer games and that was the first two years with they played eight, going 0-7-1 in 1968 and 1-7-0 in 1969.
 
• The Falcons implemented 15 unique lineups in 17 games last season (2019) and a trio of defenders were the only players to start every outing (Nik Reierson, Travis Swallow & Ed Weise).
 
2020-21 Season Preview
Nine starters return from last season's team that won its final four games, including five of the top-six point producers. Headlining the list of returnees is first-team All-GNAC forward Titus Grant, who led the squad in 2019 with nine goals and seven assists. Also back is senior Alex Mejia, who netted four goals last season, senior Sam Malloch (2 goals/6 assists), junior Alden Massey (2/4) and junior Ed Weise (2/1). A trio of starters return on the backline in honorable mention All-GNAC selections Nik Reierson and Travis Swallow along with Weise. Junior Lars Helleren is back with 26 goalkeeper starts to his credit. That returning talent is bolstered by nine newcomers, including seven freshmen and two transfers.
 
Abbreviated Schedule
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced Jan. 8 that there would not be a league season so the Falcons fended for themselves in finding opponents. SPU will play fewer games than in any of its prior 52 seasons, with the previous least being eight games in both 1968 and 1969.
 
2019 Season Review
The Falcons won their final four games to vault into third place in the final GNAC standings with a 6-6-0 record. They compiled a 7-9-1 overall mark against a schedule ranked among the nation's most difficult. Four losses came against teams ranked in the final poll and two others were ranked when they met. SPU featured first-team All-GNAC forward Titus Grant, who ranked second among GNAC players in goals (9) and points (25) and was third in assists (7). Four Falcons were honorable mention All-GNAC picks: Sam Malloch, Nik Reierson, Eduardo Calvo-Salinas and Travis Swallow.