SEATTLE (Dec. 9) ­ Chuck Sekyra was voted the Far West Region women's soccer coach of the year after guiding Seattle Pacific University to the NCAA Division II championship game.

Sekyra becomes a finalist for the national coach of the year, which will be announced at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America annual convention next month in Philadelphia.

In his third season at SPU, Sekyra led the Falcons to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, a third straight NCAA tournament berth and an unbeaten regular season record. Seattle Pacific was the NCAA runner-up, finishing 20-1-4 after losing to Nebraska Omaha, 2-1 in overtime, in the championship game last week.