Destiny at hand. For the second year in a row the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team enters the final few games with a chance to claim the Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown. The Falcons (6-3-0/10-4-2), unbeaten in their last eight outings and winners of six in a row, control their own destiny going into their final two home games. They host Western Washington (6-3-0/8-7-1) Wednesday night (Oct. 30) and Central Washington (2-6-1/3-13-0) Saturday (Nov. 2). The regular season concludes Nov. 5 at Seattle University.

Winner moves up. The outcome of Wednesday night's game will move the winner into the GNAC driver's seat while the loser is likely to be eliminated from contention. A tie would keep both Western and SPU, both tied for second place, in the hunt. Western Oregon, the current leader, has one remaining league game, Sunday against Humboldt State. If Seattle Pacific wins out, it would finish ahead of the Wolves, regardless of that game's outcome.

Defending the nest. Opponents have not had good fortune in Falcon territory of late. In fact, Coach Bobby Bruch's squad has lost just three times at Interbay Stadium in the program's two-year existence, including a 7-1-1 mark this year. Seattle Pacific has won its last four home games by a combined score of 17-3 and in its unbeaten streak it has outscored opponents 32-7. Those totals include a 5-1 romp over Western Oregon in the most recent home game Oct. 19. Defensively, SPU has not allowed more than one goal in its last seven games. Western Washington will answer with the top defensive unit in the GNAC, allowing only 0.92 goals per game, with shutouts in three of the last four games.

Hats off to the forwards. If last week's 9-0 rout of Northwest Nazarene was any indication, Seattle Pacific is getting stronger as the unbeaten string grows longer. For the second time in five games, the team set a new record for goals scored and the individual mark of three goals in a game was tied. Megan Lienhard (Fr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) netted the first hat trick of her career, scoring her first two goals less than two minutes apart. Lienhard now shares the SPU record with Michelle Sanders (So., Centralia, Wa.), who scored thrice Oct. 8 against Carroll College, and Andrea Larsen, who did the trick last season. In all, six different players-including Sanders with her team-high 10th-hit the back of the net at Nampa.

Shots and shutouts. If the Falcons are to take the conference title, goalkeepers Erin Pierce (Fr., Milwaukie, Or./Rex Putnam) and Jennifer Hull (So., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) must rise to the occasion in the next three matches. Hull and Pierce combined to post the team's fourth shutout of the season against Northwest Nazarene but faced only three shots in the process. The defensive line of Nicole Ruiz (Jr., Federal Way, Wa./Federal Way-Barry), Jean Kolb (Fr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) and Katie Lim (So., Hillsboro, Or.) have allowed just 22 shots in the last five games. However, Western Washington proved dangerous in the first meeting Sept. 28 at Bellingham, forcing Hull to make a season-high nine saves. The Vikings rank second in the GNAC in shots at 15.75 per game. Seattle University is the No. 2 scoring team, averaging 2.65 goals.

For the record. In all, seven team records were tied or broken in last week's game. Individually, in addition to Lienhard's hat trick, Sanders broke the assist mark with three. Other new team standards were established for assists (10), points (28), shots (27) and corner kicks (13). Besides Lienhard and Sanders, scoring goals were Shannon Lovejoy (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep), LeRin Farrison (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Mountain View/Highline CC), Jessica Henson (So., Spokane, Wa./University). Briana Murphy (Fr., Ferndale, Wa.) and Laura Walker (So., Colorado Springs, Co./Palmer). It was the first career goal for Murphy and the first of the season for Farrison and Walker. Lovejoy also had two assists.

Footnotes. As a team, SPU leads the GNAC in scoring (2.81 goals per game)...Sanders leads the conference in goals per game (0.67) and is second in points (27), goals (10) and points per game (1.80). Sanders is also tied with Farrison and Lienhard for third in assists (7) while Henson is sixth (6). Lovejoy is fourth in points (22) and Katy Nydam (Fr., Oak Harbor, Wa.) is 10th (17)...SPU is 10-0-1 when it scores at least two goals...When the Falcons score first, they are 7-0-2...The Falcons have out-shot opponents 240-148 on the season...Besides Wednesday 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 top SPU 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.