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North, then South. A long and winding road fraught with searing temperatures takes the Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team to Chico State Wednesday night (Aug. 29) then south to the home of No. 1-rated Cal State Dominguez Hills, the defending NCAA Division II champions, Saturday (Sept. 1). Next week begins with a bout at Cal Poly Pomona. Following three games in Southern California the 13th-ranked Falcons return to the Northwest and the final two dates of their eight consecutive road games to open the season.

Triple digits? No problem. So much for the theory that the pasty-white, web-footed boys from soggy Seattle would wilt immediately in the intense late-summer heat of the Southwest. SPU encountered temperatures in excess of 100 degrees in their first two outings at Phoenix. They finished strong against the hometown Antelopes of Grand Canyon, winning 2-1, and, despite playing shorthanded the final 17 minutes, rallied to tie No. 4-ranked Lewis (Ill.) before falling 2-1 in overtime. The forecast for Chico Wednesday night is 98 degrees with milder weather awaiting Saturday in Carson, Ca.

He saves, he scores? It's conceivable that before his career is over, James Ward (Fr., Salem, Or./Sprague) could become the first SPU player to both start in goal and score in the other net during the same game. Ward made five saves to earn a win in his first start. In fact, he became the first true freshman in 19 years to open the season as the starting goalie. In the second game, he yielded to Adrian Cravalho (Jr., Mililani, Hi./Kamehameha) at keeper but nevertheless played most of the game­at forward. Ward scored 51 goals during his high school career.

A jolt out of the blue. Just before the team departed for Arizona they got an unexpected jolt when two-time all-conference midfielder Cory Janzen (Sr., Langley, B.C./Lynden Christian) left the squad for personal reasons. Janzen, who had started 62 of the 63 games the past three seasons, informed Coach Cliff McCrath that he was fatigued from playing year-round, including action in the Pacific Coast League and an outreach team's excursion to Asia this summer. Both player and coach left the door open for Janzen to return for his final season of eligibility in 2002.

Pivotal performance. With such a young team, Janzen's departure depleted one-third of the senior class and left the squad extremely vulnerable going into the season-opener. McCrath responded by fielding his most experienced players in the starting lineup and they, in turn, made the big plays in a pivotal performance. First, Michael Schefter (So., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) met a Grant Falco (Jr., Spokane, Wa./University) cross head-on for the first score on Grand Canyon. Then, with the score tied 1-1, Erik Skipper (Sr., Hillsboro, Or./Glencoe) curled a 22-yard free kick into the net with 22 minutes remaining for the game-winner, the ninth of his career.

Defense the determining factor. The connection between playing solid defense and winning soccer games can never be understated at SPU. Dating back to the 2000 season opener, the Falcons are unbeaten (14-0-1) when holding opponents to fewer than two goals. Lewis was the first regular season foe to score twice in 14 games. McCrath will be forced to reshuffle his backline at least once this week. Ward will continue to alternate with Cravalho in goal and defender Bobby Schefter (Jr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) will miss the Chico State contest after being ejected for accumulating two yellow cards vs. Lewis.

Footnotes. The Falcons' win vs. Grand Canyon was their 25th in the last 30 openers....Bobby Schefter became the first SPU player ejected since the 1999 season...Skipper's eight game-winning goals lifts him to 11th on the career list...Falco's goal versus Lewis was the 15th of his career but only the third scored on the road...McCrath started the same 10 field players in each of the first two games. The back four was Matt Laughlin (So., Selah, Wa./Selah) at sweeper, Taylor Hoff (So., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) at stopper and Max Leinbach (So., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) and Bobby Schefter on the outside. In midfield Skipper was joined by Brent Egbert (So., Bellingham, Wa./Sehome), Mike Pardini (Jr., Pasco, Wa.) and Mike Schefter. Falco and Joe Kinzel (So., Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) started at forward.

Opponents & Series Notes. Chico State, a longtime rival of SPU, leads the series 13-12-1 but the Falcons have won seven of the last nine meetings, including a 7-1 romp last year at Chico in which Dana Garner scored three goals...Cal State Dominguez Hills and Seattle Pacific met twice last season. The teams tied 1-1 in Seattle but the Toros won a first-round NCAA playoff in Carson, 4-0...Cal Poly Pomona was the only team to defeat SPU at home in 2000, however that was the Broncos' sole victory in nine meetings and the Falcons have won all five on the road.

Coaching Staff. Cliff McCrath begins the 2001 season as the active leader among all divisions in career coaching victories. He needs 23 to surpass San Francisco's recently-retired Steve Negoesco (543) as the all-time leader. McCrath has led SPU to a record 27 NCAA playoff appearances, including berths in each of the last 11 years, and five national titles (1978, '83, '85, '86 and '93). He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and is a past national coach of the year. His staff includes former Falcons Mark Metzger ('78 championship team), Peter Hattrup ('83 and '85 title teams) and Chuck Granade ('93 NCAA winners).

Tickets, Please. Ticket prices for all SPU regular season home games are $7 for reserved and $5 for general admission, with students and senior citizens receiving G.A. tickets for $3. Group rates are available by phoning (206) 281-2085 in advance.