Looking for a spark. The age-old campfire song says it only takes a spark to get a fire going. Well, in this tinder-dry summer in the Pacific Northwest, the campfires are banned but the analogy still holds true for the Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team. The Falcons (0-2-0) are looking for spark to fire-up their 2003 season. Only one problem: the next game is at No. 17-ranked Cal State Bakersfield (1-0-0) Saturday night (Sept. 6). SPU will face Cal State San Bernardino (1-1-0) in Bakerfiseld Monday night (Sept. 8) before heading north to open the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of the schedule Sept. 11 at Humboldt State.

Inauspicious start. If someone were to film a documentary of this current campaign, the first segment is ready for editing with a working title of "Humble Beginnings." For only the first time in 33 years, Seattle Pacific has lost its first two games. Cal State Dominguez Hills, the nation's No. 3 team this week, blanked SPU 2-0 in a game marred by two ejections. With a half-hour left against Chico State (which had blasted No. 8 Barry 5-1 in its opener), the Falcons seemed to have gotten on track. They led 2-1 and goalie James Ward (Jr., Salem, Or./Sprague) had just save a penalty kick. However, the Wildcats stormed back to win 3-2, getting the game-winning goal with less than seven minutes remaining.

Nubber slips to third. A consequence of the slow start is that Coach Cliff McCrath is now behind Joe Bean, coach of Wheaton College, in the bid to become college soccer's all-time career leader in victories. McCrath and Bean finished last season with 541 wins each, but Bean's team (and McCrath's alma mater) won its first game last weekend and he now has 542. San Francisco's retired Steve Negoesco holds the record at 544. The soonest McCrath could go to the top of the list (needing a 4-2 start) is Sept. 17 while Bean, whose team plays its first four at home, can do it as soon as Sept. 10. McCrath has guided 33 Falcon teams to 456 wins, 32 consecutive winning seasons and five NCAA championships since 1970. McCrath had an uninterrupted run of 12 years at No. 2 behind Negoesco before this week.

Some bright spots. The good news for Seattle Pacific is that the pieces all seem to be in the box, only it may take a little time for McCrath to put them in place. Individually, midfielder Jeremy Yerkes (Jr., Gresham, Or./Gresham-Tacoma CC) and defender Matt Laughlin (Sr., Selah, Wa.) earned inclusion on the Far West Classic all-tournament team. Yerkes, who got off a team-high five shots in the first two games, scored the team's first goal of the season while Laughlin anchored the backline in a 3-5-3 alignment.

Seeing red. McCrath couldn't remember the last time a referee flashed two red cards in the direction of SPU, so it was a rare occasion, indeed, when just that happened in the Dominguez Hills game. First, forward David Smith (So., Corvallis, Or.) was shown a yellow card for a hard foul midway through the second half. While the clock was stopped, the referee took several moments and reconsidered, reaching into his pocket to show Smith a red. At that point McCrath stepped a few feet onto the field to get the official's reasoning. Instead, he was red-carded himself. A year ago, McCrath was ejected from a game at Simon Fraser, but his one-game suspension was later overturned. This time, both he and Smith were forced to watch the next game from the stands.

New to the mix. A couple newcomers earned starting jobs. Kye Taylor (So., Powell River, B.C.), a transfer from Coastal Carolina, moved into the midfield along with Michael Morris (Fr., Bothell, Wa./Blanchet). There they are joined by holdovers Brent Egbert (Sr., Bellingham, Wa./Sehome), Michael Brkich (Jr., Vancouver, B.C.) and Ross Vaillancourt (So., Bedford, NH/Manchester West). Morris scored on a nicely-curled free kick in a 2-1 exhibition loss at Washington. Defender Jeremy Bonner (So., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) is perhaps the most improved of the returnees, as evidenced by his extensive playing time and starting role in Game 2. With Smith sidelined, Nick Letts (So., Dublin, Ca./Redwood Christian) got the start versus Chico State and scored the team's second goal.

Footnotes. Earning assists on the season's first two goals were Sean Sandin (Jr., Renton, Wa./Kentridge) and Vaillancourt...The Falcons have not lost their first three games to a season since 1970, McCrath's first as coach. The team has only lost four in a row (during the 2000 season) once since then...Ward was pulled from goal and put up front for the final two minutes of the Chico State game. He has scored four goals and added two assists in just such situations the past two years. Michael Lockwood (Fr., Wilsonville, Or./Canby), the No. 2 keeper, finished the game.

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.