This is it. A Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown will be on the line when the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team travels across town to Seattle University. The Falcons (8-3-0/12-4-2), unbeaten in their last 10 outings and winners of eight in a row, conclude the regular season against the Redhawks (7-3-1/11-6-1) Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 5). SPU also has an outside shot at one of three regional berths in the NCAA Division II tournament, with the bracket to be announced Nov. 11. First-round play is Nov. 13.

It doesn't have to end. Why must it come to an end, this spectacular second season? The argument could be made that the Falcons deserve a shot at the playoffs. Although they suffered a bit of a slow (1-2-1) start, the women have been among the top teams in the Far West Region over the final month of the season. Going into last week Seattle Pacific was ranked No. 10 in the region. That standing should have improved following wins over both Western Washington (1-0 in overtime) and Central Washington (3-0) at home.

Championship bracket. Much like its inaugural season, SPU goes into the final regular season game with a chance to win the GNAC. The Falcons can claim the title outright with a victory over the Redhawks while a tie will earn a share of the crown with Western Oregon. Seattle U., which has won five straight, would earn a co-title with a win, an outcome which would drop SPU to a tie for third place.Breaking records left and right. With one game still to play, Coach Bobby Bruch's squad has broken nearly every record in the book. Among the most notable are the marks for season wins (12), consecutive wins (8), consecutive games unbeaten (10) and largest margin of victory (9-0 at Northwest Nazarene). On the individual side of the ledger, Michelle Sanders (So., Centralia, Wa.) has established new season standards for goals (11), assists (8) and points (30). She also set new single game records for assists (3) and points (8) while tying the mark for goals (3), along with Megan Lienhard (Fr., Everett, Wa./Cascade).

Last week's thrillers. Against Western, opportunist Katy Nydam (Fr., Oak Harbor, Wa.) sent the fans home happy as she gathered in a rebound off a missed shot in the second overtime period and booted the game-winner, ending 102 scoreless yet exciting minutes. Nydam also put SPU into first place in the GNAC. Sanders, Shannon Lovejoy (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep) and LeRin Farrison (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Mountain View/Highline CC) netted goals as the Falcons set-up their Seattle U. showdown by beating Central in the home finale.

Zeroes on the scoreboard. While the offense is setting records and nabbing headlines, the Falcons are also posting a string of zeroes on the scoreboard. The SPU defense has posted shutouts in its last three contests thanks to a trio of fullbacks that allowed just 16 shots. Keepers Erin Pierce (Fr., Milwaukie, Or./Rex Putnam) and Jennifer Hull (So., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) have not plucked a ball out of their own net for 320 minutes as the Falcons have reeled off 16 unanswered goals over four contests. Hull posted five saves against the Vikings to earn her first full shutout of the season, and combined with Pierce for another five stops versus the Wildcats for the team's sixth shutout. The defensive line of Nicole Ruiz (Jr., Federal Way, Wa./Federal Way-Barry), Jean Kolb (Fr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene), Katie Lim (So., Hillsboro, Or.) and either Michelle Everson (Fr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) or Chrissy Berke (Fr., Park Ridge, Il./Maine South) are allowing just eight shots per game. Lim pushed forward for a second-half assist vs. Central.

Footnotes. During the unbeaten run, Sanders has scored 10 goals and added seven assists. She has contributed at least one point in each of the last four games...Lienhard was held out of the Central Washington game after suffering an ankle injury vs. Western...The halftime auction Oct. 30 netted $855 in contributions. SuperSonic Desmond Mason, whose high bid a year ago bought him a Mia Hamm signed jersey, sent a proxy to claim an item this time around. His bride, the former Andrea Larsen, took home her own framed jersey. Larsen led the team with 10 goals and 25 points in 2001...As a team, SPU leads the GNAC in scoring (2.72 goals per game). Sanders leads the conference in goals per game (0.65), points (30), goals (11) and points per game (1.76). She is second in assists while Lienhard (7) and Farrison (7) are tied for fourth. Lovejoy (24) is fourth in points, Lienhard (21) ninth and Nydam (19) tenth...SPU is 12-0-1 when it scores at least two goals...When the Falcons score first, they are 9-0-2.

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.