Win & move on. Five years after its inception, the Seattle Pacific University women’s soccer team finds itself unbeaten, ranked No. 2 in the nation and hosting the NCAA Division II Far West Regional for the second year in a row. Games begin Thursday (Nov. 10) with the Falcons (17-0-3) facing Chico State (14-3-3) in the semifinal nightcap. No. 13 UC San Diego (17-3-0) meets No. 19 Cal State Dominguez Hills (14-6-2) in the first game. All three games of the regional will be played at Interbay Stadium, including the Saturday afternoon (Nov. 12) final. The Far West winner hosts the Midwest victor in a Nov. 19 quarterfinal game. The Final Four is Dec. 1 and 3 in Wichita Falls, Tx.

Ever rising. Since the first kickoff in 2001, Seattle Pacific has been on the fast track to national prominence. The Falcons have won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship the past four years, and under Coach Chuck Sekyra they have reached the NCAA tournament each of his three years. Now Sekyra believes they are title contenders. “This team really knows themselves and they have been so resilient,” he said. “They have played in all kinds of adverse situations and have taken something away from every experience.” Sekyra was voted the GNAC coach of the year for the third successive season.

Streaks alive. Wins over Central Washington (3-1) and defending regional champion Seattle University (3-0) extended the SPU regular season unbeaten string to 57 (52-0-5) games, and 44 straight (40-0-4) in GNAC play. The Falcons are 10-0-1 at home this season. However, they are still searching for their first postseason win. SPU advanced to the second round in ‘04 by virtue of a tiebreaker following a draw.

Just rewards. To no one’s surprise, Seattle Pacific dominated the all-GNAC awards. Sarah Martinez (So., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), the scoring leader with 14 goals and 33 points, was voted the player of the year. Heidi Jacobson (Sr., Kirkland, Wa./Cedar Park Christian), whose 11 goals is second only to Martinez in the GNAC, was one of two unanimous selections. Last season’s player of the year, Shannon Lovejoy (Sr., Seattle, Wa./Seattle Prep), became only the second four-time, first-team selection. Midfielder Kara Hamby (So., Spokane, Wa./Mead) and defender Carolyn Nason (Jr., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield) also made the first team. Michelle Everson (Sr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) and Megan Lienhard (Sr., Everett, Wa./Cascade) were on the second team and five others received honorable mention.

Regal regional. Sekyra’s squad is quite familiar with its first round foe as Chico State and SPU met in the Aug. 27 season opener. The Falcons won 5-1. A year ago, however, the Wildcats battled to a 2-2 tie in a first-round playoff game which was eventually settled on penalty kicks. Seattle Pacific defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-1 on the road Sept. 10. The Toros, the last team to defeat SPU in regular season play (Sept. 1, 2003), lost to Seattle U. in a first-round game last season. They won the NCAA title in 1991. UC San Diego claimed national crowns in ‘00 and ‘01.

Pace quickens. The Falcons’ offense appears to be firing on all cylinders once again. Lovejoy scored thrice in last week’s wins to earn GNAC player of the week. She is now just one point shy of becoming the GNAC career scoring leader. Martinez, who stripped an opposing defender for the second goal versus Seattle U., has now hit the net six times in the last five games. SPU has scored 17 times in the last five games after a five-game lull in which it had just seven.

D rules. Two basic ingredients to postseason success are defense and depth. The Falcons ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense entering last week, and have allowed only four goals in 11 home games. A testimony to depth is the fact that Sekyra has started 19 different players, including eight defenders. The good news is that the squad is much healthier than when it opened the playoffs last year without its top scorer and three others hobbling. Mollie Taylor (Jr., Westlake Village, Ca./Oaks Christian), who had knee surgery last week, is the only player unavailable.

Footnotes. Allison Teague (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian-Santa Clara) enjoyed a big week, scoring two goals, one on Senior Night, and earning a place on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team, where she was joined by Jacobson. Both will advance to the Academic All-America ballot...Ten players made the academic all-conference selection. Teague, Everson, Lienhard and Jean Kolb (Sr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) were all three-time repeaters...SPU out-scored Interbay visitors 42-4 during the regular season...Martinez is chasing the single season record of 17 goals, set by Lovejoy in 2003...Martinez finished the season as the GNAC leader in game-winning goals (4). Lovejoy is tied for No. 2 in GNAC assists (9). Lienhard is fourth in goals (9) and sixth in points (22)...Among national leaders, Jen Burns (Fr., Boise, Id./Capital) was No. 5 in GAA last week. Burns owns a conference-best 0.47 goals-against average. The team was 13th in NCAA offense...Tricia Loomis (So., Des Moines, Wa./Mt. Rainier), Burns, Shannon Oakes (Fr., Boise, Id./Boise), Samantha Hufford (Jr., Sammamish, Wa./Eastlake) and Meredith Teague (Fr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) received honorable mention all-GNAC...The last outright loss was Nov. 13, 2004 to Seattle U. (2-0) in the regional title game.

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.