A three-peat? A third outright Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship is well within talon’s grasp as the nationally top-ranked and undefeated Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team takes to the field for the final two regular season matches this week. The Falcons (9-0-1, 17-0-1) host Central Washington (2-8-0, 5-13-0) Wednesday night (Nov. 3) before the highly-anticipated intracity match derby with No. 15 Seattle University (7-1-2, 13-2-3) Saturday night (Nov. 6). NCAA tournament pairings will be announced Monday (Nov. 8) and the Falcons should not only earn a berth, but perhaps the top seed and opportunity to play host. The Far West Regional will be Nov. 11 and 13.

Retrospect. It’s been quite a ride for Coach Chuck Sekyra & Co. Since the program’s inception four years ago, SPU has gone from being a virtual nobody to a national championship contender in Division II. Seattle Pacific can clinch a third-straight conference title with a win against Central. It is all but assured of a place in the NCAA tournament, having sat atop the regional rankings all season. Behind the Falcons in last week’s edition of the ratings were UC San Diego and Seattle University, which applied the only blemish to SPU’s undefeated record (the two teams played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 18). Cal State Dominguez Hills and Chico State round out the top five. Last year, the Falcons became the first Northwest team to reach the NCAA playoffs. Saturday night, Sekyra’s seven seniors will be honored in a brief ceremony preceding the match. Six of the veterans have been with the program since it’s inception.

Streaks alive. The Falcons established a new record for consecutive wins in a single season (9) last week and tied the overall mark of 11 by blanking Western Oregon 2-0 and Northwest Nazarene 6-0. Seattle Pacific’s regular season unbeaten string has now reached 35 games (32-0-3). The GNAC unbeaten streak is 30 matches (28-0-2) and it has won 23 home games in a row. The Falcons were ranked No. 1 in the national poll conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the fourth week in a row.

Defense wins games. Credit the SPU defense for 14 shutouts, which is now just three shy of the NCAA season record. All-America goaltender Jennifer Hull (Sr., Eugene, Or./Sheldon) made eight saves against Western Oregon and NNU as the back line held opponents to a total of nine shots (compared to 47 taken by the Falcons). Hull, last season’s NCAA leader in goals-against average, slipped to No. 2 last week, but her GAA has since dropped to 0.24. The backline 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) preserved Seattle Pacific’s status as national leader in scoring defense (0.25) and, in fact, just four goals have been allowed in 18 games (SPU has scored 50).

Offense sells the tickets. Not only does Seattle Pacific possess the top defense in the nation but the top GNAC offense as well. After totaling just five goals in its previous three outings, the attack erupted for six against the Crusaders, and the seniors figured prominently. Sarah Melby (Sr., Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) collected a pair of goals last week, one in each match, while Jessica Henson (Sr., Spokane, Wa./University) and Leila Stalnaker (Sr., Auburn, Wa./Seattle Christian) scored versus NNU. In all, seven different players hit net in the two games. Surprisingly, neither team scoring leader Michelle Sanders (Sr., Centralia, Wa.) nor All-American Shannon Lovejoy (Jr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep.) were among the goal-getters. Lovejoy, second to Everson (9) on the GNAC list in assists with 8, earned a point on Heidi Jacobson’s (Jr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) tally at Western Oregon. Sanders is fourth among conference players with nine goals.

Footnotes. The Falcons could be back at full-strength this week. Sarah Martinez (Fr., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), the GNAC game-winning goals leader (5), could return from a knee sprain after missing four games...Tricia Loomis (Fr., Des Moines, Wa./Mount Rainier) dialed long-distance, connecting on a 45-yarder shot vs. NNU for her first collegiate goal. Megan Lienhard (Jr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) and Nason scored as well...Everson picked up three assists on the week to push her total to nine and move her ahead of Lovejoy on the conference list. Jacobson racked up two and Kolb had one...SPU has not allowed a goal in its last four home games. Seattle University, Chico State, Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene are the only teams to find the SPU net...The Falcons’ GNAC unbeaten streak dates back to Sept. 25, 2002 (Seattle U., 2-1, at Interbay). The last regular season loss was to Cal State Dominguez Hills (2-1, Sept. 1, 2003)...Lovejoy and Sanders are Nos. 3 and 5 in GNAC points with 22 and 21, respectively...Despite missing four matches, Martinez is fifth in goals (8)...Teamwise, the Falcons rank first in scoring (2.59)...During Sekyra’s tenure, SPU has won 31 of 35 games, posting 27 shutouts...SPU has not allowed a second-half goal this season...The only match in which the opponent scored first was the initial meeting with Seattle U.

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.