Here & there. With two convincing home wins behind them and the offense humming to the tune of five goals per game, the 9th-ranked Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team plays one more contest on its home turf before winding down the West Coast for three matches in California. The Falcons (2-0-0) finish out a three-game home stand Saturday night (Sept. 3) against Sonoma State (1-1-0). The first road game is next Wednesday (Sept. 7) at Cal Poly Pomona (1-1-0). SPU also plays powerhouses Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Bakersfield before Great Northwest Athletic Conference play begins.

Tally two and keep counting. Seattle Pacific is off to a fantastic start, having out-scored its two Interbay Stadium visitors by a combined count of 10-1. It’s the strongest early offensive showing in the program’s five-year existence. Coach Chuck Sekyra and his squad have set their long-term sights on the prize: playing for a national championship. Sekyra believes that the inside track to the Far West Region title resides in winning the non-conference contests early on, and that the California road foray will be pivotal to emerging as the region’s No. 1 seed in November. Sekyra has led the team to the NCAA Division II postseason in each of his two seasons at the helm.

Defending home turf. Seattle Pacific extended its regular season unbeaten streak to 39 games by downing Chico State (5-1) and Biola (5-0), respectively. The former featured a rematch of last year’s first round of the NCAA tournament, and SPU was nearly flawless defensively, holding the Wildcats to just two shots (one was the scored penalty kick). Carolyn Nason (Jr., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield-Metro State) played a key role in both victories and was named GNAC Player of the Week for her efforts on both sides of the halfway line. Nason helped hold the Chico forwards to zero shots in the opener and managed to come forward for a goals in each game.

Scoring left and right. It didn’t take long for the Falcons to get on the scoreboard this season, thanks to Heidi Jacobson (Sr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), who managed two goals last week. Eleven minutes into the opener, Jacobson made a 20-yard run down the right side and launched an 18-yarder to beat the keeper to the far post. Six different players hit the net in the first two outings. Megan Lienhard (Sr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) put home three goals, including a pair against Biola. After a relatively quiet opening night, All-American midfielder Shannon Lovejoy (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep) tallied her first points with a goal and an assist versus Biola. Lovejoy is the program’s career scoring leader, now with 35 goals.

Defense wins games. Just as impressive as the attack was the stingy defense. With All-American Michelle Everson (Sr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) and Nason plugging the middle and Mollie Taylor (Jr., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian), Jean Kolb (Sr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) and Meredith Teague (Fr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) rotating on the flanks, opponents rarely penetrated the final third. Keeper Jen Burns (Fr., Boise, Id./Capital), who won the starting job, was flawless in her combined 124 minutes played, and made four saves. In Sekyra’s two-plus years as coach, the Falcons have won 31 games by shutout.

The deep end. There is more competition than ever for key roles. Burns and Shannon Oakes (Fr., Boise, Id./Boise) were the only true rookies to get Sekyra’s starting call in the first two games, but Teague, Claire Grubbs (Fr., Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) and transfers Samantha Hufford (Jr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) and Jessica Gerstmann (So., Puyallup, Wa./Cascade Christian) saw plenty of action. Hufford netted a goal against Chico State and Gerstmann set-up Tricia Loomis (So., Des Moines, Wa./Mount Rainier) for a score. In all, 22 players saw action in the opening games.

Footnotes. Nason’s goal against Chico was a header off an uncontested run through the penalty box to meet an Everson corner kick...Last year’s top goal scorer, Sarah Martinez (So., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), picked up two assists vs. Chico...Allison Teague (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian/Santa Clara) was among Sekyra’s first off the bench in both matches and played quite a few minutes along with starter Kara Hamby (So., Spokane, Wa./Mead) at midfield. Hamby garnered her first assist of the year vs. Biola...Lienhard and Jacobson scored goals 77 seconds apart as SPU was ahead of Biola 2-0 after five minutes...Everson has 10 assists in her last nine home games, dating back to last season. Her 20 career assists is second only to Michelle Sanders (27)...Lienhard now has 21 career goals...In goal, Burns yielded to Katie Ruggles (Jr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) for the final 26 minutes, and Erin Pierce (Sr., Milwaukie, Or./Rex Putnam) played the final 18 minutes against the Eagles...A year ago, the Falcons needed four games before scoring 10 goals.

Coaching Staff. SPU Coaching Staff. Chuck Sekyra was voted coach of the year for the second consecutive time in the GNAC after taking the Falcons to a league title, NCAA playoff berth and a 19-1-2 record in his second 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 men¹s coach from 1998-99. Sekyra was a starter on the Œ86 squad which became the first in Division II history to win back-to-back national 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 third year on the staff after previously coaching at San Francisco (his alma mater), Wyoming, Fresno State and Kansas. Chalise Baysa, Oregon¹s all-time scoring leader, is in her second season on the staff. She now plays for the W-League Seattle Sounders.

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.