SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team plans to celebrate seven seniors before Saturday's match against Western Washington at 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium.
THE PAST FOUR YEARS
Lars Helleren, Ed Weise, Cade Cooke, Aidan Chaparro, Alden Massey, Owen Gortner, and Colby Nelson are playing their final season with the Falcons. The group experienced a unique time, from a global pandemic, transitions to and from online learning, and on-field successes.
Those on-field successes came during the 2021 season. This group was a part of a team that won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament but fell in the first round to Colorado State-Pueblo. They followed it by being one of the top teams in the GNAC this season.
QUOTABLE
"As talented as this group is as soccer players, they are even better human beings," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "These seven guys represent everything we want SPU men's soccer players to be. They have invested so much into this program, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work alongside them for the last two years. I'm looking forward to seeing them continue to impact the world and the people around them long after they leave SPU. We are excited that we get the opportunity to honor this group of young men who mean so much to all of us."
ABOUT THE SENIORS
Helleren has appeared in 63 matches for the Falcons, playing 5,506 minutes. He's made 223 saves and is eight saves away from moving into 5th all-time in career saves in SPU men's soccer history. He owns a career record of 30-21-10 and has 15 shutouts over his career. Helleren has earned GNAC All-Academic honors three times while at SPU.
Weise has appeared in 64 matches for the Falcons, playing 5,223 minutes. He's scored six goals and dished out two assists for 14 total points over his career.
Cooke has appeared in 21 matches for the Falcons, playing 944 minutes. He made 10 starts and sent 50 percent of his attempted shots on goal.
Chaparro has appeared in 68 matches for the Falcons, playing 3,023 minutes. He made 25 starts and dished out three assists over his career. He's sent 53.8 percent of his shot attempts on goal. Chaparro has earned GNAC All-Academic honors three times while at SPU.
Massey has appeared in 68 matches for the Falcons, playing 4,295 minutes. He made 54 starts, scored 17 goals, and dished out 12 assists for 46 total points over his career.
Gortner has appeared in 21 matches for the Falcons, playing 461 minutes. He's made four starts, scored one goal, and dished out two assists. He's sent 50 percent of his shot attempts on goal.
Nelson has appeared in five matches for the Falcons, playing 49 minutes. He plans on graduating with a computer science degree from SPU.
SCOUTING THE WESTERN WASHINGTON VIKINGS (11-2-3, 7-2-0 GNAC)
The Vikings have had an outstanding year thus far and will battle Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser for the GNAC crown. The regular season concludes next weekend, as WWU's 21 points trail the 22 points that belong to NNU. The Vikings and the Nighthawks play each other next Thursday, Nov. 3 at noon MT in Nampa, Idaho.
The Falcons and Vikings met for the first time this season on Oct. 1. Cameron Yriondo scored his first career goal, but it wasn't enough as the Vikings walked away with a 3-1 win.
It's been the offense that has carried the Vikings. They're averaging 1.75 goals per game. Albin Jonsson leads the team with seven goals and five assists for 19 points on the year. Andrew Rotter has been excellent as well, scoring four goals with four assists for 12 points.
