Three for the road. Just past the halfway point to the regular season, undefeated and No. 2-ranked Seattle Pacific University goes on the road for the next three women’s soccer games to face its closest challengers for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown. The Falcons (3-0-0/11-0-0) visit upstart Central Washington (2-2-0/5-7-0) Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 5). Then comes Saturday’s (Oct. 8) crosstown commute to meet arch-nemesis Seattle University (3-1-0/9-3-0). SPU stays on the road next week, heading to Bellingham for a match-up with Western Washington Oct. 12.

R&R and reload. Coach Chuck Sekyra has guided the Falcons to their best start in history, and was ready for an idle weekend after playing four times in 10 days. SPU started the second half of the season by beating Western Washington 2-1 in overtime. The Falcons out-scored visitors 14-1 over the four-game home stand, further strengthening their hold on the No. 1 position in the Far West Region and No. 2 in NCAA Division II. Defending national champion Metro State will remained at No. 1 in the land following a 7-1 victory over No. 21 Texas A&M Commerce.

Conference picture. By the time SPU departs Bellingham next week, the GNAC race will likely either be a logjam or all but decided. Seattle Pacific sits pretty at the moment, holding a one-game lead over both Seattle U. and Western. The Falcons are undefeated in 36 straight conference matches (34-0-2) and their regular season unbeaten streak reached 48 straight (46-0-2) with the win over the Vikings. The 11-0-0 start is the best in the program’s five year existence, but that perfect record will undergo the litmus test this week. Seattle University was the last team to defeat SPU, doing so in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season and the Redhawks, with a 1-1 draw, applied the only blemish to the GNAC record in ‘04. Central Washington, meanwhile, managed to upset Seattle U. in overtime at Championship Field last month.

Lacing up the century mark. Midfielder Shannon Lovejoy (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep) was a shoe-in for GNAC co-player of the week as she figured prominently in the victory over the Vikings. After setting-up Samantha Hufford (Jr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) for the game’s first goal in the 35th minute, Lovejoy decided the outcome with her penalty shot less than seven minutes into overtime. Those three points gave her 100 for her career, making her just the second player in GNAC history to hit triple digits. Former Seattle U. forward Nicole Savageau tops the list with 110. Lovejoy, a two-time All-American and last year’s conference player of the year, ranks among the NCAA leaders in assists with eight.

Defense wins games. Perhaps weary legs played into the snapping of the Falcons’ shutout string last week, but the back four of Carolyn Nason (Jr., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield), Mollie Taylor (Jr., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian), Michelle Everson (Sr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) and Jean Kolb (Sr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) were just 33 seconds from securing their fifth straight shutout. Goalkeeper Jen Burns (Fr., Boise, Id./Capital) made four saves in the match, including an impressive smothering of a point-blank shot on a breakaway early in the first half. Burns’ 0.33 goals-against average leads the GNAC and will likely be among the nation’s top 10 this week.

Footnotes. Seattle Pacific’s record for overall consecutive wins is 13, set last season. That run began after the tie at Seattle U...Three of the team’s last four goals have come from the penalty spot, with two coming off the right foot of Lovejoy. Her eight assists is one shy of her career-high nine of last season...Heidi Jacobson (Sr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) leads the GNAC in goals (9) and points (20)...Sarah Martinez (So., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) is tied for No. 2 in goals (8) and No. 2 in points (18), just ahead of Lovejoy (4th) and Megan Lienhard (Sr., Everett, Wa./Cascade), who is No. 6 with 11 total. Lienhard reentered the starting lineup last week after sitting out the Humboldt match with an ankle injury, and along with Lovejoy and Martinez, registered a pair of shots...The four saves by Burns equaled her season high while the team’s 11 shots and two corner kicks equaled lows...Prior to the Western Washington contest, SPU ranked No. 4 nationally in scoring defense, No. 6 in offense and No. 9 in shutout percentage. Individually, Burns was fifth in goals-against average and Lovejoy was 13th in assists...SPU has a 28-2 goal advantage in the second half and overtime... Humboldt State announced last week that it is leaving the GNAC for the CCAA next season...The last regular season loss was Sept. 1, 2003 at Cal State Dominguez Hills and last GNAc loss was Sept. 25, 2002 at Seattle U.

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.