Complete Weekly Release PDF Version

All Press Releases

It's crunch time. With five regular season games remaining, the Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team finds itself in unfamiliar territory. The Falcons are unranked and have fallen from their accustomed perch in both the region and Great Northwest Athletic Conference. That makes the next two games particularly important. SPU (3-2-0/12-3-0) finishes a stretch of four consecutive road games Saturday (Oct. 14) at Northwest Nazarene (2-3-0/8-6-0), then hosts Western Washington (4-1-0/11-3-0) in the next-to-last home game Tuesday (Oct. 17).

Playing for November. The Falcons appear to be on the rebound after dropping back-to-back games for the first time in five years. Western Washington nursed an early lead to beat Seattle Pacific for the first time, 2-1 in Bellingham. In the desert heat of Phoenix, the team’s on-field fortunes turned for the better but at the expense of its health. SPU crushed Grand Canyon 5-0 and also defeated Dixie State 2-1, only to lose at least three starters in the process. Despite going 2-1-0 on the road, the team dropped out of the national rankings for the first time since October of 2003. They remain in the postseason mix, ranking No. 3 in last week’s NCAA Far West Region poll. The top four teams advance to next month’s regional.

Conference race Intensifies. With a pair of wins, Seattle Pacific can at least grab a share of second place in the GNAC. Seattle University holds a slight lead over Western and the three contenders all meet one another once more. Going into next week’s game with the Vikings, SPU has lost just once in its last 21 home matches (18-1-2), and that was to Seattle U. (1-0) Sept. 30. The Falcons visit the Redhawks in the final regular season game Oct. 28. The Falcons have been to NCAA Division II playoffs in each of their last three seasons and played in the 2005 NCAA championship match.

The big hurt. Coach Chuck Sekyra expects to be without the services of at least two starters this weekend. Defender Jeanne Webster (Jr., Bothell, Wa./Bothell) injured her left knee and is expected to miss the rest of the season, and top scorer Sarah Martinez (Jr., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian) is out indefinitely with a knee injury suffered versus Dixie. There’s more. Midfielder Shannon Oakes (So., Boise, Id./Boise) is questionable for the trip near her hometown after straining her quadriceps. Kayla Stiegemeier (Fr., Rathrum, Id./Lakeland), another Idaho native and No. 3 scorer, missed the last outing with an ankle injury.

Goals pour forth. After being held scoreless by Seattle U. and failing to convert 21 shots into more than one goal at Bellingham, the offense exploded for a season-high five goals at Grand Canyon. Jessica Gerstmann (Jr., Puyallup, Wa./Cascade Christian) got things going by breaking a scoreless stalemate in the 62nd minute. Martinez, Alex Kirk (Fr., Edmonds, Wa./Edmonds-Woodway) and Tricia Loomis (Jr., Des Moines, Wa./Mount Rainier) hit the net with goals over the next nine minutes before Loomis added another in the final minute. Kirk had a monster week with six total points in two games. She also scored the opening goal versus Dixie. Gerstmann got the game-winner in the 83rd minute, slotting home the rebound after a Martinez shot was saved. Webster scored the only goal at Western Washington.

Finishing work. It’s not as if the Falcons have lost their way of late. In their two losses, they dominated possession and applied plenty of pressure, with 38 shots to the opponents’ 13. Sekyra says it’s been a combination of the last finishing touches missing the mark and giving up goals against the run of play. In the second half at Bellingham, he switched his goalkeepers, but by the time he got to Phoenix Katie Ruggles (Sr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) was back in the net. Offensively, SPU is producing 0.45 more shots per game than a year ago, yet goals have dropped by 0.49. Meanwhile, opponents have raised their scoring by 0.20.

Throw-ins. SPU has never lost two consecutive home games...Sekyra used six freshmen in the last game. Julia Kern (Fr., Portland, Wa./Jesuit) started for the first two times on defense in Phoenix...At Western, the crossbar stopped shots by Oakes and Kern. That marked the first time SPU has suffered back-to-back losses since the end of the inaugural 2001 season…Oakes leads the GNAC in shots (51) and Kayla Stiegemeier (Fr., Rathdrum, Id./Lakeland) is fifth (40)…Meredith Teague (So, Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) assisted on the first Loomis goal at GCU. Teague is third in the conference in assists (6)…Tracey Taylor (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Holy Names) and backup keeper Jesslyn Rahm (Fr., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) assisted on Loomis' final score, a play which began with a long punt from the box…Martinez is second in GNAC in goals with eight and leads in game-winning goals with four. She is tied for No. 2 in points (22)… Ruggles is second in goals-against (0.81)…Team-wise, the Falcons rank first in shots (18.43), second in goals (2.31), and second in goals-allowed (0.71). They are second in shutouts with seven. Up until the Western loss, SPU had not allowed a GNAC opponent more than one goal in 47 games...Kara Hamby (Jr., Spokane, Wa./Mead) looped a 30-yard ball to Kirk for the initial goal against Dixie. Gerstmann came forward and scored on a set play off a corner-kick Saturday, and assisted on Webster's strike at Bellingham...Oakes, Teague, Carolyn Nason (Sr., Lafayette, Co./Broomfield-Metro State) and Ruggles are the only players to start all 15 games...Rahm played the second half at Bellingham and the final 19 minutes at GCU.

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 $5 for general admission, with students and senior citizens $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.