End of summer. The calendar shows that a month of summer remains but for the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team, autumn begins in nine short days. The Falcons, following a preseason scrimmage Aug. 27 at Evergreen, kick-off their second season of play Aug. 31 at Sonoma State. They play two more contests in the Golden State before their home opener Sept. 10. In all, SPU has 11 home games on its 2002 schedule, four more than in the inaugural season as a varsity sport.

Greater opportunities. Following a spectacular first season in which the Falcons contended for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship until the final week of the season and finished a respectable 8-10-1 overall, this fall Coach Bobby Bruch plans to take his program one step closer to his goal of reaching the NCAA Division II tournament. For its part, the NCAA has expanded the tournament bracket from 16 to 24 teams this season, meaning the top three teams in the Far West Region will qualify. However, Seattle Pacific resides in the most competitive of all regions and its four meetings with California Collegiate Athletic Association teams will have a great bearing on postseason selection. CCAA members filled the top seven slots in last year's final regional rankings.

Grist for the mill. From their opening-game draw with nationally-ranked Point Loma Nazarene to the inaugural home game victory over Central Washington and through to the end of the GNAC championship chase, it was a very memorable first season of women's soccer on the SPU campus. If that trend holds, 2k2 is sizing up to be another humdinger: This week's GNAC soccer poll picked the Falcons to finish a close third behind perennial powerhouse Seattle University and Western Oregon. The Redhawks visit Interbay Stadium Sept. 25. The first of 12 GNAC games is Sept. 7 at Humboldt State.

Key roles available. Bruch has five starters among his eight returnees but there will be some key roles which need filling. The Falcons lost their top two players, scoring leader Andrea Larsen and sweeper Erin Roberts, to graduation. The good news is that Bruch has all-conference pick Michelle Sanders (So., Centralia, Wa.) back in the fold, along with midfielders LeRin Farrison (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Mountain View-Highline CC) and Jessica Henson (So., Spokane, Wa./University), steady defender Katie Lim (So., Hillsboro, Or.) and goalkeeper Jennifer Hull (So., Eugene. Or./Sheldon). The latter two were among five players to start all 19 games last season. Sanders led the team and finished fifth in the GNAC with six assists. Farrison is the squad's sole senior.

Recruiting class notes. With Bruch expanding his roster from 17 to 24 players, there were plenty of open spots available to newcomers. Several arrived with collegiate experience. Nicole Ruiz (Jr., Federal Way, Wa./Federal Way- Barry) was a two-year starter on defense for national powerhouse Barry (Fl.). Midfielder Allison Teague (Fr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) was a redshirt for Santa Clara, the Division I national champion last fall. Forward Sarah Melby (So., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak-Idaho) transferred from Idaho, where she finished second on the team in assists and was a part-time starter as a freshman. In all, there are 12 freshman and only two upperclassmen (Farrison and Ruiz) on the roster.

Ode to the lost. Larsen, an all-conference forward who had played previously at Oklahoma State, definitely set some high standards in her only season at SPU. In addition to her season totals, she set first-year records for goals (3) and shots (8) in a game. She also scored both the first goal of the year and the first goal at Interbay. Larsen was the GNAC leader in goals per game (0.53), tied for first in goals and third in shots (58). Roberts, a transfer from Montana, finished her career on the all-conference team and was second on the squad in goals (4). Midfielders BreeAnn Milligan, Alissa Peterson and Melissa Ellingson also did not return. They were regular starters and combined for six goals and four assists between them.

Footnotes. Women's soccer finished 2001 with the third-best winning percentage (.447) of any first-year varsity SPU team sport. Only women's basketball in (.682/15-7) and men's basketball (.625/13-9) were better. Men's soccer, now recognized as a national power after five national titles and 28 playoff appearances, began in 1968 with a record of 0-7-1...Among the home contests this season are nonconference dates with Whitworth (Sept. 10), perennial playoff contender and 18th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills (Oct. 4), Carroll College (Oct. 8) and Grand Canyon (Oct. 17)...Bruch is again emphasizing fitness in preseason training. Last year the Falcons outscored opponents 22-12 in the second period.

SPU Coaching Staff. Before guiding SPU to a respectable 8-10-1 record in his first season, Bobby Bruch had already made a name for himself as 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). He served as an assistant coach for the Seattle Pacific men's team in 2000. Joining his staff as assistants this season are Julie Cain and Janelle Andresen, both former players at Westmont College.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.