Conference play begins. Their demanding Southern California junket behind them, the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team begins Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with three games this week and makes its Interbay Stadium debut. The Falcons (1-1-1) visit Northwest Nazarene (2-0-0) Wednesday (Sept. 5) before hosting Central Washington (1-4-0) in the much-anticipated inaugural home match Saturday night (Sept. 8). After Western Washington comes to town Sept.. 11, the team goes to Northern California for the next four games.

Festivities aplenty. Saturday's pregame festivities include a pregame barbecue (cost is $5) on campus followed by a free shuttle to Interbay. There will be a silent auction of jerseys worn by U.S. National Team stars Michelle Akers and Cobi Jones, and 300 commemorative team photos, courtesy of the SPU Fellows, will be distributed to fans. After the game, Coach Bobby Bruch and his players will sign autographs and pose for pictures. Ticket prices 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.

Where will they fit in? Forget about the pomp and ceremony for a moment; these upcoming games will give everyone an early indication as to whether the Falcons are contenders for the first GNAC crown. They were picked to finish fifth in the seven-team league by the coaches, but Bruch probably pegged them a few slots higher. Some of those coaches may want to reconsider their vote following the encouraging SPU start to the season. Seattle University, a nationally-ranked NAIA program, is the conference preseason favorite, just ahead of Central and Western.

Taking care of business. All of those major "historic" firsts are indeed history for the Falcons. They have experienced a win, a tie and a loss. They've upset their first nationally-ranked team. And they've scored the initial goal and achieved a defensive shutout. Last week featured a little bit of everything. SPU registered its first victory via opportunism and the shutout, 3-0 at Vanguard. Midfielder Jessica Henson (Fr., Spokane, Wa./University) and forward Andrea Larsen (Sr., Portland, Or./Central Catholic) scored goals less than five minutes apart on the team's only shots of the first half. At that point, keeper Jennifer Hull (Fr., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) took charge, making eight saves and letting the woodwork stop two other shots by the Lions. Sarah Richards (Fr., Centralia, Wa.) added another goal with less than five minutes remaining.

Depth depleted. California is easy on the eyes but proved hard on the bodies of the Falcons. Bruch twice made postgame drives to the emergency room last week. In the late stages of the Vanguard match, Leila Stalnaker (Fr., Auburn, Wa./Seattle Christian) suffered a severely sprained ankle. Then Tara Wood (Fr., Bellevue, Wa./Newport), who assisted on both goals, was taken from Cal State Dominguez Hills by ambulance after being knocked unconscious when the ball struck her in the head. The game was halted for about 20 minutes and after Wood came around she was later diagnosed with a concussion.

Footnotes. Despite their .500 record, the Falcons have been decisively out-shot by opponents, 49-18, and they trail 18-8 in corner kicks. Hull has helped the defense weather the storm, averaging 9.3 saves per game...Sweeper Erin Roberts (Jr., Issaquah, Wa./Issaquah), who along with Ellingson scored at Dominguez Hills, leads the team in shots with five, including the team's very first attempt at goal this season...Larsen leads the team with two goals and five points but has attempted just three shots...Time will tell for the women's program, but the SPU men have found Interbay Stadium to an intimidating place for opponents to visit, winning 37 and tying two in 45 home games since the facility opened in 1997...Forward Michelle Hunt (Sr., Bellevue, Wa./Newport), a transfer from Northwood in Midland, Mich., is back training with the team. She is awaiting a ruling on her eligibility with regards to the transfer.

Schedule & Opponent Notes. Northwest Nazarene, although picked to finish in the GNAC basement, won its first three outings while senior forward Mindy Gibbens scored five times...Central Washington, picked No. 2 in the conference preseason poll, has lost four out of its first five, managing only a win at Notre Dame de Namur (Ca.)...Western Washington, runner-up to Seattle University for the conference title in 2000, plays twice on the road before arriving at Interbay.

SPU Coaching Staff. Bobby Bruch was hired as the Falcons' first head coach on Oct. 17, 2000. Bruch, an assistant on the SPU men's squad at the time, had been a successful girls coach in Southern California. He guided the West Coast F.C. Shamrocks of Mission Viejo, Ca., to the 1998 U.S. under-19 girls championship and his teams made it to the semifinal and final each on one other occasion. As a player, Bruch was a starting midfielder on Seattle Pacific's back-to-back NCAA men's titles in 1985-86 and later played on championship teams for F.C. Seattle (1988) and the L.A. Heat (1991). Assistant coach Sharon Harrold, a graduate of Redmond's Eastlake High School, played at Texas Christian before graduating from SPU in 2001.