Big test. After effectively demolishing and washing their hands of three unlucky visitors last week, Seattle Pacific University hops on the bus to Bellingham and resumes Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with its first road test. The Falcons (6-1-0/2-0-0) will be seeking their fifth straight victory when they clash with the Vikings of Western Washington (2-5-0/1-1-0) Thursday night (Sept. 18). After that, the Birds get the weekend off before traveling to northern California for bouts with Humboldt State and Chico State next week.

Hot start. The program is only in its third year and continues its rapid improvement as SPU is off to its best start following a clean sweep of the four-game home stand. New head coach Chuck Sekyra got a chance to expand his lineup over the weekend in the face of the three drubbings, and was able to give some of his starters some welcome rest. The Falcons overpowered visitors by a goal count of 18-1. Whereas a 2-3-1 start a year ago effectively knocked SPU out of playoff contention early, this year it has already posted five shutouts and won two of three on the road. Surprisingly, though, it dropped from fourth to seventh in the Far West Regional rankings. SPU trails UC San Diego, Seattle University, Cal Poly Pomona, San Francisco State, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the regional poll. Just two of the top nine regionally ranked teams are from the GNAC. The NCAA Division II bracket has expanded from 24 to 32 teams this season, meaning the top four teams in the region will qualify at season's end.

Away from home. The preseason favorite to win the GNAC crown, the Falcons approach their first road foray with vigor. SPU has won all four meetings with the Vikings, with three of those games decided by one goal, including twice in overtime. Unlike most visitors to Civic Stadium, Seattle Pacific is now well-accustomed to the FieldTurf surface, which is also featured at Interbay Stadium this season. Six of the Falcons' next eight contests are away.

Crazy week. Just about everyone got in on the scoring act last week but as far as raw numbers were concerned, Heidi Jacobson (So., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian-Gonzaga) was the most prolific. With at least one point in each of the four home games, Jacobson netted three goals and as many assists. Midfielder Megan Lienhard (So., Everett, Wa./Cascade) racked-up a half-dozen points, including two goals and two assists in a 5-0 win over Montana State Billings. In all, nine different players scored during the home stand. Michelle Sanders (Jr., Centralia, Wa.), who scored twice, also had four assists. Meanwhile, Shannon Lovejoy (So., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep) maintained her GNAC scoring lead by adding five more points on two goals and an assist.

Keeping it thin. It's been slim pickin's for the unfortunates at Interbay as the defensive line of Nicole Ruiz (Sr., Federal Way, Wa./Federal Way-Barry), Katie Lim (Jr., Hillsboro, Or.), Michelle Everson (So., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) and Mollie Taylor (Fr., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian) have held opponents to just one goal the last 450 minutes. The string of scoreless minutes at home was halted at 377 when Western Oregon's Kim Weaver beat substitute keeper Erin Pierce (So., Milwaukie, Or./Rex Putnam) late in the second half. Proof of the back four's dominance: starting keeper Jennifer Hull (Jr., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) leads the GNAC in goals-against average (0.33) but is only seventh in saves per game (2.71). Hull, incidentally, owns a personal scoreless streak of 298 minutes going into Thursday.

Scoring spree vs. three. Against Northwest Nazarene, the Falcons set a new school record with 30 shots. The rain of goals began with Everson's looping free kick from 30 yards out on the left side and a Sanders penalty kick. Nearly everyone got in on the scoring act in the second half but perhaps most exciting were Karen France's (Jr., Woodland Park, Co./Palmer) pair of dandies. France finished off a Sarah Melby (Jr., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak-Idaho) cross with a header to the left post and later put home a Sanders assist.

Footnotes. The Falcons have now won 10 in a row at home and over that stretch they have out-scored visitors 39-4...SPU has yet to allow a first-half goal and has scored first in each of the seven games...Seattle Pacific leads the conference with 25 goals and five shutouts...Jessica Henson (Jr., Spokane, Wa./University), Theresa Morelli (Fr., Bellevue, Wa./Bellevue Christian), Lovejoy, Lienhard and , Allison Teague (So., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian/Santa Clara) rounded out team goals. Last season's freshman of the year, Lovejoy leads the GNAC in total points with 13, followed by Sanders and Jacobson (10).

Tickets, Please. Ticket prices for all SPU regular season home games are $5 for general admission, with students and senior citizens $3. Group and team rates are available by phoning (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaching Staff. Chuck Sekyra was hired as the Falcons' head coach on Feb. 24, 2002. Seykra, an assistant at the University of Washington for three seasons, has close ties to the Puget Sound soccer community and to Seattle Pacific in particular. He is a graduate of SPU, played on two NCAA championship teams and was assistant men's coach from 1998-99. Sekyra is head coach of the Washington State girls ODP Under-16 team and a Region IV ODP staff coach. He was a starter on the '86 squad which became the first in Division II history to win back-to-back national championships. Returning to the staff for her second year is Julie Cain. New to the bench are Kevin Blokker and volunteer assistant Steve Miller.

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.