Defending the home turf. Still undefeated and on a heckuva roll as far as its home turf is concerned, the 4th-ranked Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team plays twice at Interbay Stadium this week. The Falcons (1-0-1/6-0-1) take a 19-game home win streak into Wednesday night’s (Sept. 22) encounter with another unbeaten team, Montana State Billings (6-0-1). Great Northwest Athletic Conference play resumes Saturday night (Sept. 25) against Western Oregon (1-3-0/2-7-0). SPU then goes on the road for seven of the next eight games, beginning Sept. 29 at Central Washington.

Playing for keeps. Despite getting tied up at No. 11 Seattle University over the weekend, Seattle Pacific is off to its best start in school history. Coach Chuck Sekyra saw his Falcons open conference play with a 2-1 victory over Western Washington at home, and play to a 1-1 overtime tie across town. Seattle Pacific climbed one rung in the national poll to No. 4 last week. With that ranking and the status of favorite in the conference, the Falcons are now the focal point on nearly every opponent’s own schedule. Last year, SPU became the first GNAC team to make the NCAA playoffs. Seattle Pacific has not lost to a GNAC foe in 22 games, going 20-0-2 since Sept. 25, 2002.

Seniors provided the scoring lift last week in the win over Western Washington. Sarah Melby (left) scored her first goal of the season, and Jessica Henson also tallied her first score of the year.

Seniors in the mix. It was the team’s seniors that lifted Seattle Pacific over Western Washington. Midfielder Sarah Melby (Sr., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) planted herself on the six-yard line and promptly headed in the inaugural goal of her senior campaign in the 37th minute, off a Michelle Everson (Jr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) corner-kick. Jessica Henson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./University) finished off the Vikings with her first score of the year to make the final margin. At Seattle U., Heidi Jacobson (Jr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) tied the match at 1-all, finishing a Michelle Sanders (Sr., Centralia, Wa.) cross 36 seconds into the second half. It was Jacobson’s second goal of the season and Sanders’ team-leading 10th point.

Defense keeps the record perfect. All-American goaltender Jennifer Hull (Sr., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) made seven saves in the matches last week and currently sports a 0.42 goals-against average, a percentage that is second in the GNAC. Hull is also second in save percentage at .870. The starting back line of Everson, Katie Lim (Sr., Hillsboro, Or.), Mollie Taylor (So., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian), and Carolyn Nason (So., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield) plus top reserve Jena Kolb (Jr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) continued to have the answer for opponents’ scoring tries, giving up a couple of tough goals but preserving SPU’s undefeated status. Statistically, SPU leads the conference in shutouts (4) and goals-against average (0.20). It has not allowed more than one goal in a game during its conference unbeaten string.

Greasing the wheels. All-American midfielder Shannon Lovejoy (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep) was uncharacteristically quiet last week, but still sits at second among team scorers and where points are concerned with three goals and nine total points, respectively. Henson’s score in the Western match came off a rebounded Lovejoy shot. Lovejoy is the leader on the career scoring list in goals with 30. Forward Sarah Martinez (Fr., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) was feisty in the Seattle U. contest and played several minutes for Sekyra at the midfield position after the coach elected mix it up a bit and with a 4-4-3 alignment, rather than the usual 4-4-2. Megan Lienhard (Jr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) started in the midfield and moved forward for the overtime periods.

Footnotes. The largest home crowd in the program’s brief history will likely be on hand Saturday night. The match is one of the featured events for all incoming freshmen and transfers during their orientation. Attendance has approached the Interbay capacity of 900 for men’s games in similar situations the past few years...On the GNAC front, only the Falcons and Seattle U. are unblemished at 6-0-1, and 6-0-2, respectively...Sekyra’s depth at midfield paid off at Seattle University as the Falcons’ fresh legs bolstered the lineup in the second half and overtimes. Despite the draw and even possession, SPU led the Redhawks in most statistical categories, including shots (16-13) and corners (4-3). Kara Hamby (Fr., Spokane, Wa./Mead), Allison Teague (Jr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian), Leila Stalnaker (Sr., Auburn, Wa./Seattle Christian), Jean Kolb (Jr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) and Tricia Loomis (Fr., Des Moines, Wa./Mount Rainier) earned minutes in reserve roles last week...Sanders and Lovejoy are third and fifth in the conference statistics in points and are Nos. 3 and 9 in goals...Lovejoy is tied with Henson at third in assists while Everson, who takes most of the team’s free and corner kicks, is seventh...Teamwise, the Falcons rate second in goals per game...During Sekyra’s brief tenure, SPU has won 23 of 28 games, posting 19 shutouts...Sanders pushed her career record for assists to 21. She trails Lovejoy, 72-71, in career total points.

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 voted coach of the year in the GNAC after taking the Falcons to a league title, NCAA playoff berth and a 17-2-2 record in his first season. Seykra, an assistant at 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 was a starter on the ‘86 squad which became the first in Division II history to win back-to-back NCAA crowns. He is head coach of the Washington State girls ODP Under-16 team and a Region IV ODP staff coach. Goalkeeper coach Kevin Blokker returns for his second year on the staff after previously coaching at San Francisco (his alma mater), Wyoming, Fresno State and Kansas. Julie Cain is back for her third year. She both played and coached at Westmont. Chalise Baysa is new to the staff in 2004. She is Oregon’s all-time scoring leader and now plays for the W-League Seattle Sounders.

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.