Opponent and Series Notes

Seattle Pacific leads Western Oregon 5-2-0 in the series following a 3-0 win at Interbay Sept. 25. Martinez, Jessica Henson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./University) and Nason scored goals, all in the first half. The Wolves are coming off a 2-2 draw with Grand Canyon...The Falcons have won their last six encounters with Northwest Nazarene and now lead the series 6-1-0 following an 8-1 victory at Nampa Oct. 13. Lovejoy notched her second career hat trick in that contest.

All-America goaltender Jennifer Hull made three saves last week as the SPU defense posted its ninth shutout overall.

Home at last. On the road for much of the month of October, the top-ranked and still undefeated Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team finally returns home this weekend. But first the Falcons (7-0-1/15-0-1) play an afternoon Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at Western Oregon (2-6-0/5-10-1) Thursday afternoon (Oct. 28). Then comes a three-match home stand to close-out the regular season, beginning with Saturday night’s (Oct. 30) bout with Northwest Nazarene (2-6-0/6-9-1). Next week, the GNAC race will wrap-up against Central Washington and Seattle University.

Goals coming into view. Some intermediate goals are coming into focus for the Falcons as they reach the final two weeks of the regular season. To clinch a third straight GNAC title, they need three more wins. A similar equation would perhaps earn the top seed in next month’s NCAA Division II Far West Regional. And SPU could break its record for consecutive wins. The single season mark is 10 straight victories at the end of the 2003 regular season. An 11-game run overlapped both ‘02 and the start of ‘03.

Still plugging away. Seattle Pacific needed just 82 seconds to get the necessary goal in its 1-0 win at Humboldt State. That ensured a fourth week at No. 1 in the national poll conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Falcons, No. 22 in the preseason poll, cracked the nation’s top 10 on Sept. 5 and kept on climbing. Their regular season unbeaten streak reached 33 games (30-0-3), thanks to Megan Lienhard (Jr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) volleying home a cross. SPU has won its last 22 home matches, but has not played at Interbay Stadium since Oct. 2.

The race tightens. For the fourth year in a row, the GNAC title will most likely be determined in the first week of November. Seattle Pacific holds a slim, two-point edge over second-place Seattle U., which is ranked 15th in the country. The Redhawks applied the only blemish to the Falcons’ record with a 1-1 draw Sept. 18. The two teams meet again Nov. 6. In last week’s regional rankings, SPU held the top spot, followed by UC San Diego, Seattle U., Cal State Dominguez Hills and Chico State. The top four teams in the final poll will earn NCAA tournament invitations. Last year, the Falcons became the first GNAC team in history to make the playoffs, after All-American Shannon Lovejoy (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep.) headed home the overtime game-winner at Seattle U.

Hull shuts out. All-America goaltender Jennifer Hull (Sr., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) made three saves last week as the SPU defense posted its ninth shutout overall and the eighth during the win streak. Hull remains the NCAA leader in goals-against average at .027. The back line of Michelle Everson (Jr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium), Katie Lim (Sr., Hillsboro, Or.), Jean Kolb (Jr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) and Carolyn Nason (So., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield) held the offensive-minded Lumberjacks to a half-dozen shots and preserving their status as national leader in scoring defense (0.25). Just four goals have been allowed in 16 games (SPU has scored 42). Seattle Pacific is tied for No. 2 nationally in shutout percentage with 12. Humboldt State’s Lacey Lewis, No. 2 in GNAC scoring, was not allowed a single shot in the two meetings this season.

Redwood recap. SPU was forced into a more conservative style of play at Arcata’s small field and was called for offside a season-high five times. Allie Teague (Jr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) nearly gave the Falcons some added insurance when her drive hit the crossbar, and Lovejoy and Lienhard sent close-range shots over the crossbar late in the match. Kolb’s cross set-up Lienhard’s goal, which was the fastest in team history. It was Kolb’s third assist. The Falcons received a lift with the return of Heidi Jacobson (Jr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), who missed four matches with a rib injury. High-scoring freshman Sarah Martinez (Fr., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) is expected back from a knee sprain next week.

Footnotes. SPU has not allowed a goal in its last three home games...Seattle Pacific’s 28-game GNAC unbeaten streak (26-0-2) dates back to Sept. 25, 2002...With Lienhard moving forward to fill-in for Martinez’ inactivity, Kara Hamby (Fr., Spokane, Wa./Mead) started her third consecutive match in midfield. Team scoring leader Michelle Sanders (Sr., Centralia, Wa.) was held without an official shot at Humboldt...Seattle University, Chico State, Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene are the only teams to find the SPU net; no team has scored twice versus the Falcons...Statistically, the Falcons are the top of the conference in GAA and second in shutouts. Sanders and Lovejoy are tied for fourth in GNAC points (21) with Martinez sixth (17). Sanders is third in goals (9) with Martinez fourth (8) and Lovejoy tied for sixth (7). Lovejoy (7) leads the conference in assists while Everson is second (6), Henson tied for fourth (5) and Lienhard seventh (4). Teamwise, the Falcons rate first in goals per game (2.62) and assists (2.44)...During Sekyra’s tenure, SPU has won 29 of 34 games, posting 25 shutouts.

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.