NCAA West Region preview: SPU vs. UC San Diego (HTML)

By MARK MOSCHETTI
SPU Sports Information
 
SEATTLE – With her near-perfect grade-point average in the classroom and a keen ability to know where the ball is going on the soccer field, it's safe to say that Shayla Page always has her head in the game.
               
One time – albeit not by choice – she had her face in the game, too.
 
But as the Seattle Pacific senior reminisced about that incident, she figured it made her even tougher as a stalwart defender, a player who sometimes has to stop a shot by whatever legal means are available.

"I only played my freshman year in high school, then I ended up practicing with some boys teams in the area," Page said. "I remember getting hit in the face – a shot just nailed me."
 
She momentarily lost her vision, but recalled thinking, "I'm not going to cry in front of all these boys. I was so freaked out, but I wasn't going to cry in front of a team of boys."

 

Page, then a junior at Eastlake High School in the Seattle suburb of Sammamish, wound up in the emergency room – and ironically didn't get to come to the Falcon women's game that she had planned on attending that night at Interbay Stadium.
 
"I remember calling Arby (Busey, then SPU's assistant and now the interim head coach) and saying, 'Uh, I'm not going to make it tonight – I'm in ER.' "
 
Fortunately for the Falcons, Page wound up attending when it really counted: by eventually signing on the dotted line to make SPU her school of choice for academics and for soccer.
 
In the four years since, Page has played in 79 of Seattle Pacific's 82 games, starting 78 of those. She'll be back on the field for Thursday night's opening whistle when the Falcons meet UC San Diego in the first round of the NCAA West Region tournament.
 
Kickoff at Western Washington's Harrington Field in Bellingham is at 7:00 p.m. The winner takes on top-seeded and nationally No. 2-ranked WWU on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., also at Harrington.
 
"It's a rivalry, and I feel like we know each other pretty well," Page said of the Tritons, who beat the Falcons in an NCAA first-round game in 2012, and again in a 2013 preseason game before Seattle Pacific got some redemption during the 2014 preseason. "We kind of know what to expect. Every year is different, but it's always a hard game."
 
CROSSOVER COMFORT ZONE
From her position in the center of SPU's back line, Page often is looking up, whether at a target ball straight into the box, or a corner kick floating toward the post.
 
That's when her experience in another sport often comes in handy. Besides playing soccer while growing up, Page also played volleyball.
 
No surprise there, since her mother, Gaylene (then Macdonald) was a star on the court for the Falcons in 1987 and 1988. In fact, Macdonald still owns the school record for career hitting percentage at .349.
 
"(Volleyball) is in her background, so a ball being above her head is something she's very comfortable with," Busey said. "She's able to read the flight of it and gauge where she needs to put herself in order to make good contact with it."
 
Page's soccer DNA comes from her father, Andy. One of her sisters played both sports, the other focused on volleyball.
 
Shayla, who played one year of each sport in high school and was on club teams in both, ultimately had to make up her own mind.
 
"It just came down to a decision , because club for both was just too demanding," she said. "I felt like I liked soccer more. I enjoyed volleyball, but I was better at soccer."
 
ALWAYS IN THE TRENCHES
It's not the most glorious position on the pitch. But whether at outside back as a Falcon freshman or at center back ever since (she also played both at the club level), Page and the defender's role have been a perfect fit.
 
 "An adrenaline rush for me is definitely kicking one off the line," she said, "or when a forward thinks they have all the defenders beat and you come in at the last second and clear it. And another one is a corner kick and getting a head on those."

 

While defenders don't pile up many personal statistics, the team stats during Page's four years are telling of the job she and her fellow back liners have done: 82 games played (heading into Thursday), 34 shutouts, 64 goals allowed, and an 0.78 goals-against average.
 
"She gives us a great aerial presence," Busey said of Page, who stands just 5 feet, 6 inches, but typically plays taller. "She's an athletic kid who reads the flight of the ball very well, and is willing and able to put her head on it. That's of great use both defensively and attacking-wise."
 
Attacking-wise, indeed. Page has taken 54 shots during her career, 23 on goal, with six going into the net.
 
Not factored into those six goals was one she scored from the penalty spot last fall. It came in the tie-breaker shootout against Western Washington in the GNAC Tournament championship game, and was the one the clinched a second consecutive trophy for the Falcons.
 
"I knew if I made it, we won, but if I didn't, we continued (shooting)," Page said. "I didn't feel super-pressured because I knew we still had a chance.
 
"That was cool to step into that role, because it takes so much pressure off of everyone."
 
GIVE HER AN 'A' – ON OR OFF THE FIELD
Page is as sharp academically as she is athletically. She's working toward a double major, on track to wrap up her communications degree this fall, then will focus solely on her nursing degree.
 
She boasts a 3.95 grade-point average, is a three-time GNAC All-Academic honoree, and was an Academic All-American last fall.
 
Her soccer skills have made her an All-GNAC selection in each of her four years, and she also has made the All-West Region squad twice.
 
As Busey sees it, the connection between her classroom and soccer are clear.
 
"She's someone who is very organized and very diligent, and all that she's asked to do, she gets done," he said. "Her teammates see that, and it gives her a ton of credibility with them. She's willing to speak up when it's needed, and says the right things to the right people in the right way, more often than not."
 
Busey also will use her as a sounding board from time to time.
 
 "I'll say, 'Shay, here's what I'm thinking. What do you think, and how might that be received?'" Busey said. "She's very good about that stuff."
 
Spare time? Page finds a bit here and there. Recently, she used some of it to read all seven books in the "Harry Potter" series – "I'm a fan now," she says. And Sundays are still family days when she can make the short drive across Lake Washington to Redmond.
 
"My parents are so funny – they'll volunteer to do my laundry, or want to make my favorite meals if I can get home," she said with a laugh.
 
It has started to hit Page that her college career is winding down.
               
"It's so strange – I remember being a freshman and looking at the seniors and thinking, 'They're so old.' And now I'm there," Page said.
 
Even after she takes off her Falcon jersey for the final time – whenever that is – Page sees herself continuing to play in adult leagues, or possibly testing the coaching waters at some point.
               
"I don't know how it'll fit into my life. But it'll definitely be there," she said.
 
Perhaps that's Shayla Page's way of saying she'll always have her head in the game.