Setting the Scene: The five-time NWC Champion PLU women's soccer team closes up its homestand today, welcoming Oregon rival Lewis & Clark to East Field.
Series History: This will be the 55th all-time meeting between the Lutes and the Pioneers with PLU enjoying a commanding 45-4-5 edge in the series. The Lutes have won six straight and have allowed just one Pio goal in the last 10 meetings, outscoring Lewis & Clark 25-1 over that stretch.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (8-1-1, 5-1 NWC) finished its three-game road swing undefeated, to push itself back into a tie for first place in the conference standings.
The Lutes opened their road swing with a 4-1 victory over Willamette on Sept. 25 before securing a 4-2 victory over Whitman last Saturday and a 2-0 win over Whitworth on Sunday.
Hannah Cecil, Alyssa Leong, and Julia Causbie all scored multiple goals during the squad's tour of Oregon with Causbie landing NWC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. Causbie scored PLU's second goal against Whitman before adding two more in the win over Whitworth.
Defensively, keeper Shaylin Cesar netted her fifth clean sheet of the season at Whitworth and was tabbed the NWC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this fall.
10 Lutes have scored a goal this fall with Causbie leading the charge with six on the season. Cecil has five goals and two assists with Leong and Olivia Boehm adding four goals each.
About the Pioneers: Lewis & Clark (3-4-2, 3-2-1 NWC) has had mixed results in its last three games. The Pios erased a two-goal deficit on the road at Linfield, getting a goal from Celeste Schreifels in the 84th minute and again with 15 seconds remaining to salvage a 3-3 tie on Sept. 25. L&C again rallied against Willamette, prevailing 3-2 on Sept. 28 but ran out of luck last Sunday, suffering a 1-0 setback at home to George Fox.
Schreifels leads the Pios in goals (three), assists (two), and points (eight) while Megan Yanagi is the only other Pio with multiple goals on the season.
Sophia Young has logged the majority of the team's minutes in goal, owning a 1.29 goals against average with 34 saves.
Home Sweet Home: East Field has been a daunting venue for opposing teams since the 2014 season, winning 18 of the last 19 on the synthetic surface. The Lutes boast a 67-7-6 record on the artificial turf over the past eight seasons. That includes a 10-0 record last fall, outscoring visitors by a 26-2 margin.
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace on Wednesday through the department's partnership with Opendorse. Learn more about the deal here: LINK. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Fit to be Tied: Things will look a little different this fall with the NCAA doing away with overtime in the regular season. All competitions ending tied after 90 minutes will be declared a tie. Previously two sudden death periods of 10 minutes in length were played before the contest was declared a tie. These changes will align the NCAA more closely with international rules.
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: The PLU Athletic Department is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Learn how the University and our sports team support our Hispanic student-athletes.
Next Home Game:
Oct. 23 vs. Willamette at 12 p.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu