Setting the Scene: The reigning seven-time Northwest Conference Champion Lutes continue their homestand today, facing Oregon rival Linfield in the second of three straight games at the friendly confines of East Field.
Series History: The Lute-Wildcat rivalry has been dominated by PLU since the series began in 1981 with the Black & Gold holding a 52-23-3 edge in the series.
PLU has won six straight, outscoring Linfield 20-2 in that stretch. That includes a 4-0 victory at home last year on Oct. 22 and a 3-0 road victory in McMinnville on Sept. 24.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (1-1-2) played its most ambitious non-conference schedule yet, testing its mettle against three nationally ranked opponents.
The Lutes more than proved they belong as one of the nation's best, securing a 3-2 victory on the road over then-17th Johns Hopkins University to open the season. Olivia Boehm was the star of the win, netting two goals in the opening minutes. PLU closed its Maryland road trip with a 2-0 setback to then #25 McDaniel College.
PLU opened its home slate on Sept. 6, netting a 2-2 tie with regional power Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (Calif.) before netting a 1-1 draw with then No. 16 Case Western Reserve University. Hannah Cecil and Kayden Hulquist were the goalscorers for the Lutes in the tie with CMS while Kiana Gutierrez was the star against Case the following evening.
The Lutes took last weekend off as they prepare to make a run towards their eighth straight league title.
Four different Lutes have scored goals this season with Boehm and Cecil leading the team with two apiece. Hulquist is tied with Boehm and Cecil for the team lead in points with one goal and a team best two assists through the opening four games of the season.
Abby Winkler has 32 saves on the season, playing all 360 minutes of the season so far. Winkler has twice been named the NWC Defensive Player of the Week this season and boasts a 1.75 goals against average.
About the Wildcats: Linfield (3-1-2, 1-1 NWC) finished its non-conference slate undefeated allowing just two goals in those four games before opening conference play with a pair of games against Pacific University.
Linfield opened the season with a pair of clean sheets, besting Columbia Basin College 1-0 and Evergreen State College 2-0. The Wildcats battled to a 2-2 draw against California Institute of Technology and played to a scoreless stalemate against California Lutheran University last Thursday.
The Cats opened NWC action on Sunday at home, prevailing 2-1 over Pacific thanks to a pair of first half goals but was unable to replicate that success in their first road game of 2024, stumbling 1-0 to the Boxers to tie the seasons series.
Julia Alvarez is Linfield's leading scorer with three goals in the opening six games with Rae Gerking adding two goals and an assist. Mia Curtaz has a team best three assists.
Alexa Fritz has played every minute of every game in goal, owning a 0.67 goals against average with 15 saves on the year.
Home Sweet Home: East Field has been a daunting venue for opposing teams since the 2014 season, winning 24 of the last 30 on the synthetic surface. The Lutes boast a 76-9-9 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.
Highlights from the Weekend
The Lute women's soccer team may have had the weekend off but there's still plenty of highlights from last weekend, including interceptions from football, goals from men's soccer, and plenty of kills in volleyball's win over Columbia Bible College.
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:
Sept. 25 vs. Puget Sound at 7 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