To Idaho we go. With four matches remaining in the women's soccer regular season, Seattle Pacific University has a legitimate shot at a Great Northwest Athletic Conference title after a pair of decisive wins last week. The Falcons (5-3-0/9-4-2), unbeaten in their last seven outings and winners of five in a row, might have a chance of taking over first place when they cross the border into Idaho for their only match of the week, Saturday (Oct. 26) at Northwest Nazarene (0-8-0/3-11-0). Afterwards, SPU plays its final two home games versus Western Washington Oct. 30 and Central Washington Nov. 2.

Through the glass ceiling. After a slow start the Falcons are rapidly rising in the GNAC standings. The seven-game unbeaten streak, which includes one tie, is the longest in the program's brief two-year existence. Last week the Falcons won a pair of matches at Interbay in dominating fashion, dispensing of Grand Canyon, 3-0, and, more importantly, pounding GNAC leader Western Oregon, 5-1. The Wolves, who had won four in a row, now hold a slim lead of 0.97 percentage points over SPU and Western Washington. Western Oregon will face defending co-champion Seattle University this weekend.

Measuring sticks. Already Coach Bobby Bruch's program has surpassed the inaugural season's totals for wins and goals. In fact, with nine victories, the Falcons are assured of a winning record. But the name of the game for Bruch is to get SPU some respect within the region and, beyond that, an NCAA playoff berth. Strangely, though, Seattle Pacific was left out of this week's Far West Region rankings of NCAA Division II despite the fact that it is 2-0-1 versus regionally-ranked teams during the unbeaten streak.

October offensive. SPU seems to gain confidence and strength with each victory. The home victories last week looked more like shooting practice than full-out competition with eight goals going into the opponents' net. In the last four games, Seattle Pacific has scored 17 times. Speedy freshman forward Katy Nydam (Fr., Oak Harbor, Wa.) has been red-hot of late, scoring five goals in the last three games. She had a pair versus Grand Canyon, plus a goal and two assists against Western Oregon. Meanwhile, Michelle Sanders (So., Centralia, Wa.) has been continuing to score seemingly at will. With two more goals-coming just 50 seconds apart-against WOU, she is now the GNAC co-leader with nine goals. Sanders has accounted for eight goals and three assists during the unbeaten string. She needs one goal to tie Andrea Larsen's record of 10.

Defensively speaking. The flip side of offensive explosion has been an increasingly stiff defense. Against Western Oregon goalkeeper Erin Pierce (Fr., Milwaukie, Or./Rex Putnam) played the game of her brief collegiate career with a season-high six saves, including stopping a couple of rockets from the foot of Wolves striker Mariel Chandler. Against Grand Canyon, Pierce and Jennifer Hull (So., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) combined for the third shutout of the season. Pierce, whose goals-against average of 0.69 would lead the GNAC if she had enough minutes to qualify, was selected as co-player of the week. She could easily claim the award on behalf of both Hull and the entire back line of defenders: Nicole Ruiz (Jr., Federal Way, Wa./Federal Way-Barry), Jean Kolb (Fr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) and Katie Lim (So., Hillsboro, Or.). Together, they allowed only 12 shots last week and just 19 in the last four games.

Dam breaker. With 10 minutes left, Seattle Pacific's bout with Western Oregon was anything but a blowout. But three shots over a span of 2:26 changed all that. Leading 2-1, Sarah Melby (So., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak/Idaho) trapped a Nydam pass and blasted a 25-yard, left-footed strike over the top of WOU keeper Moani Mundo to ignite the barrage at 80:28. Then came back-to-back strikes by Sanders. For Melby, who was questionable after taking a blow to the head in training, it was her first goal of the season. Nydam had given SPU a lead in the 20th minute and Shannon Lovejoy's (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep) eighth goal of the season made it 2-0 shortly before halftime.

Footnotes. As a team, SPU is No. 2 in the GNAC in goals...Sanders leads the conference in goals per game (0.64) and is second in points (22) and points per game (1.57). She is also in a five-way tie for game-winning goals (3)...Lovejoy is fifth in points (18) and Nydam is No. 8 (16)...Megan Lienhard (Fr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) is third in assists (7) and ninth in points (15)...LeRin Farrison (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Mountain View/Highline CC) is fourth in assists (6) and Jessica Henson (So., Spokane, Wa./University) is fifth (5)...SPU is 9-0-1 in games in which it has scored at least two goals...When the Falcons score first, they are 6-0-2...SPU has not allowed more than one goal in its last half-dozen games. Besides Oct. 30 being senior night for Farrison, there will also be a halftime auction to benefit the program. Among the items up for bid are signed jerseys from Cobi Jones of the MLS champion L.A. Galaxy, Michelle Akers, SuperSonics forward Desmond Mason and Andrea Larsen, last year's SPU top scorer.

Tickets, please. General admission tickets to all SPU regular season home games are $5, with students and senior citizens receiving tickets for $3. Group rates are available by phoning (206) 281-2085 in advance.

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.