Next stop, Florida. They have withstood the heat. Now comes the humidity. Newly ranked in the national poll, the Seattle Pacific University men’s soccer team storms into Florida for the final portion of a very lengthy road trip. Unbeaten in their last five games, the No. 24 Falcons (4-1-1) face Tampa (2-1-0) in Miami Saturday (Sept. 18). Then come battles with No. 18 Barry (3-1-0) Tuesday (Sept. 21) and No. 9 Nova Southeastern (5-0-0) Sept. 24. SPU finally returns home Sept. 28 to face Montana State Billings.

Hey, we know you. Florida may be foreign soil to most West Coast teams, but it’s practically a second home to the Falcons. This is their 21st trip to the Sunshine State. Six of their 10 NCAA Division II championship games have been played there, including title-winning tilts in 1978, ‘83, ‘85 and ‘93. Heck, the coaches even have family there. Steve McCrath, an SPU alum and son of Coach Cliff McCrath, is in his seventh year as head coach at Barry. Assistant coach Sergio Soriano is a former Barry coach and lived in Miami for much of his life. However, the weather in South Florida is a world apart from the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures and humidity are both forecast to consistently reach 90 in the next 10 days.

Back in the mix. The successful start has not gone unnoticed. Seattle Pacific broke back into the national rankings this week after a three-year absence. The National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) also put SPU at third in the Far West Region, behind Seattle University and UC San Diego. The top four teams in the region will qualify for the NCAA tournament in November.

Bacon and Egbert. A year ago, Brent Egbert (Sr., Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) was out for the season by Labor Day, the offense lay limp and SPU started off 0-4. Now, Egbert is back, the attack has generated six goals in the last two games and the Falcons are enjoying their best start in seven years. Egbert has scored five goals in the last four games, and the team now has 13. By comparison, last season Seattle Pacific did not score its 13th goal until Oct. 11. Egbert connected on the game-winning goals at both San Francisco State (3-1) and Humboldt State (3-0) as the Northern California portion of the 25-day, seven-game road trip wrapped up. Egbert, who missed last season with a knee injury, was an all-region midfielder in 2002. He ranks third in Great Northwest Athletic Conference scoring with five goals and 11 points.

Defense first. To beat SPU, obviously opponents must score. And therein lies the key to the swift start. The defense has allowed only one first-half goal and three altogether. Early on, keeper James Ward (Sr., Salem, Or/Sprague) saved a lot of shots. But in the last four games Ward has been called upon to make only 12 stops as the back four–David Selby (Sr., Aloha, Or./Southridge) , David Smith (Sr., Corvallis, Or./Corvallis), Kye Taylor (Jr., Powell River, B.C./Cameron) and Drew Macha (Fr., Eugene, Or./Marist)–and midfield have effectively stalled any forays before reaching the final third. Seattle Pacific tops the GNAC in goals-against average (0.48) and shutouts (3) but is fourth in saves (24). Last season, nine goals were allowed in the first six games.

Scoring corps. While the Falcons are sharing the ball, the final finishing touches around the goal are being supplied by just a few. Lately, forward Nick Letts (Jr., Dublin, Ca./Redwood Christian), another injury casualty last season, has served as the catalyst. Letts has three assists in the last three games (all to Egbert), and he was fouled to set-up an Egbert penalty kick at Humboldt. Midfielders Ross Vaillancourt (Jr., Bedford, NH/Manchester West) and Michael Morris (So., Bothell, Wa./Blanchet) have also converted penalties.

Throw-ins. Ward remains the GNAC leader with a GAA of 0.48. Letts is second in assists with three...Jeff Hallenbeck (Fr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor) earned his first collegiate assist at San Francisco State and was bundled over in the box to earn a penalty at Humboldt...Kellen Rosten (Fr., Colorado Springs, Co./Doherty) made his first appearance in goal at HSU, making one save in the final 13 minutes to share the shutout with Ward.

Coaching Staff. Cliff McCrath is the Division II leader in career coaching victories (550). In 2002 he surpassed San Francisco’s retired Steve Negoesco to briefly become collegiate soccer’s leader for all divisions. McCrath has led SPU to a record 27 NCAA playoff appearances, including berths in 17 of the last 20 years, and five national titles (1978, ‘83, ‘85, ‘86 and ‘93). He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and is a past national coach of the year. His staff includes former Falcons Mark Metzger (‘78 championship team), Sergio Soriano (‘78 NCAA winners) and Mark Collings (‘98 Final Four).

Tickets, Please. Ticket prices for all SPU regular season home games are $7 for reserved and $5 for general admission, with students and senior citizens receiving G.A. tickets for $3. Group and team 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.