On top of the world. Perfect record still intact and now carrying the mantle of No. 1 in the nation, the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team has little time savor its good fortune before going on the road to defend those distinctions. The Falcons (4-0-1/10-0-1) fly south for the weekend, when they will play two California Collegiate Athletic Conference foes in Seaside. They take a four-game win streak into Saturday afternoon's (Oct. 9) encounter with Cal State San Bernardino (4-4-2). Monday (Oct. 11), SPU meets Cal State Monterey Bay (1-8-1). Those are the first of six straight road games. Great Northwest Athletic Conference play resumes Oct. 13 at Northwest Nazarene.

A new No. 1. Seattle Pacific is unbeaten (25-0-3) in its last 28 regular season games, so it's no wonder the National Soccer Coaches Association of America thought it worthy of the poll's top spot after defending NCAA champion Franklin Pierce (NH) lost last weekend. SPU, which was No. 22 in the preseason poll before breaking into the top 10 Sept. 5, has its sights set not only on returning to the NCAA tournament, but on winning a national championship in its fourth season. Coach Chuck Sekyra saw his squad boost its conference unbeaten streak to 25-games last week behind a GNAC player-of-the-week performance by Shannon Lovejoy (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep). The SPU women's basketball team earned a midseason No. 1 ranking the past two seasons. Men's soccer was top-ranked many times, most recently in 1994.

Pressure cooker. With a ranking comes added recognition, adulation, celebration and, perhaps, pressure. Sekyra will no doubt congratulate his players and fellow coaches, yet he will also remind them that the grand prize is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and that's still two months away. In the mean time, there is a GNAC title and Far West Region top seed to be determined, and the Falcons hold the slimmest of leads in both areas. Seattle University enters the week trailing by one game in the conference race and is also the No. 2 team in the region. The Redhawks, who tied SPU 1-1 Sept. 18, are ranked 10th.

It's a good read. While Sekyra certainly has a couple of candidates for GNAC player of the year, the numbers alone don1t begin to tell the story. Each and every time the kickoff whistle blows, the coach gets solid leadership and contributions from his senior starters, four of whom are original members of the program. All-America goaltender Jennifer Hull (Sr., Eugene, Or./Sheldon), midfielders Jessica Henson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./University) and Sarah Melby (Sr., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak), team scoring leader Michelle Sanders (Sr., Centralia, Wa.) and defender Katie Lim (Sr., Hillsboro, Or.). Hull owns the No. 4 goals-against averages in the nation at 0.29 and rates No. 2 in the GNAC in save percentage at .897. Henson and Melby have combined across the middle for 12 points between them and Sanders is tied for the team lead with Sarah Martinez (Fr., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) in goals with five, and has 12 points overall. Lim has started four years on a back line which has allowed just three goals this season.

Goals come in bunches. The latest trend for the Falcons has been a combustible attack, capable of scoring goals in bunches. Such flare-ups occurred twice last week. First, at Central Washington, Martinez ignited a flurry of three goals over a six-minute span of the first half of a 4-0 road win. Against Humboldt State, Lovejoy was the catalyst. Her long leftwing cross to Henson resulted in a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. Lovejoy then scored off a Michelle Everson (Jr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) corner kick less than three minutes later.

Footnotes. A balanced attack this season has featured nine different players scoring, with five players tallying at least three times. At Central, Theresa Morelli (So., Bellevue, Wa./Bellevue Christian) scored off Heidi Jacobson's (Jr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) pass and Jacobson scored one of her own just over a minute later with assistance from Kara Hamby (Fr., Spokane, Wa./Mead). Carolyn Nason (So., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield) became the first defender to find the net, finishing things off with a second-half goal from Henson...Seattle Pacific's 25-game GNAC unbeaten streak dates back to Sept. 25, 2002 (25-0-2). The pair of ties were against Western Washington and Seattle University...The defensive line of Lim, Nason, Everson and Mollie Taylor (So., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian) conceded just five shots in the victories. The defensive scoreless streak is now 413 minutes, dating back to the first half of the Seattle U. game. Everson took two corners which hit the woodwork vs. Humboldt...Statistically, SPU is first in the conference in goals-against average (0.27) and second in shutouts (8). Lovejoy (13), Sanders (12), Jacobson (11), Martinez (11) and Henson (10) are the top eight in GNAC points. Sanders and Martinez are tied for sixth in goals...Lovejoy (5) is second in assists while Everson and Henson are tied for fourth with four each...Teamwise, the Falcons rate second in goals per game (2.45)...During Sekyra's brief tenure, SPU has won 27 of 32 games, posting 23 shutouts...The Falcons have out-scored opponents 19-3 in the first half this season and have not allowed a second-half goal (8-0).

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.