Monday, November 15, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Seattle Pacific Falcons were named the No. 9 seed in Super Region 4 of the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship and will battle No. 8 seed CSU Pueblo in the first round on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The Falcons were assured of a spot in the tournament due to winning the GNAC regular season championship with a 6-2-2 conference record, earning the conference’s automatic qualifying berth. During the season, SPU led the conference in goals (37), assists (30), and goals against average (1.01). Star forward Alex Mejia was tied for ninth in Division II with 14 goals and ranked second in Division II with 2.47 shots on goal per match.

It is a record 35th Division II Championship appearance for SPU men’s soccer, although it is the Falcons’ first since 2015. On the other end of the spectrum, this will be CSU Pueblo’s first men’s soccer NCAA Tournament match in program history. The Thunderwolves are no fluke, however, having excelled all season. They finished fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) regular season, but knocked off No. 1 seeded Colorado Mines in the conference tournament semifinals before falling 3-1 in the title game to Colorado Mesa. The Thunderwolves were ranked No. 24 in the most recent national United Soccer Coaches Poll from Nov. 9.

Should the Falcons defeat CSU Pueblo, a Saturday match-up with Cal State LA, the region’s top seed, would await. The Golden Eagles are the national runners-up from 2019, advancing all the way to the title match where they lost 2-0 to Charleston. This year, Cal State LA won the CCAA with a 10-0-1 conference record and went 14-2-2 overall. They were ranked No. 6 in the Nov. 9 United Soccer Coaches Poll.