• 2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket
SEATTLE -- The Seattle Pacific women's soccer team starts its postseason journey on the road. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Falcons received the West Region's No. 3 seed into the 48-team NCAA Division II Tournament field that was announced Monday.
This marks the ninth straight playoff berth for SPU, which has a 13-6-3 record in all-time postseason games.
"We're always excited to be in the NCAA Tournament and we feel like we've got as good a chance as anybody,” said Coach
Chuck Sekyra, who thought SPU should have earned been seeded higher and hosted games in Seattle.
“We're a little disappointed to see the committee not recognize our strength of schedule and our winning percentage. But I'll tell you what, we're out to prove them wrong.”
The Falcons (16-2-0) travel to Los Angeles, Calif. for a first-round clash against No. 6 seed Grand Canyon (9-5-3) on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. That game will be hosted at Jesse Owens Stadium by No. 2 seed Cal State L.A. (12-4-3), which plays the winner on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m.
“We're excited to play against a quality team like Grand Canyon” Sekyra said. “It's great to play somebody that doesn't know us and we haven't played. We're excited to go to LA and keep our season alive.”
UC San Diego (13-2-4) drew the top seed in the West Region and will host a second-round game against the first-round winner between No. 4 Cal State Stanislaus (11-4-5) and No. 5 Chico State (11-6-3).
The two winning second-round teams from the West Region will meet at the site of the higher seed for a third-round clash on Nov. 17 with the victor advancing to the Nov. 19 quarterfinals.
The 2011 NCAA semifinals and championship game are scheduled for Dec. 1 and 3 in Pensacola, Fla.
The SPU women won the 2008 national championship and also advanced to the Final Four in 2005 and 2007. They won their third consecutive GNAC title with a 13-1 record this season.
The Falcons feature the high-scoring forward duo of
Megan Lindsay and
Kellie Zakrzewski, who shared top-scoring honors with nine goals apiece. SPU outscored opponents by a combined 51-11 tally, including 10 shutouts.
“We've won nine in a row, we're peaking at the right time,” concluded Sekyra, whose team outscored the opposition 29-6 during that span.
2011 NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
West Region Pairings
Jesse Owens Stadium/Los Angeles, Calif.
First Round -- Thursday, Nov. 10
Game 1 -- Grand Canyon (9-5-3) vs. Seattle Pacific (16-2-0), 7 p.m.
Second Round -- Saturday, Nov. 12
Game 2 -- Winner Game 1 vs. Cal State L.A. (12-4-3), 1 p.m.
