SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific University women's soccer head coach Arby Busey announced the team's 2023 schedule on Wednesday afternoon, featuring a four-team tournament at home to open the season, nonconference trips to California and Colorado, all building toward the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament in Ellensburg, Wash.
"We are excited about our schedule," Busey said. "We always try to put together a very challenging non-conference schedule and this year is no exception. We will see some quality opponents both at home and on the road. When we get to the conference, our hope is we'll be ready to face GNAC opposition. We have some great teams in our conference and it is always difficult to navigate through that part of our schedule. Right now, it's just all excitement about getting started and working to improve ourselves every day."
After three scrimmages at Interbay Soccer Stadium in August, the Falcons open their season by hosting the SPU Kickoff Classic. Central Washington, Cal Poly Humboldt, and Westminster are all set to participate. The Falcons take on the Griffins on Aug, 31 at 1 p.m. and wrap up the weekend against the Lumberjacks on Sept. 2 at 11 a.m.
SPU plays three more nonconference matches over the next two weeks. They take a trip to California to play SF State on Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. Then on Sept. 9, the Falcons battle Chico State at 7 p.m. SPU finishes its nonconference schedule against Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. PST.
GNAC play begins on Sept. 21 when the Falcons host MSU Billings. Kickoff for that match happens at 5 p.m. Then on Sept. 23, SPU hosts the reigning national champions in Western Washington at 5 p.m. The game is a whiteout, as the first 100 SPU students that attend the game a free white shirt.
The Falcons travel east for games at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington during the final weekend of September. The Falcons and Nighthawks kickoff at 6 p.m. PST on Sept. 26. Then on Sept. 28, SPU takes on CWU at 7 p.m.
SPU hosts Saint Martin's on Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. Western Oregon is in town on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. for Family Night. All tickets are 50 percent off. Be sure to arrive early to enjoy corn hole, coloring books, spike ball, and more.
The Falcons take off for four road games over the next two weeks. They'll take on Simon Fraser and MSU Billings on Oct. 12 and Oct. 14. Then on Oct. 19 and Oct. 21, SPU plays Western Oregon and Saint Martin's respectively.
October ends with matches against Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene at Interbay. The Falcons host the Wildcats on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. Then on Oct. 28, SPU plays NNU at 4:30 p.m. During that game, the Falcons plan to celebrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The final road match of the season happens on Nov. 2, as the Falcons make the trip to Bellingham, Wash. to play Western Washington. Kickoff for that match happens at 7 p.m.
SPU wraps up the regular season with their senior night, scheduled for Nov. 4. The Falcons take on Simon Fraser at 5 p.m. and will celebrate their seniors before the match.
The GNAC Tournament takes place in Ellensburg, Wash. this year on Nov. 9-11. NCAA preliminary rounds take place Nov. 16 through Dec. 3. All postseason play leads to the NCAA Final Four that happens Dec. 7-9 in East Ridge, Tenn.
