SEATTLE – This week in Seattle Pacific University athletics, the 13^th-ranked men's soccer team plays its final road matches of the regular season, women's volleyball competes in a road match, cross country has its final regular season meet, and women's soccer hosts two conference matches this weekend.
 
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 22 – 7:00 p.m.
vs. #8 Western Washington – watch – live stats – tickets
 
Saturday, Oct. 24 – 5:00 p.m.
vs. Simon Fraser –  watch – live stats – tickets
 
FROM THE COACH
"Another week full of challenges for our group," head coach Arby Busey said. "We are back at home, and hosting the top two teams in the conference this weekend. Great opportunity for us to gauge where we are at right now! We have been in good form the past couple weeks, things have been clicking! We'll need to be at our best to continue to get results this weekend, as both opponents are top tier!! These types of games are enjoyable to participate in, our program looks forward to them."
 
ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons picked up a 2-1 victory over Central Washington and a 3-1 win over Northwest Nazarene, both on the road last weekend.
  • Maddie Cooke scored the game-winning goal against the Wildcats.
  • Andie Buckley scored a goal and dished out an assist against the Nighthawks.
• The Falcons are unbeaten over their last six matches, touting a 4-0-2 record during that span.
• SPU is third in the GNAC standings with 20 points.
  • Western Washington leads the table with 28 points, having already locked themselves into the GNAC Championships.
  • Simon Fraser is one spot ahead of the Falcons with 22 points.
• The Falcons rank second in the conference in goals (27) and assists (25).
• Logann Dukes is tied for third in the conference with five goals this season.
• Ashlyn Valdovinos leads the conference in game-winning goals with three in 2026.
• Sophie Hanay is fourth in the conference in assists with five.

MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Oct. 22 – 12:00 p.m.
at Western Oregon – watch – live stats
 
Saturday, Oct. 24 – 3:00 p.m.
at Saint Martin's – watch – live stats
 
FROM THE COACH
"I've been really proud of the consistency and mentality of this group over the last few weeks," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "We've put ourselves in a great position, but we know there's still a lot of work ahead of us. The biggest thing is making sure we don't get caught up in the standings or what we've accomplished so far but continue to focus on the things that have gotten us here. Going on the road again presents another challenge, but we're excited for the opportunity to keep building on the momentum we've created."
 
ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons extended their current winning streak to five matches with victories over Simon Fraser (3-1) and Western Washington (2-1).
  • With last Thursday's 3-1 victory over SFU, SPU moved into first place in the GNAC standings.
  • Last Saturday's victory over the Vikings secured the regular season sweep for the Falcons.
    • The last time the Falcons beat the Vikings in both of their regular season contests was 11 years ago in 2015, when SPU beat WWU 2-1 on Oct. 1, 2015, and 4-0, on Oct. 17, 2015.
• With Saturday's victory over the Vikings, the Falcons improved to 8-0-0 at Interbay Soccer Stadium this season with two home games remaining in the 2026 regular season.
  • The last time the Falcons went unbeaten at home was in 2015, when the team finished the regular season 7-0-3 at Interbay Soccer Stadium.
• With four matches remaining in the regular season, another victory will secure the winningest season the Falcons have had under sixth-year head coach Kevin Sakuda.
• Judah Straight provided assists in both game-winning goals, and scored once in last week's matches, helping him earn the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award.
• Willem Ficek made three saves in the triumph over Simon Fraser on Thursday, before following with four stops in the win over the Vikings on Saturday on his way to earning the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week award.
  • Ficek ranks third in the conference with a goals against average of 1.23 per game.
• The Falcons lead the GNAC in goals scored with 36, and points with 100 this season.
  • They are tied for 11^th in the country in total goals.
  • SPU is tied for 17^th in the country in points per game with 6.67.
• Rafael Lucio is tied for seventh in the conference in goals scored with five this season.
  • He's also tied for the third-most game-winning goals this season with two.
• JJ Diaz is tied for fourth in the GNAC with five assists this season.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Saturday, Oct. 24 – 1:00 p.m.
at Montana State University Billings – watch – live stats
 
FROM THE COACH
"Having only one match this week comes at a great time," head coach Jason Rhine said. "It allows us to get a little bit of physical and mental rest and then to refocus on small things we want to improve going into our last few weeks of GNAC play.  We know that each match is going to have unique challenges but ultimately, we also want to keep finding ways to play our best individually and as a group.  That might mean finding small skill or tactical improvements in practice or something like developing healthy routines of schoolwork and sleep as we work to show up as our best selves to each practice and competition."
 
ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons extended their current winning streak to four matches with wins over Saint Martin's and Western Oregon last weekend.
  • Amaya Evans finished the match with a career-high 20 kills against the Saints, outdoing a previous career-high of 15 that was matched three times during her time with the Falcons.
    • A .514 hitting percentage is also the best of her career at SPU.
  • Against the Wolves, Peyton Ensign finished the match with 53 assists, setting a new career high.
• SPU has won 10 of its last 12 matches and boast a 9-2 record in GNAC play.  
• The Falcons and Central Washington are tied for first place in the GNAC standings with seven matches left in the regular season.
• SPU is finding success at the net, with opponents blocking just 1.56 attacks per set, the best mark in the conference.
• The Falcons rank fourth in the conference with a .229 hitting percentage.
  • Audra Rose ranks sixth in the conference with a .300 hitting percentage.
• SPU is third in the conference with 11.85 assists per game.
  • Ensign is fourth in the conference with 6.96 assists per set.
• Christina Lopez ranks fourth in the conference with 4.29 digs per set. 

CROSS COUNTRY
Friday, Oct. 23 – 3:00 p.m.
at The Tyson Invite – meet info
 
FROM THE COACH
"We've been working on some things the last few weeks that we felt like we needed to improve after our last big meet at Western Oregon," assistant coach Eric Hansen said. "Emerald City gave us a chance to practice those parts of our race. We hope to see that improved execution show in the team scores at Gonzaga this weekend against some teams we haven't gotten to race yet this year."
 
ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons last competed at the Emerald City Open on Oct. 10.
• Anna Prussian, Esther Paulson and Alexa Gossett went 2-3-4, leading the Falcons to a first-place team finish in the Emerald City Open at very hilly Lower Woodland Park.
  • Prussian came across in 22:59.35, Paulson clocked 23:26.23, and Gossett was right behind in 23:27.07.
• Jaylynn Erickson cracked the top 10, placing seventh in 24:02.34. Rounding out SPU's scoring was freshman Jocelyn Schnurbusch, placing 14th in 24:53.85.
• In the 8K men's race, Avery Erickson led the way for the Falcons, placing sixth overall.
• Daniel Ojeda also shined for the SPU men, finishing the race in 11^th place.
• Friday will be the Falcons final meet before the GNAC Championships on Nov. 7 in Monmouth, Ore.

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