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Good to be home. A very competitive campaign for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer championship gets underway this week for Seattle Pacific University, and the Falcons (6-0-0) hope to parlay two home games into gaining the early upper hand. Eighth-ranked SPU faces Central Washington (3-2-2) Wednesday night (Sept. 12), before welcoming Western Washington (4-1-0) to the Interbay Stadium turf Saturday afternoon (Sept. 15) to complete a three-game home stand. Next week they visit Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon.

Run for title begins. A fifth GNAC crown will not come easily for Seattle Pacific, as the league continues to toughen-up, top to bottom. After finishing third in 2006, Coach Chuck Sekyra identified the re-taking of the GNAC trophy as Job One. In addition to SPU, both defending champion Seattle University and Western have been nationally ranked this season. The Redhawks defeated the Vikings last week. In the coaches’ preseason poll, the Falcons got a slim vote of confidence over SU and Western.

10-9-8... Seattle Pacific moved up two spots in the national rankings this week following back-to-back shutouts of Chico State (1-0) and Notre Dame de Namur (3-0). Michigan’s Grand Valley State remains No. 1, ahead of defending Far West Region champion UC San Diego. Seattle U. bumped Western Washington out of the top 25 and is No. 19.

Not-so-good news. Casting a shadow over the Falcons’ most recent win was an injury to top scorer Sarah Martinez (Sr., Bothell, Wa./Cedar Park Christian). An ankle sprain forced Martinez to leave the Argos game early in the first half and she did not return. Martinez had opened the scoring 72 seconds after the opening kickoff. It was her GNAC-leading eighth goal of the year and the 40th of her career. Shannon Lovejoy holds the school record of 42.

Oakes nets award. While Martinez has been applying the finishing touches, last week’s catalyst for the key plays was midfielder Shannon Oakes (Jr., Boise, Id./Boise). She set-up both game-winning goals, and was subsequently named the GNAC player of the week. Oakes sent a blast off the crossbar which resulted in a rebound goal by Janae Godoy (Jr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) at Chico State. In the early moments of the NDNU contest, Oakes hooked-up with Kayla Stiegemeier (So., Rathdrum, Id./Lakeland) to find Martinez open at the top of the box. Oakes and Stiegemeier both have five assists.

Waiting by the phone. As Martinez is moves to the sidelines indefinitely, Sekyra is waiting for the phone to ring. A decision is expected at any time regarding the eligibility of transfer Jocelyn Charette (So., Lakewood, Wa./Curtis). Although she’s transferred from Tampa and been training with the team all season, the Spartans have refused to release the Charette. The NCAA is ruling on the appeal. Charette scored 21 goals and helped lead Tampa to the national semifinals as a freshman. She was an all-region selection at forward and scored six goals in five postseason games.

Quiet days & nights. It was another quiet week for the Falcons’ back line, which faced just 10 shots in the two games. The only three attempts on target were saved by keeper Jesslyn Rahm (So., Eugene, Or./South Eugene) fielded both attempts with ease. Center back Claire Grubbs (Jr., Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) continues to anchor the foursome in front of Rahm. She’s paired with Becca Woods (Fr., Beaverton, Or.)–who nodded in her second goal versus NDNU–with Jeanne Webster (Sr., Bothell, Wa.) rotating into the mix. Jessica Gerstmann (Sr., Puyallup, Wa./Cascade Christian/Wash. St.) and Katie Taylor (Jr., Vancouver, Wa./Colum. River) patrol the right and left flanks, respectively. The four shutouts and two goals allowed represent the best defensive six-game start in program history.

Throw-ins. Seattle Pacific has now scored seven times in the first 12 minutes of games. After Mallorie Gerstmann (Fr., Puyallup, Wa./Cascade Christian) scored her first collegiate goal 30 seconds after halftime vs. NDNU, SPU also has five goals in the first six minutes of the second period...Rahm leads the GNAC and is No. 3 nationally in goals-against average at 0.19. Meredith Teague (Jr., Redmond, Wa./Bellevue Christian) picked up her sixth assist last week and is No. 3 in the NCAA and second in the GNAC with an average of 1.00 per game. Martinez is No. 8 in NCAA total points per game and 12th in goals...Martinez’ career record for game-winners is now 17 and climbing. Her 98 total points is 13 away from Lovejoy’s standard...As a team, SPU is tied for No. 5 in NCAA scoring defense. The Falcons are 15th in scoring offense.

Coaching Staff. Chuck Sekyra has guided the Falcons to the NCAA tournament in each of his first four seasons. Sekyra was voted 2005 region coach of the year after taking SPU to the national title game. He is a three-time GNAC coach of the year, and has won three conference championships. Sekyra has played on two NCAA championship teams at Seattle Pacific from 1985-88. He and was assistant men’s coach from 1998-99 and assistant women’s coach at Washington from 2000-02. Goalkeeper coach Kevin Blokker returns for his fifth year on the staff after previously coaching at San Francisco (his alma mater), Wyoming, Fresno State and Kansas. Chalise Baysa, Oregon’s all-time scoring leader, is in her fourth season on the staff. Arby Busey is in his second year. He was Idaho’s head coach from 2002-04 and an assistant at Villanova, his alma mater, in 2005.

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.