Setting the Scene: The reigning Northwest Conference Champion Lutes close out their opening homestand of the season today, welcoming crosstown rival University of Puget Sound to the artifical turf at East Field.
Series History: The two Tacoma rivals have met 80 times since the 1980 campaign with Puget Sound owning a slim 40-33-7 advantage in the all-time series.
Pacific Lutheran has won the last four encounters, outscoring the Loggers 14-3 during that stretch. The Lutes steamrolled Puget Sound 6-2 in the road last season back on Oct. 4 before securing a 3-1 victory on Nov. 1 at East Field.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (3-1-2, 1-0-1 NWC) opened its NWC title defense last weekend, battling to a 1-1 draw with Willamette University on Saturday before rolling Linfield University 5-0 on Sunday.
PLU outshot Willamette 18-9 on the day, including 10 of the 12 on target. The game was scoreless until a Willamette goal in the 55th minute. Trevor Thompson provided the equalizer 22 minutes later on an assist from Owen Bliskis.
On Sunday it was all Lutes against the Wildcats. Bliskis opened the scoring binge in the 22nd minute before getting goals from Thompson, Christian Pineda, Mike Murega, and Gracen Connell.
Thompson has been a scoring machine this fall, scoring in every game this fall and has accounted for eight of the team's 15 goals in 2024. The senior ranks fourth nationally in goals per game (1.33) and sixth in points per game (2.83). Craig Johnson leads the team in assists with three helpers on the year.
Nicholas Gaston has played all 540 minutes in goal with a 1.33 goals against average and 22 saves. The senior has one shutout on the season and a .733 save percentage.
About the Loggers: Puget Sound (2-2-1, 1-0-1 NWC) heads to East Field unbeaten in its last three games. The Loggers closed out the non-league slate with a decisive 5-1 victory over Multnomah University before opening NWC action on Saturday with a 3-2 win. The Loggers battled to a scoreless stalemate on Sunday against Willamette.
UPS got a goal from Jackson Smith in the eighth minute and a goal from Rhys Foote in the 18th minute to jump to an early lead. Linfield closed the gap, including a penalty kick goal in the 82nd minute but was unable to knot the score.
Willamette outshot the host Loggers 8-4 on Sunday in a match that saw just six total shots on goal.
Jackson Smith is the Loggers' top offensive threat, pacing the team in goals (four), assists (three), and points (11). Thys Foote has two goals in five games while Shane Ivich has three assists so far.
Ryan Saunders is the UPS keeper, earning 18 saves with a 1.40 goals against average.
Home Cooking: East Field has been a daunting place for opponents to play since the 2015 season with the Lutes holding a 60-15-8 advantage in games played on campus. That includes a 33-7-4 mark over the past five seasons. Last fall the Lutes were a perfect 8-0 on the home turf and are 20-1-1 at home over the past three seasons.
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. 12 vs. Whitman 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