Prime opportunity. As it reaches the halfway point in the men's soccer season, Seattle Pacific University finds itself in a position to kick-start its playoff hopes this upcoming week. If the Falcons (5-3-1) can add to their illustrious history of upsets at home Saturday night (Oct. 5) against unbeaten, two-time defending regional champion and No. 3-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills (10-0-1), they will be back in the thick of the postseason hunt entering the second half of the schedule. A three-game home stand concludes Monday (Oct. 7) versus Montana State Billings (4-6-0). Great Northwest Athletic Conference play resumes Oct. 12 at Seattle University.

A ladder to climb. Nine games into the season, SPU finds itself still searching for a substantial victory and respect within the region. Each of the five wins-by a combined margin of 21-1-have come against teams with losing records. Each of the three losses and a tie have been to regionally-ranked teams on the road. To make an impression on the regional ranking commitees, the Falcons must topple some top contenders and Cal State Dominguez Hills definitely fits the bill. The Toros have won eight in a row since being held to a draw by Seattle U., and they have won their last two meetings with Seattle Pacific, dating back to 2000. Trailing CSDH in the NSCAA Far West Region rankings are, in order, Sonoma State, Cal State Bakersfield, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Western, Seattle U., Cal State San Bernardino with SPU ninth.

The final countdown. With 535 career wins, Coach Cliff McCrath now needs only nine more to overtake retired San Francisco coach Steve Negoesco as the all-time collegiate leader. Uncle Nubby has guided 33 Falcon teams to 450 wins since 1970. SPU was the NCAA champion in 1978, '83, '85, '86 and '93. If he is to break the record this season, that feat would likely come at home; seven of the final 10 games will be played at Interbay Stadium.

So far, so good. Undoubtedly, the Falcons would like to be supported by a second straight capacity crowd when they take on Dominguez Hills. SPU is 2-0 at home, including a 4-0 victory over Chico State before nearly 1,000 fans last week. The team is 43-10-1 at Interbay since 1997 and that includes two impressive performances this fall. In the home opener, Seattle Pacific beat Notre Dame de Namur 3-1 despite playing 70 minutes shorthanded. Against Chico, it was in command from the outset, although all four goals came in the second half. Midfielder Michael Brkich (So., Vancouver, B.C./Vienna Christian-Chico State), playing against his former team, set-up the first goal and scored the second to earn GNAC player of the week.

Mining the midfield. In the three games since losing striker and top scorer David Smith (So., Corvallis, Or.) to a fractured jaw, each of the Falcons' six goals have been scored by midfielders. Cory Janzen (Sr., Langley, B.C./Lynden Christian) scored both at Simon Fraser (a 5-1 loss) and Western Washington (a 1-1- tie). Jeremy Yerkes (So., Gresham, Or./Gresham-Tacoma CC) put SPU on the board first vs. Chico State with his fourth goal of the season. Ross Vaillancourt (Fr., Bedford, N.H./Manchester West) and Brent Egbert (Jr., Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) added the other strikes. For the season, midfielders have scored 14 of the team's 26 goals.

Footnotes. Seattle Pacific's most recent victory over a Div. II team ranked in the top 10 was in 1999 versus Barry...Grant Falco (Sr., Veradale, Wa./University), who leads the team with 11 total points, needs seven more assists to break into the career top 10 list. He has 20 to date and has has started 35 consecutive games, dating back to the 2000 season...McCrath, who was ejected from the Simon Fraser loss for protesting the referee's failure to officiate by collegiate rules, was back on the bench at Western Washington. The usual one-game suspension was waived by agreement of the SPU and SFU athletic directors...Smith is expected to miss at least 2-4 more weeks while his jaw mends. he led the GNAC with five goals in his first five games...The second period has been a telling time for both SPU and Dominguez Hills. The Falcons have outscored foes 16-3 and the Toros have drubbed their opponents 19-3 in the second half this season. SPU is 5-0-1 when scoring first this season...Seattle Pacific remains atop the GNAC standings at 2-0-0 and leads in goals per game (2.89). Falco is No. 3 in points while Smith remains the leader in goals per game (0.83).

Opponents & series notes. Cal State Dominguez Hills has outscored opponents 19-2 during its win streak. Eduardo Serrano's seven goals and Hector Guerrero's eight assists lead the team. The Toros defeated Seattle Pacific in the first round of the 2000 playoffs and 3-2 in overtime last season. SPU leads the series 3-2-1...SPU scored 10 goals in the first 41 minutes of a 13-0 thrashing of Montana State Billings in 2000 and have outscored the Yellowjackets 22-2 in two meetings.

Tickets, please. Tickets for all SPU regular season games are priced $7 for reserved, $5 for general admission, with students and senior citizens $3. Group rates are available by phoning (206) 281-2085 in advance.

Coaching Staff. Cliff McCrath is the active leader among all divisions in career coaching victories. He needs nine to surpass San Francisco's retired Steve Negoesco (543) as the all-time leader. McCrath has led SPU to a record 27 NCAA playoff appearances, including berths in 17 of the last 18 years, and five national titles (1978, '83, '85, '86 and '93). He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and is a past national coach of the year. His staff includes former Falcons Mark Metzger ('78 championship team), Peter Hattrup ('83 and '85 title teams) and Chuck Granade ('93 NCAA winners).

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.