PORTLAND, Ore. – When the United Soccer Coaches released its
weekly national rankings Tuesday, it was no surprise to see Seattle Pacific University sitting at No. 2.
After defeating No. 5 Stanislaus State 3-1 on Aug. 27 and topping No. 4 Point Loma 1-0 Saturday, the Falcons (4-0) are off to their best start in more than a decade. SPU's latest triumph over the Sea Lions – its first shutout of the year – earned the program the Athletic Solutions Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team of the Week award.
"It was a big weekend for the group," said SPU head coach
Kevin Sakuda, who is in his sixth season in charge. "We talk a lot about stacking performances and the guys did exactly that last weekend. We're still discovering who we are as a team, but this group has a tremendous amount of belief and is committed to working for one another. It's been a great start, but there is a lot of season ahead of us and the guys know we have to keep putting in the work to improve."
The latest hero for SPU was sophomore
Rafael Lucio, who was freshly minted as GNAC Player of the Week on Monday. He punched home a pair of goals in the Falcons' 3-2 win over Westmont on Thursday before following with the lone finish in the upset of Point Loma. His two game-winners last week contributed to his season total of four goals, as he has already equaled the total from his freshman campaign in 2025.
"I can't speak highly enough of Rafa," Sakuda said. "He's been battling an injury and to continue to show up and deliver those types of performances is a testament to his character. He is one of the best attacking players in this league and brings a level of creativity that you can't teach. We trust him in big moments, and he made plays when it counted last weekend."
In a match that featured three total penalty kicks, it was Lucio who got the scoring started with a 17th-minute conversion on Thursday against Westmont. The back-and-forth match saw the visitors equalize in the 63rd minute and then make things interesting with an 82nd-minute goal to bring the score to 3-2. By then, freshman
Isaac Grimes had scored his first collegiate goal and Lucio completed his brace to give SPU enough offense for its third straight win to start the year.
"We were happy with Thursday's result against Westmont but felt like we could have managed the game better and done more to keep them from getting back into it," Sakuda said. "Credit to Westmont – they are a good side and they made things very difficult on us. Those are good lessons early in the season, and moments we will grow from."
Saturday's heavyweight fight between the then-10th ranked Falcons and No. 4 Point Loma seemed as though it might just end in a scoreless draw. But a late penalty kick created a pressure-packed moment for Lucio, who stepped up from 12 yards out and propelled his team to victory.
Willem Ficek made three saves in goal while
Kasey Toevs,
Victor Cabanas,
Sebastian Rangel and
Isaac Ketcham all played the full 90 minutes on the back line.
"We have a ton of respect for how Point Loma plays and the first half was an entertaining, back-and-forth match," said Sakuda. "We found a bit more control in the second half, and in games like that, the margins are incredibly thin. We knew that defending well and keeping a clean sheet would give us an opportunity to win. Our guys battled for that opportunity and Rafa capitalized on it when the moment came."
Week three of non-conference play features a road trip to Denver, where the Falcons will square off against a Regis side that received votes in the latest coaches poll (Thursday, 4 p.m. PST) and Westminster (Saturday, 11 a.m. PST). The reigning GNAC regular-season co-champions will then travel to Dallas for matches against Dallas Baptist and St. Edward's, before kicking off their 10-game GNAC schedule on Sept. 24 against Northwest Nazarene on the road.
The Falcons are off to their hottest start since 2015, when they went 6-0-2 including 5-0 to begin unbeaten in eight consecutive matches. Since taking over in 2021, Sakuda has gone 48-30-20 (.592) overall and holds a league record of 26-17-13 (.580). He delivered an outright GNAC crown in his debut in 2021 before last year's shared title with Western Oregon, and he piloted SPU to the GNAC Championships title match in the debut conference tournament last fall.
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