SEATTLE (June 7) ­ Tom Funk, the top scorer for Illinois state champion Sandburg High School in Orland Park, has signed a national letter of intent to play soccer at Seattle Pacific University beginning this fall.

Funk, a 6-foot-1 forward, scored 16 goals and had 11 assists for Sandburg, which went 27-1-1 en route to the class AA state title and was ranked No. 6 in the nation. He was selected to the all-SICA West team as a junior and senior.

Funk also plays for the Windy City Pride, twice winner of the Busch tournament and a state cup semifinalist, and was that club¹s top scorer for five seasons. He played briefly for the Chicago Magic earlier this year.

Seattle Pacific has signed three recruits, including Funk. Earlier, midfielder Ross Vaillancourt of Manchester West (NH) and Andy Willis of Gig Harbor (Wa.) had committed to the Falcons.

SPU, a five-time NCAA Division II champion, returns nine starters from a team which went 10-8-1 last season. It has qualified for the playoffs 28 times while posting 31 consecutive winning seasons.