Long & winding road. Every year begins with a journey to the airport and only the destination changes. This time around, a 17-day, 5-game road trip for the Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team starts the season in Idaho with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener at Northwest Nazarene late Friday afternoon (Aug. 30). The scene then shifts to Northern California for the next four matches, including Sept. 4 at San Francisco State and Sept. 7 at No. 25 Sonoma State. SPU visits Humboldt State and UC Davis before returning home.

History lesson. With such a rich and successful history, the Falcons are often a prime target on opponents' schedules, and despite the fact that they enter the season unranked, they figure to draw out the best in their foes. Coach Cliff McCrath would do well to give his players a history lesson of his own. He could tell the story of a lightly-regarded squad which had also missed the playoffs the previous season. Without any true stars, they advanced to the 1990 NCAA Championship game. If McCrath is in a statistical state of mind, he could speak to the importance of this first month of the season, and the road trip in particular. Fact: Of the 10 SPU teams which reached an NCAA final, none of them entered October with more than two losses.

Baker's dozen & counting. If SPU qualifies for the postseason, that feat will almost assuredly push Cliff McCrath to the top of collegiate soccer's all-time victory list. McCrath, with 530 wins, trails retired San Francisco coach Steve Negoesco by 13 victories. McCrath has guided 32 Falcon teams to 445 wins since 1970. Seattle Pacific was the NCAA champion in 1978, '83, '85, '86 and '93. The Falcons have posted winning records for each of the last 31 years-a Division II record.

Looking good. Perhaps not since the days of the last national championship team in 1993 has McCrath had a team with so much promise. His team is bigger physically, certainly more talented and-best of all, according to the coach-unselfish.

"This is a more soccer-intelligent team than we've had in a long time," said McCrath. "They stick with the system and play the game with one- and two-touches."

The latter fact should improve an attack which averaged just 2.15 goals last year and was blanked three times in final nine outings.

Midfield of dreams. Seattle Pacific is blessed with several outstanding midfielders and the plan is to get as many as possible into the lineup. Ross Vaillancourt (Fr., Bedford, N.H./Manchester West), a two-time high school All-America, and Canadian Olympic team member Michael Brkich (So., Vancouver, B.C./Vienna Christian-Chico State) will take center stage in the middle. Both are offensive-minded, with Vaillancourt likely to hold the playmaking role and Brkich becoming more of a finisher. Cory Janzen (Sr., Langley, B.C./Lynden Christian) attacked from the left with abandon as a starter from 1999-00, scoring a total of 13 goals. On the right is the sole midfield holdover, Brent Egbert (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Sehome), scorer of 11 goals in his first two seasons. The most proven goalscorer of the bunch is Jeremy Yerkes (So., Gresham, Or./Gresham-Tacoma CC), who was among junior college leaders with 13 as a freshman.

Hold the sizzle. Although it attracted attention last season, the tactic of moving James Ward (So., Salem, Or./Sprague) from goalkeeper to forward is something McCrath would like to avoid in 2002. Not that Ward isn't an exciting and productive offensive force, but hopefully the Falcons won't find themselves trailing late in the match and, thus, requiring his services. Ward returns as the starting keeper and in front of him will be all-conference defender Mike Pardini (Sr., Pasco, Wa.), returning starter Matt Laughlin (Jr., Selah, Wa.), transfer David Selby (So., Aloha, Or./Southridge-Warner Pacific) and Mark Cox (Fr., Renton, Wa./Kentridge). Ward, Pardini and Laughlin were in a unit which allowed only 19 goals in the final 15 games last season. Up front, Grant Falco (Sr., Veradale, Wa./University) is partnered with David Smith (So., Corvallis, Or.), the team co-leader in goals (6) despite missing the first six games of his freshman season.

Footnotes. The varsity won its exhibition with the alumni, 1-0. Tom Funk (Fr., Orland Park, Il./Sandburg) got the lone goal in the 88th minute, converting the rebound of Anthony Ricciardelli's (So., Issaquah, Wa./Issaquah) shot off the post. Funk and Sean Sandin (So., Renton, Wa./Kentridge) will be the first forwards to come off the bench...Among the NCAA rules to change this season is the length of overtime periods. Should the score remain tied at the end of regulation, teams would play two 10-minute (rather than 15 in the past) periods. A "golden goal" would determine a winner. If no goal is scored the result would be a draw. In the postseason, teams would then proceed to penalty kicks to determine advancement.

Opponents & series notes. Seattle Pacific has won its last three opening games and 19 of the past 21. It won its two previous meetings with Northwest Nazarene by a combined score of 19-1, including a 6-0 result in Seattle last season...San Francisco State nearly won for the first time in the series a year ago, but the Falcons came from behind to prevail 3-2. Falco scored the decisive goal in an outstanding individual effort in the 77th minute. SPU leads the series 5-0-1...Sonoma State, now nicknamed the Seawolves, has played SPU much closer than the series (8-0-2 in favor of the Falcons) would indicate.

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.