Setting the Scene: The reigning seven-time Northwest Conference Champion Lutes continue their final homestand of the season, owning a nine-point lead in the league standings with Pacific University coming to East Field.
Series History: The Lutes and Boxers first met during the 1981 season and have clashed 78 times since. The overall series is tilted 52-16-10 in favor of PLU, having won the last 15 encounters.
PLU downed host Pacific 2-0 back on Oct. 6 in the first meeting of the season with Lyle Merte and Lily Dose scoring the goals that day. The Lutes have shutout Pacific in each of the last four games and have outscored the Boxers 47-3 since the 2016 season.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (11-1-4, 10-0-2 NWC) dropped four spots to 21st in this week's NCAA Division III Coaches' Poll despite being unbeaten in its last 14 games.
PLU sits firmly atop the league standings, enjoying a nine-point spread on second place rivals University of Puget Sound and Whitworth University with four games to play.
The Lutes took care of business last Sunday, opening up their final homestand of the year with a 3-1 victory over Lewis & Clark College. The visiting Pioneers took an early lead on an own goal in the 13th minute but it was all Lutes after that with Julia Causbie netting the game winner in the 27th minute before Carmen Kiewert tallied the game winner in the 33rd minute. Hannah Cecil tallied the assist on Kiewert's goal before adding an insurance score in the 54th minute.
11 Lutes have scored a goal this season while 13 total PLU players have tallied a point through the opening 16 games of the year.
Hannah Cecil is the NWC's leading scorer with 10 goals and 23 total points with Julia Causbie second on the team in points (20) and the team leader in assists (10). Bella Hanna adds six goals and 13 points while Kayden Hulquist, Olivia Boehm, and Ally Tattar have all found the back of the net more than once this fall.
Abby Winkler has been the steady presence in goal, playing all but nine minutes in goal this fall. Winkler has made 58 saves on the season with a 0.82 goals against average and seven clean sheets to her name. Her seven shutouts ranks 31st nationally and leads the NWC.
About the Boxers: Pacific (2-11-3, 2-9-1 NWC) snapped an eight game slide and a nine game winless streak on Sunday, edging visiting George Fox 3-2.
All five goals in that game came in the second half with an own goal in the 71st minute proving to be the deciding score in a game Pacific outshot the visitors 13-7.
Pacific has mustered just 12 goals in its 16 games this season with Mirella Garcia accounting for six of those goals. Garcia leads the team in both goals (six) and points (13) while Rhyah Jackson is the team leader in assists with two on the year.
Two keepers have seen significant action this fall with Isabella De La Cruz leading the way with 10 starts, 39 saves, and 810 minutes played. Julie Pascual has a team-best 1.43 goals against average and two clean sheets to her name with 19 saves in 630 minutes of work.
Home Sweet Home: East Field has been a daunting venue for opposing teams since the 2014 season, winning 29 of the last 36 on the synthetic surface. The Lutes boast a 81-9-10 record on the artificial turf over the past 10 seasons. That includes a 10-0 record in 2021 and a 8-1-1 mark at home in 2022.
Weekend Highlights from Around Luteville
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. 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.
Last spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
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.
Next Home Match:
Oct. 3 vs. George Fox at 1:45 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