Final Four in sight. A trip to the Final Four will be at stake Saturday afternoon (Nov. 19) when two unbeaten women’s soccer teams meet in an NCAA Division II quarterfinal game at Interbay Stadium. Seattle Pacific University (19-0-3), No. 2 ranked and winner of the Far West Regional, will host the defending national champion and top-ranked Metro State (23-0-0). The victor advances to the NCAA Championships, Dec. 1 and 3 in Wichita Falls, Tx.

Fast forward. While Seattle Pacific has sent its storied men’s program to the semifinal stage 14 times, the women’s team seeks its first trip, and to put the finishes touches on a five-year plan which has been a true joyride to date. The Falcons first set foot on the field in 2001. They won their first of four consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships in Year 2, made the NCAA tournament for the first time in Year 3 and advanced to the second round in 2004. In three seasons under coach Chuck Sekyra, the Falcons have lost just three times in 65 games (55-3-7) and own a winning percentage of .900.

Eyes on the prize. A year ago at this time, after losing the regional championship game, Sekyra’s squad essentially handed the mantle of No. 1 to Metro State. Last week, the Falcons made no mistake, laying claim to the Far West title by beating UC San Diego 2-0. Earlier, they had been extended to two overtimes before eliminating Chico State, 1-0. The Roadrunners won the Midwest crown by defeating their Denver crosstown rival, Regis, 1-0.

Streaks alive. Those victories over Chico State and UCSD extended the home unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive games (12-0-1). Overall, SPU has won five in a row, the last three all by shutout. In fact, the defense has allowed only 10 goals this season while accumulating 12 shutouts. Offensively, the 66 goals represents a program record.

Taking it up a notch. If there had been a regional tournament MVP, Sarah Martinez (So., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) would have walked away with the trophy. Martinez, the GNAC player of the year, scored two of Seattle Pacific’s three goals, including the overtime game-winner versus Chico. She has hit the net eight times in the last seven games and her total of 16 is just one shy of the team record. With less than three minutes remaining before penalty kicks, Martinez ran onto a pass from Allison Teague (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian-Santa Clara) to beat Chico. In the next round, she scored the second of the Falcons’ two goals within a 3-minute span of the second half. Meredith Teague (Fr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) had opened the scoring against UCSD with a high looping ball which bounced over the Tritons keeper.

It’s all good. The names in Seattle Pacific’s back four may change, but cornerstone has remained. Carolyn Nason (Jr., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield) has anchored a backline which has been altered constantly due to injuries. She’s also quite familiar with Metro State, having played for the Roadrunners in 2003. Nason was one of five first team all-GNAC selections, and she’s done her share of damage on offense as well, scoring five times. Recently, Nason has been teamed with at least three freshmen, including the goalkeeper. Meredith Teague and Katie Taylor (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Columbia River) started on the outside, with Jen Burns (Fr., Boise, Id./Capital) in the net. Claire Grubbs (Fr., Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) and Jeanne Webster (So., Bothell, Wa.) have been solid alongside Nason in the middle, enabling All-American Michelle Everson (Sr., Tacoma, Wa./Stadium) to recover from injury. At home, SPU has allowed visitors just four goals in 13 games. Burns was flawless in the playoff wins, making five saves to raise her personal shutout total to seven and lower her goals-against average to (0.42), which is fourth in the NCAA this week. As a team, the Falcons are third in scoring defense (0.44), tied with Metro State.

Mighty Metro. Metro State owns the longest winning streak in Div. II at 47 straight games and the most potent attack (4.22 goals per game). The Roadrunners’ Kylee Hanavan has scored 30 goals to break her own school record and ranks fifth in the nation. Freshman Anne Ormrod has 21 goals. Stephanie Prouty stars on a back line that has given up just 10 goals in 23 matches. Metro, which beat Seattle University, 1-0, en route to the ‘04 national title and has been to the semifinal stage twice in the last three years, will be meeting SPU for the first time.

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.