Busy, busy, busy. Its postseason hopes revived, now the Seattle Pacific University men's soccer gets busy­very busy­in the coming week, with four matches during an eight-day period. The Falcons (6-3-0) put their five-game win streak on the line at Western Washington (4-6-0) in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener Thursday (Sept. 27). Then a three-game home stand begins Saturday afternoon (Sept. 29) versus Northwest Nazarene (1-9-0) . Finally, after facing Cal State Bakersfield (5-6-0) Tuesday (Oct. 2), there's a brief lull before Seattle University visits Interbay Stadium Oct. 6.

On a roll. Although his teams are better known for the perennial visits to the playoffs and their five NCAA championships, another characteristic of Coach Cliff McCrath's SPU squads are their ability to bounce back from slow starts. Once again this season the Falcons struggled early, losing three of the first four games (all to teams which are nationally-ranked this week). But since then they have reeled off five consecutive victories, including a pair of must-win results over fellow playoff contenders Sonoma State (2-0) and UC Davis (3-2 in overtime) a week ago. In four of the past six years SPU has been at or below .500 after five games yet snapped back to earn a postseason berth. Already the Falcons have climbed back to No. 4 in the region and this week received votes for a national ranking.

Growing-up together. With 13 new players, 18 underclassmen and only two seniors on his roster, McCrath was well aware his team was prone to a sluggish start. The upside, he said, was that the youngsters would grow-up together. True enough, and they've appeared to do so quickly. A starting 11 which featured two freshmen and five sophomores knocked off two of the region's top four teams at home last week.

Suit-up and score. Not only did David Smith (Fr., Corvallis, Or.) finally make his debut last week but he proved well worth the wait. Smith twice came of the bench to score the game-winning goal and he also set-up the first score versus UC Davis to earn GNAC player of the week. He had missed the first six games and much of preseason training with a pulled hamstring. Smith showed an ability to beat defenders and finish chances under pressure. His sudden-death strike against the Aggies came in overtime after UC Davis had rallied from a two-goal deficit.

No rust on them. It may have been a two-week break between games but there was little rust on the boots of Brent Egbert (So., Bellingham, Wa./Sehome). He continued to contribute offensively with a goal and assist vs. Davis and another goal vs. San Francisco State and now has scored three goals and had three assists in the last six games. In fact, each of the three starting forwards made their mark. Grant Falco (Jr., Spokane, Wa./University) assisted on three goals before finishing a brilliant individual effort vs. San Francisco State for the game-winner. Joe Kinzel (So., Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) scored for the third time against Davis.

Defense tightens. Priority One in McCrath's rebuilding plan has been the defense and there are signs that the pieces are in place. Three newcomers­sweeper Matt Laughlin (So., Selah, Wa.), marking back Tyler Falco (Fr., Veradale, Wa./University) and goalie James Ward (Fr., Salem, Or./Sprague)­have joined holdover Mike Pardini (Jr., Pasco, Wa.) and a steady rotation of defensive midfielders to hold opponents to a goals-against average of 1.17 during the win streak. Ward earned his first shutout vs. Sonoma State and is now 6-1 as a starter.

Footnotes. Seattle Pacific's game at Simon Fraser, originally scheduled for Sept. 15 and later postponed to Oct. 10, has not been canceled...Bob Schefter (So., Yakima, Wa./West Valley), now the starter at right midfield, had a goal and two assists last week and has a total of six points in the last four games...Falco leads the GNAC in assists (6) and is second in overall points (12). Ward is the leader in goals against average (1.45). The Falcons, having scored 15 goals in the last five games, are now the top offensive team, averaging 2.33 goals...SPU remains unbeaten (5-0-0) when tied or leading at halftime. It came from behind (0-1 at halftime) for the first time vs. San Francisco State with Egbert, Falco and Nathan Bringhurst (Fr., South Jordan, Ut./Bingham) scoring goals in the second half...The Falcons are 5-0-0 when playing before capacity crowds at Interbay. Attendance versus UC Davis was 985 and was comprised primarily of new students and their parents.

Opponents & series notes. This will be the Falcons' first trip to Bellingham since 1990. They have not lost to the Vikings since 1970, winning 29 and tying two. The game at Civic Stadium will be played on artificial FieldTurf. The game was rescheduled after originally being slated for Sept. 12...Northwest Nazarene was to picked to finish on the opposite end of the GNAC standings. The Crusaders' first visit to Interbay a year ago was a nightmare, losing 13-0...Cal State Bakersfield, a playoff rival of Seattle Pacific during the Nineties, is struggling to stay in postseason contention. The Roadrunners trail the series 7-3-1...SPU is 40-6-2 at Interbay since the facility opened in 1997.

Coaching Staff. Cliff McCrath begins the 2001 season as the active leader among all divisions in career coaching victories. He needs 18 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, Œ83, Œ85, Œ86 and Œ93). He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and is a past national coach of the year.