Setting the Scene: The Lutes clinched their seventh consecutive Northwest Conference on Sunday and look to close out their home slate in style tonight, hosting crosstown nemesis Puget Sound.
Series History: Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound have met 79 times since the 1982 season with the Loggers enjoying a 51-23-5 edge in the series. PLU has won three of the last four, including a 2-0 victory on Oct. 4.
In that last meeting, Olivia Boehm scored on a quick free kick in the 44th minute before Julia Causbie added a goal in the 88th minute to earn PLU's first win at UPS since the 2019 season.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (14-3-1, 12-2 NWC) clinched its seventh consecutive NWC title on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Lewis & Clark College. It was the Lutes' fourth straight home shutout victory, outscoring the last four opponents by a combined 12-0 scoreline.
The Lutes began last weekend with a 3-0 victory over Pacific. It was the Hannah Cecil show that day with Cecil scoring in the 46th and 79th minutes before assisting on a Zoe Markquart goal in the 81st minute.
On Sunday, Cecil was at it again, scoring the game winner in the 14th minute before Lyla Merte added an insurance score in the 55th. PLU's defense was lights out all weekend, allowing just five shots all weekend and extending their shutout streak to 372 minutes.
After the weekend performance it was no surprise that the Lutes swept the NWC Player of the Week awards on Monday with Hannah Cecil earning NWC Offensive Player of the Week and Ella Merte securing NWC Defensive Player of the Week.
The Lutes rank 16th nationally in shutout percentage (0.667) and 23rd in NCAA Division III in goals against average (0.500). On the season, the Lutes have outscored their opponents 49-9 this fall.
Individually, Hannah Cecil sits seventh in the nation in game-winning goals (six) while rating 22nd nationally in goals per game (1.00) and 27th in points per game (2.25). Alyssa Leong is eighth in assists with 11 on the year.
Goalkeeper Abby Winkler is 20th nationally in minutes played (1,552 minutes) and 23rd in goals against average at 0.522.
About the Loggers: Puget Sound (11-5-2, 9-3-2 NWC) heads into today's midweek tilt riding a three-game win streak.
The Loggers allowed a late goal and fell 3-2 to Willamette on Oct. 21 before earning a 3-0 win over Lewis & Clark on Oct. 22. This past weekend the Loggers earned a 2-0 win over George Fox on Saturday before steamrolling Pacific 5-0 on Sunday.
Kya Scott and Ava Cholakian share the team lead in goals with eight on the season. Scott and Leila Hausia-Haugen share the team lead in assists with five. Zoe Fowler adds six goals on the season with Zoe Witter registering four assists.
Megan Schellhase has handled a majority of the goalkeeping duties, boasting a 0.75 goals against average with 37 saves in 12 starts.
Home Sweet Home: East Field has been a daunting venue for opposing teams since the 2014 season, winning 27 of the last 30 on the synthetic surface. The Lutes boast a 76-8-7 record on the artificial turf over the past nine seasons. That includes a 10-0 record in 2021 and a 8-1-1 mark at home last fall.
1 Weekend. 3 Championships.
Check out all the celebration highlights below as PLU volleyball, women's soccer, and men's soccer all clinched league titles over the weekend on Senior Day.
Women's Soccer Tackling Mental Health
PLU women's soccer student-athletes Julia Causbie and Kayden Hulquist have taken the initiative to raise awareness for mental health, organizing an official chapter of The Hidden Opponent (THO) on campus. Learn more in the above video.
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.
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 Match:
Nov. 4 vs. Willamette at 11 a.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