The dirty dozen. After out-scoring visitors 12-0 in three home matches last week, the No. 2-ranked Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team will put a couple of lengthy unbeaten streaks on the line once more this week. The Falcons (3-0-0/10-0-0) tangle with Western Washington (2-0-0/5-2-0) in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match Wednesday night (Sept. 28) to close out a season-long four-match home stand. SPU is then idle for seven days before a string of three straight road games begins Oct. 5 at Central Washington.

Out of the gates. The Falcons are off to a very impressive start, and Coach Chuck Sekyra was undoubtedly pleased with the three wins last week. SPU dominated Grand Canyon (3-0), Western Oregon (6-0) and Humboldt State (3-0) while firing 64 shots. Seattle Pacific sits atop the GNAC standings and will likely remain No. 2 in the naiton for the second straight week. Defending national champion Metro State will remain at No. 1 after edging No. 7 Regis, 1-0. The Falcons are No. 1 in the Far West Region rankings, followed by Cal State Dominguez Hills, UC San Diego, Seattle University and Chico State.

Streaks alive. It was a very busy yet productive week for the Seattle Pacific. The regular season unbeaten streak reached 47 games (45-0-2) and in GNAC play SPU is undefeated in 35 straight (33-0-2). The Falcons, who played four games in eight days, have not allowed a goal in the last nine GNAC games and at Interbay they have won 18 conference games in a row while out-scoring visitors 50-2. SPU is also far ahead of its scoring pace from a year ago, having scored 14 more goals in the first 10 games, and the 10-0-0 start is the best in the program’s five-year existence. That perfect record will be tested by Western Washington, which historically has played close contests with SPU. Five of the eight meetings have been decided by one goal and two have gone to overtime.

Taking offense. Sekyra’s offensive schemes have been downright perplexing for opponents trying to determine whom to mark tightly. In the middle, there is career scoring leader and top playmaker Shannon Lovejoy (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep), who ranks among the NCAA leaders in assists. Up front, the capable legs of Sarah Martinez (So., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), Heidi Jacobson (Sr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) or Megan Lienhard (Sr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) can break open a game at any moment. Martinez was GNAC co-player of the week as she tied the SPU record with three goals in the 6-0 rout of Western Oregon, and added another versus Grand Canyon. Jacobson scored twice versus WOU to boost her conference-leading goal total to nine.

Loomis on the prowl. For more than a half-hour, Humboldt State held the aforementioned attackers at bay. And then into the fray stepped Tricia Loomis (So., Des Moines, Wa./Mount Rainier). Barely three minutes after entering the game, Loomis was in the limelight, taking a finely threaded through-pass from Lovejoy and booting it inside the near post. Later, with less than two minutes remaining, Loomis added a penalty kick. She and Shannon Oakes (Fr., Boise, Id./Boise), who scored against WOU, each have three goals this season.

Take your best shot. If the Falcons’ string of four straight shutouts fails to impress, take a closer look at the box scores last week. The defense, which features a starting back four of Carolyn Nason (Jr., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield/Metro State), Mollie Taylor (Jr., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian), Michelle Everson (Sr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) and Jean Kolb (Sr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene), allowed just the two shots and only one required a save. Goalkeeper Jen Burns (Fr., Boise, Id./Capital) largely stood idle between the sticks versus the Lumberjacks yet still was credited with her third shutout. Burns’ 0.25 goals-against average leads the GNAC and ranked No. 8 in the NCAA last week.

Footnotes. Sekyra shuffled the lineup to give others opportunities as Katie Ruggles (Jr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) and Erin Pierce (Sr., Milwaukie, Or./Rex Putnam) split time in goal vs. WOU, with Ruggles earning the starting nod. Jessica Gerstmann (So., Puyallup, Wa./Cascade Christian/Washington State) made her first start at midfield vs. HSU...Katie Taylor (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Columbia River) played several minutes on the back line as did Claire Grubbs (Fr., Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) and Michelle Musser (Fr., Portland, Or./Jesuit)...Jacobson leads the GNAC in both points (20) and goals (9). Martinez is No. 2 in goals (8) and points (18), just ahead of Lienhard and Lovejoy who are tied for sixth in points (11). Martinez was taken down in the box vs. HSU to earn a the a penalty kick which Lovejoy converted for her 36th career goal. Both of her goals this season have come from the spot...Burns is also the GNAC leader in saves percentage (.900)...Western Washington and Central Washington are the other teams with unblemished records in GNAC play. The Wildcats upset Seattle University in overtime, 2-1, last week...During Sekyra’s tenure, SPU has allowed only 18 goals in 53 games, winning 35 by shutout...Last week the Falcons were No. 5 nationally in scoring and No. 7 in scoring defense.

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.