Though every team may be after the defending NCAA Division II champions, Seattle Pacific University women's soccer team didn't lose ground in their first two games of the season, shutting out Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State each 1-0.
"Every team's coming after us. They want to knock us off," said head coach Chuck Sekyra.
With that motivator and the belief that any team can dominate on any given day, Sekyra plans to improve the team's strengths and eliminate the weaknesses with each game.
"I want to be putting teams away quicker, not let teams hang around so long," he said.
In the first two games, the Falcons gained late victories with a handful of the 47 shots taken bouncing off the posts.
But Sekyra's OK with lots of shot opportunities. "Our defense is playing great, and we're creating a lot of chances and I'd rather be creating chances because I know we have finishers ... It'll go in," he said.
The wins bump the Falcons to a 19-game winning streak continued from last season. The win against SFSU also marked the team's 13th consecutive home victory. The winning streak for games at home now totals 32, having not lost at Interbay since Sept. 30, 2006.
And with winning records like those, Sekyra intends for the team "to be the best in the nation ... I think we're on the right path, going one game at a time and hopefully we'll have a final product similar to last year."
So what does it take to bring a championship team to competition for another championship?
"An incredibly hungry team, a team that's together and wants to get better every game," Sekyra said.
Early in the season, and with a fairly young team, Sekyra said the team's still working out how to improve their weak spots. This year's team of 26 has seven freshmen, with three freshmen and one sophomore as starting defenders. "We're a little younger in the back, but it's really good."
Sekyra said to keep an eye on senior forward Jocelyn Charette who scored the winning goal against Cal State Monterey Bay last Thursday, senior midfielder Janae Godoy, junior forward Amanda Johnson who helped reign in goals in last year's NCAA West Region Championship and sophomore defender Savanna Hanson.
The Falcons next take on Humboldt State at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 at Interbay. After which comes Cal State East Bay at 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 5 at home.[[In-content Ad]]
