SEATTLE – This week in Seattle Pacific University Athletics, men's soccer hits the road for the first time this season, women's volleyball opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on the road, men's and women's cross country open their season, and women's soccer plays their home opener against Colorado Mesa on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
 
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Saturday, Sept. 12 – 11:00 a.m.
vs. Colorado Mesa – watch – live stats - tickets
 
FROM THE COACH
"We are very excited to be at home, and to play at Interbay Stadium this weekend," head coach Arby Busey said. "We really enjoyed our time on the road, and we played well, but nothing beats playing at home. We have a great opponent in Colorado Mesa, a team that will challenge us in many ways. We can't wait for Saturday."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons opened the 2026 season with a three-game road trip to Northern California, picking up victories over Chico State (3-2), Jessup (2-1), and Cal State East Bay (4-3).
  • SPU's only game from last week was their 4-3 victory over the Pioneers on Sept. 1.
  • Ashlyn Valdovinos, Logann Dukes, Haley Teafilo, and Sophie Hanay scored consecutive goals for the Falcons to put them up 4-0 48 minutes into the match.
  • The Pioneers chipped away at the Falcons' lead, but SPU held on to pick up the 4-3 victory.
• Early on in 2026, the Falcons lead the conference in goals (9) and assists (9) this season.
• Valdovinos, L. Dukes, and Teofilo lead the Falcons with two goals each through the first three matches of the season.
  • The SPU trio are tied for the most goals scored in conference with two.
  • Valdovinos is tied for second in the conference with five shots on goal this season.
• Hanay has created chances for the Falcons, leading the squad with three assists so far this season.
• Landry Schoennauer has played the most minutes in goal for the Falcons this season, facing 29 shots while making 12 saves.

MEN'S SOCCER
Thursday, Sept. 10 – 4:00 p.m. PST
at RV Regis – watch – live stats
 
Saturday, Sept. 12 – 11:00 a.m. PST
at Westminster - watch – live stats
 
FROM THE COACH
"We've been pleased with how the group has started the season," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "The guys are competing for one another, showing a lot of belief, and finding different ways to win. We are still learning and growing as a team, but each match has given us valuable experiences that we can build on."

"This week presents a new challenge with our first road trip," Sakuda added. "Traveling to Denver and facing two quality RMAC opponents in Westminster and Regis will test us in every way. Guys come to SPU to be challenged and play against top competition, and this is our first opportunity to show who we are away from Interbay.  We need to bring the same identity and togetherness that we have shown over the first four games."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons extended their current winning streak to four matches over the weekend.
• Last Thursday, the Falcons picked up a 3-2 victory over Westmont.
  • Rafael Lucio made the most of two penalty kick opportunities, scoring twice for the Falcons in their victory over the Warriors.
  • Isaac Grimes scored the first goal of his career last Thursday evening, with an assist going to JP Guzman.
• The Falcons earned a 1-0 victory over fourth-ranked Point Loma last Saturday night at Interbay Soccer Stadium.
  • It was SPU's second victory over a team ranked fifth or better in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll.
  • Lucio was the hero again, scoring what would be the game-winning goal with another penalty kick in the 84^th minute.
  • Willem Ficek earned his first shutout with the Falcons last Saturday, facing 16 shots, making three saves, and keeping the Sea Lions scoreless over 90 minutes.
• After four matches, the Falcons lead the GNAC in goals scored with 11 this season.
  • The Falcons also lead the conference with 27 shots on goal in 2026.
• Lucio is tied with Western Oregon's Archie Dhima with four goals this season.
• Lucio and Judah Straight lead the conference in game-winning goals with two each this season.
• The Falcons moved from 10^th to 2^nd in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 10 – 8:00 p.m. PST
at RV Alaska Anchorage – watch – live stats
 
Saturday, Sept. 12 – 3:00 p.m. PST
at #16 Alaska Fairbanks – watch – live stats
 
FROM THE COACH
"We've seen a good range of teams in terms of strengths, playstyles, and even a variety of gym environments to compete in," head coach Jason Rhine said. "We believe that has prepared us well for another challenging weekend with a little longer travel and strong teams in two tough places that are difficult to win in.  We will use the next couple of days to continue growing and refining some of the key tactical and technical areas which will give us the best chance to compete hard for a win against two solid opponents."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Falcons performed strongly at the Hawaii Challenge last weekend, going 3-1 in four matches in the Aloha State.
• SPU opened with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 19-25, 16-14) victory over Emmanuel on Sept. 4.
  • Joslyn Greff led the Falcons with a career-high 18 kills, topping the 16 she had last Nov. 3 against Saint Martin's.
  • Christina Lopez turned in a career-high 28 digs during last Thursday's match.
• The Falcons weekend continued with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 9-25, 25-20) win over Hawaii Hilo last Friday.
  • Seattle Pacific had by far its best hitting match of the season, finishing at .347 (52 kills-10 errors-121 attacks).
  • Audra Rose finished with a season-high .714 hitting percentage, getting her 10 kills on 14 attacks.
  • Amaya Evans and Brooke Williams were both in the .400s: Evans got her 14 kills on .458 hitting, and Williams hit .455 with seven kills.
• SPU's only loss of the weekend happened at the hands of Chaminade, 3-1 (25-20, 25-12, 25-27, 25-23).
  • Evans and Megan Omlid had 15 kills apiece.
    • Evans hit at a .448 clip (15-2-29), and Omlid hit .245 and came up with seven digs.
  • Ensign had a career-high 31 assists, outdoing her previous best of 26 on Aug. 29 against Westmont.
• The Falcons wrapped up the Hawaii Challenge with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 28-26) sweep of Hawaii Pacific last Saturday.
  • Seattle Pacific finished with a .345 hitting percentage with 44 kills and 12 errors on 105 attacks.
  • Omlid's 14 kills made her the only Falcon in double digits. She had just two errors on 35 attacks for a .343 hitting percentage.
• Omlid was the only Falcon named to the Hawaii Challenge's All-Tournament Team.
  • Omlid had 54 kills for the tournament, ranking No. 5 overall.
  • Her total included a tourney-high 19 against Emmanuel on Thursday.
• Lopez's 71 digs tied for the tournament lead. Her career-high 28 vs. Emmanuel was a single-match high for the tournament.
• Ensign finished with 96 assists, a 6.00 per-set average to rank No. 6.
• SPU was the tourney's top hitting team at .264. Its .347 against Hawaii Hilo on Friday and .305 against Hawaii Pacific on Saturday were the only .300-plus performances among the eight schools.

CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Sept. 12 – 11:00 a.m.
at The Puget Sound Invitational
 
FROM THE COACH
"We are looking forward to the start of the season," assistant coach Eric Hansen said. "It has obviously been a while since anybody last raced, so we are excited to put the spikes back on and start competing again. We have a lot of new freshmen who put in an incredible summer of training, and we are really excited to watch them race in an SPU uniform for the first time."

ABOUT THE FALCONS

• The Seattle Pacific University men's and women's cross country teams compete in their first meet of the season on Saturday at the Puget Sound Invitational.
• The SPU men's cross country team was picked to finish seventh in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Avery Erickson returns to the team after being named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year at last fall's GNAC Championships.
  • He finished 14^th (24:52.3) at the GNAC Championships last season.
• Silas Demmert returns to the Falcons after a 34^th-place finish at last year's GNAC Championships.
  • Nathan Korth, Mason Oleson-Borland, Alex Venable, and Sam Wieland round out the returners for the Falcons.
  • Daniel Ojeda and Alex Ramos Yin are new to the Falcons for the 2026 season.
• The SPU women's team was picked to finish fifth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Anna Prussian returns to the Falcons after earning her first All-Conference Award at last year's GNAC Championships.
  • She finished ninth at the GNAC Championships, the top returning finisher from last year's event.
• Prussian leads Alexa Gossett, Nicole Pierce, and Lucia Templeton as the returners to the Falcons this season.
  • Gossett just missed out on a top-20 finish at last year's GNAC Championships with a 21^st-place finish.
• The Falcons welcome five new women to the roster in 2026.
  • Olivia Beaudin, Jaylynn Erickson, Esther Paulson, Taylor Pennell, and Jocelyn Schnurbusch will look to make an impact in their first season with the Falcons. 

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