SEATTLE – This week in Seattle Pacific University Athletics, men's and women's soccer head to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, women's volleyball plays its final home weekend of the season, women's basketball hosts a four-team tournament, and men's basketball gets its season started in California.
 
MEN'S SOCCER
Nov. 13 – 11:00 a.m.
at #3 Western Washington - GNACNetwork – live stats – tickets – GNAC Championships info
 
Nov. 15 – 11:00 a.m.
at GNAC Championships Final – GNACNetwork – live stats – tickets – GNAC Championships info

FROM THE COACH
"It's an exciting time of the year," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "We have a fantastic opportunity in front of us. The conference tournament certainly amplifies the emotion and pressure that comes with big games, but our focus is always on controlling the things we can control and staying anchored to the values that got us here.  We are excited to continue to write our story."
 
ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons were crowned GNAC Regular Season Co-Champions after a 4-1 victory over Northwest Nazarene last Saturday.
  • The Falcons are GNAC Co-Champions for the first time since they won it outright in 2021.
    • It's the fifth regular-season GNAC title in program history.
      • Five regular-season GNAC Championships are the third-most in the conference behind Simon Fraser's eight and Seattle U's six.
  • It's the second regular-season GNAC title the Falcons have won under head coach Kevin Sakuda.
• JJ Diaz was sensational for the Falcons, scoring twice while adding an assist to total five points last Saturday.
  • Diaz was named the GNAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
• The Falcons enter the GNAC Championships with the best scoring average of any team in the tournament, averaging 2.167 goals per game.
• 14 different Falcons have scored a total of 39 goals this season, the second most in the GNAC and most among remaining teams in the GNAC Championships.
• The Falcons are tied with Western Oregon with the fewest goals allowed this season in the GNAC with 17.
• Rafael Lucio ranks second in the conference in shots on goal with 1.24 per game.
• Orlando Erazo ranks sixth in the conference with six goals in 2025.
  • Erazo is tied for the most game-winning goals in the GNAC with three this season.
  • Diaz is tied for fifth with two this season.
• Brian Lanier ranks second in the GNAC goals against average with .951 per game.
  • He's appeared in nine more games than the league's leader.
  • Lanier has allowed 17 goals this season and owns a save percentage of .776.

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Nov. 13 – 2:00 p.m.
at #1 Western Washington - GNACNetwork – live stats – tickets – GNAC Championships info
 
Nov. 15 – 2:00 p.m.
at GNAC Championships Final - GNACNetwork – live stats – tickets – GNAC Championships info
 
FROM THE COACH
"It's fun to have qualified for the GNAC Championships this fall," head coach Arby Busey said. "A lot of hard work by our ladies went into creating this opportunity. We are excited to head up to Burnaby and play together again. We know we have big challenges with the quality of our opponent and will prepare this week for those."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons wrapped their regular season with a 1-0 victory over MSU Billings last Thursday before earning a 2-2 draw with Saint Martin's last Saturday.
• Kayla Wallace scored the game-winning goal against the Yellowjackets, thanks to an assist from Taylor Heit.
  • The goal was Wallace's fourth game-winning goal of 2025 for the Falcons.
• Mercedes Cullen and Landry Schoennauer teamed up in goal to shut out MSUB.
  • Cullen played the first half in goal without facing a shot from MSUB.
  • Schoennauer took over for the second half and made the only save of the day for the Falcons.
• The Falcons earned their spot in the GNAC Championships by beating Billings last Thursday.
  • It's the 13th time in program history that the Falcons have qualified for the tournament.
  • SPU has never missed the GNAC Women's Soccer Championships since its inception in 2012.
• SPU earned a 2-2 draw with SMU last Saturday.
• Andie Buckley gave the Falcons the lead in the 8th minute with an assist from Ashlyn Valdovinos.
• The Falcons trailed 2-1 in the 77th minute when Wallace tied the game with a penalty kick goal.
  • Wallace scored her 10th goal of the season last Saturday.
    • Wallace is tied with six other Falcons for the 16th most single-season goals scored.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Nov. 13 – 7:00 p.m.
vs. Saint Martin's – watch – live stats – tickets
 
Nov. 15 – 2:00 p.m.
vs. Western Oregon - watch – live stats – tickets
 
FROM THE COACH
"While the season has seen some ups and downs in terms of wins and losses and close games, the coaches and leaders on our team continue to be excited about the trajectory of the program and the progress that our group has made," head coach Jason Rhine said. "Our team has formed close relationships with each other and is invested in the well-being of their teammates on and off the court. They also continue to work hard and have been coming for extra reps even in these final few weeks of the season, which says a lot about their drive to improve and grow."

"The team is excited to compete and enjoy our last two home games while using the opportunity to continue to build for the future," Rhine added. "Western Oregon and Saint Martin's have different playing styles and different strengths, and they will both present chances to adapt to our opponents while still playing to our strengths as a team."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons hosted Montana State University Billings last Saturday and swept the Yellowjackets 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-16).
• SPU had a hitting percentage of .345 as a team against MSUB.
• Megan Omlid led everyone with 16 kills on an efficient .341 hitting percentage while adding 11 digs for a double-double.
• Amaya Evans joined Omlids with double-digit kills, with 11 on a .450 hitting percentage.
• Omlid and Madeline Eggerth led the Falcons with two aces each against the Yellowjackets.
• Sophia Chambers (16), Avery Veenendall (11), and Peyton Ensign (10) all had double-figure assists for the Falcons.
• Christina Lopez had a game-high 24 digs for the Falcons on Saturday.
  • Lopez reached 1,000 career digs with the Falcons in the first set of Saturday's match. 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Nov. 14 – 7:30 p.m.
vs. Cal State LA – watch – live stats - tickets
 
Nov. 15 – 7:30 p.m.
vs. #17 Dominguez Hills – watch – live stats - tickets
 
FROM THE COACH
"Opening weekend is finally here, and our energy is unmatched," head coach Karen Byers said. "I'm eager for our team to take the court, compete, and test ourselves against some of the most talented teams out there."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons enter the 2025-26 season being picked ninth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
  • The Falcons are coming off an 8-23 season in 2024-25. They won five games on their home court last season.
• Head coach Karen Byers' interim tag was removed last May.
  • Under Byers, the Falcons saw a jump in offense throughout the 2024-25 season.
  • SPU averaged 65.6 points per game, eight more points per game than the previous season.
  • They shot 39.8 percent from the field in their increased offense.
• Layne Kearns was named to the GNAC Preseason All-Conference team on Oct. 21.
  • Kearns started all 31 games for the Falcons last season, averaging 10.6 points per game and five rebounds per game.
    • She ranked second on the team and 22nd in the conference with 10.6 points per game season ago.
  • Kearns went 68-for-78 from the free throw line and had a free throw percentage of .872. It was the second-best in the GNAC last season.
• Madison Rubino, Grace Leasure, Haylie-Anne Ohta, Grace Turley, and Julia Lavigne figure to be key returners for the Falcons this season.
• The Falcons welcomed 10 new players to the roster in their 2025-26 signing class.
• Naomi Hotchkiss, Pippa Krieger, India Pines, Emma Voellger, and Cascadia Yates bring size to the Falcons.
  • Each player stands at 6-0 feet or taller.
• Ava Mai, Jasmine Pho, Kara Wilson, and twin sisters Jadlyn Senderson and Layla Senderson are the group of talented guards joining the Falcons.

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Nov. 14 – 5:30 p.m.
at Cal Poly Pomona – 5:30 p.m. – watch – live stats – tickets
 
Nov. 15 – 5:30 p.m.
vs. RV Chico State – 5:30 p.m. – watch – live stats – tickets
 
FROM THE COACH
"We're excited to get the season started," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "November brings an opportunity to see where we are as a team. We get to play against some West Region opponents in hopes of positioning ourselves for a run in March. We've been working hard, so we're excited for what's ahead."
 
ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons enter the season picked seventh in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
  • It's the same spot they were picked to finish last year, before a magical march through the GNAC Championships saw the Falcons earn their conference-record fifth GNAC title.
  • SPU made its 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season.
• Trace Evans was named the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year on Oct. 23.
  • He averaged 10.9 points per game, shot 61.1 percent from the field, and had 4.9 rebounds per game for SPU during the 2024-25 season.
  • The big man from down under returns with the most points per game and rebounds per game on the team from a season ago.
  • Evans ranked second in the GNAC last season in field goal percentage.
    • He had 83 more attempts than the conference leader.
  • Evans ranked 20th in the conference in rebounds per game a season ago.
• Grant Coleman, Nikias Schoenerstedt, Julian Mora, and Logan Kinloch figure to be key returners for the Falcons this season.
• Connor Drinkwine and Theo McMillan join the Falcons as transfers from Skagit Valley College and Clark College, respectively.
  • McMillan played the 2023-24 season at SPU and averaged 17.8 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game, and 6.2 assists per game at Clark College last season.
• Brant Heppner, Logan Rainey, Sebastian Arius, Nirvaan Misra, and Yoav Ziklik join the Falcons for the first season of collegiate basketball.
  • Heppner was a two-time First Team All-League selection and was the league's Most Valuable Player as a senior.
  • Heppner was a part of three state championship-winning teams and was on the state tournament's All-Tournament team twice.
  • Arius averaged 18 points per game, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals per game as a senior at Auburn Mountainview.

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