Falcon athletes are stepping back into the game.
Seattle Pacific University has four fall sports programs: cross-country, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer and men’s soccer. With the exception of cross-country, all teams will play home games in front of fans — the volleyball team at Royal Brougham Pavilion and the soccer teams at Interbay Stadium.
The cross-country team has four regular season meets early in the quarter before playing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships and the NCAA DII West regionals. This will also be the team’s first year without Assistant Coach Chris Reed, who left his position last year after a decade with SPU.
The volleyball team began play on Aug. 22 with an exhibition game against Seattle University before traveling to Southern California for the Seaside Invitational and the Cougar Classic. In-conference play begins on Sep. 14 at Western Oregon University.
The volleyball team will play a total of nine home games, finishing the season with Senior Night on Nov. 18.
According to head coach Jason Rhine, the team is looking forward to their second home game of the year against Central Washington University. He noted that the Falcons eked out two close victories last year against CWU, who is predicted to be the number one team in the preseason GNAC poll this year.
The team is similar to last year’s squad and Rhine is certain they will have a big impact. Women’s soccer began the season with three scrimmages in the second half of August before hosting the SPU Kickoff Classic between Aug. 31 and Sep. 2. The team will then play three non-conference away games beginning Sept. 7.
Arby Busey, the head coach of the women’s soccer team, liked the performance that the team gave in 2022, but noted that the team’s first-round defeat by Northwest Nazarene in the GNAC playoffs left them wanting more.
“I think that we had a good season here last year, but I think we have a taste in our mouths where we left a little bit on the table,” Busey said. “That’s served as motivation through the off-season.”
In-conference play begins at home on September 21st against Montana State University Billings. There are seven total in-conference home games. These will include Sep. 23 against Western, a rematch game against Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 28, which is also the team’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion night, and the final game of the season, Senior Night, on Nov. 4.
Busey gave a lot of credit to the rest of the senior class for forming the backbone of the team.
“Our senior class is a formidable group of women that have been contributors since they’ve been here,” Busey stated. “That class is full of players that will give us a lot of influence when they get to be out on the soccer field.”
Ultimately, the team wants to return to the GNAC Tournament and avenge their early playoff loss from Nov. 3, 2022.
As they do every four years, the men’s soccer team began their season early by traveling abroad this summer. In early August, they traveled to Spain, where they played five exhibition games. Kevin Sakuda, the head coach of the men’s soccer team, expressed how positive the trip was for the team.
“We felt like it was a great opportunity to give the guys an experience that’s pretty unique in college. We got to go out there, play five games, see a ton of amazing spots, learn a lot about the culture,” Sakuda said.
The team has played some games since returning to the States, but will not have its first home game until Sep. 14 against Regis University.
The Falcons will play six home games this season, including the unmissable $1 Hot Dog Night on Oct. 21, the Shoe Drive on Nov. 9 and Senior Night on Nov. 11.
Rhine invites all SPU students to make their way to Royal Brougham Pavilion and Interbay Stadium to cheer on the Falcons.
“We’re excited for this season, so we’d love student support for our athletes and for our teams,” Rhine said.
