And away we go. The best in the Northwest now takes aim on claiming a much bigger prize. A regional crown and advancement toward the NCAA Division II Championship will be at stake when the 10th-ranked Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team heads to San Diego this week for the Far West Regional tournament. The Falcons (17-1-2), winners of 10 straight and unbeaten in their last 17 outings, face No. 17 Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-4-1) Saturday night (Nov. 15) in a first-round playoff. Host and No. 3-rated UC San Diego (16-2-0) plays Cal State San Bernardino (11-7-2). Winners will meet Monday (Nov. 17) for the Far West title and the right to host the Midwest victor in a quarterfinal game Nov. 22. The Final Four is Dec. 4 and 6 in Virginia Beach.

All by age 3. It’s been a meteoric rise for the SPU program, which began play less three years ago on a field less than 15 miles from this weekend’s playoff site. It won a Great Northwest Athletic Conference title in its second season and repeated that feat on the way to earning the first-ever playoff berth for a Northwest team. Seattle Pacific enters the tournament not only with a full head of steam but the best defensive credentials in the nation. The Falcons allowed only six goals while scoring 53 of their own in 20 games, and their shutout percentage of 0.79 had led Div. II. They clinched a place in the 32-team NCAA tourney by beating Seattle University 2-1 in overtime last week. And this is probably just the beginning; there’s only one senior on the roster.

A rematch ahead. Chuck Sekyra, the GNAC coach of the year, is familiar with his team’s first-round foe. Second-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills was the only team to defeat SPU this season, doing so 2-1 and by virtue of an own goal Sept. 1 in Carson, Ca. It was the only game which the defense yielded two goals, and it was the program’s sole loss in the last 31 games, dating back to Sept. 25, 2002. The experienced Toros are the antithesis of the Falcons with eight seniors and seven previous postseason appearances. The only SPU player with previous NCAA tournament experience is defender Nicole Ruiz (Sr., Federal Way, Wa.). She played in five games for Barry (Fl.) in 2000 and ‘01. The 2000 team advanced to the semifinal round. Ruiz, who transferred prior to last season, scored her first goal last week.

Shooting stars. Sharing the headlines with the stingy defense are a couple more-than-capable attackers, midfielder Shannon Lovejoy (So., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep) and forward Heidi Jacobson (So., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian). Lovejoy has scored a school-record 16 goals. Better still, Lovejoy is enjoying a rare run of success, scoring (eight goals) in her last seven games. It was her overtime header which proved the difference in the win at Seattle U., giving the Falcons the conference title outright. Over the second half of the season Lovejoy has been unstoppable, scoring 11 times in her last 10 games, including six game-winners. She’s tied for first in the GNAC in total points (36). Jacobson, a transfer from Gonzaga, was voted the GNAC newcomer of the year. She is fourth with 22 points on seven goals and eight assists and has 12 points in the last 10 outings. Jacobson and Lovejoy were both unanimous first team GNAC all-stars.

Defensive pin-up. Sekyra’s defensive scheme relies on more than just his backline but, without a doubt, the face most associated with the effort is that of all-conference goalkeeper Jennifer Hull (Sr., Eugene, Or./Sheldon). Hull, who was the starter back in ‘01 when the Falcons debuted at Point Loma Nazarene, leads the NCAA in goals-against average (0.21) and has 12 shutouts. SPU has allowed six or fewer shots in 11 games and a lot of the credit for that suppression goes to the team and the regular back four of Ruiz, Mollie Taylor (Fr., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian), Katie Lim (Jr., Hillsboro, Or.) and Michelle Everson (So., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium). As a team, Seattle Pacific posted 15 shutouts. Lim earned second team all-GNAC honors. Ruiz and Everson received honorable mention along with midfielders Sarah Melby (Jr., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) and Megan Lienhard (So., Everett, Wa./Cascade).

It’s academic. The Falcons are also getting high marks off the field. Six were voted to the CoSIDA College Division Academic All-District 8 team. No other team had more than three selections. Hull and supersub forward Michelle Sanders (Jr., Centralia, Wa.) made the first team and advance to the Academic All-America ballot. Making the second team were Melby, Allison Teague (Jr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian), Lim (Jr., Hillsboro, Or.) and Briana Murphy (So., Ferndale, Wa.). All six also made the academic all-GNAC team, along with Jessica Henson (Jr., Spokane, Wa./University), Lienhard, Karen France (Jr., Woodland Park, Co./Palmer), Everson and Jean Kolb (So., Eugene, Or./South Eugene).

Footnotes. Lovejoy was the only repeat all-conference pick. She was also GNAC player of the week...Sanders leads the team and ranks third in the conference with nine assists...Lienhard returned to the starting lineup at SU after missing a game and ripped three shots...Ruiz’s first SPU goal was a 45-yard free kick...A Henson corner kick set-up Lovejoy’s game-winner in the 95th minute...Sanders and Lovejoy are tied for the career lead in points with 61. Sanders is also No. 1 in assists (23)...Individually, Jacobson is fourth in GNAC assists while Lienhard (6) is sixth (6)...As a team, SPU led the GNAC in fewest goals allowed (6), goals against average (0.29) and shutouts (15). It capped the season No. 2 in goals (53) behind Seattle U. (54)...The Falcons have not allowed a first-half goal this season.

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.