Lutes Hope to Be Offensive to Whitworth, Whitman
THIS WEEK: Last weekend the Lutes lost 3-1 to Linfield on Saturday, and then earned a much-needed 2-1 win in overtime against George Fox on Sunday. The Lutes now sit on a 2-6 record in NWC conference play, improving them to eighth in the standings. This weekend, the Lutes will host the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday and the Whitman Missionaries on Sunday. Both are conference matches.
TURNIN' THE "L's" INTO"W's": The Lutes finally broke their six-match losing streak this weekend against the George Fox Bruins. The goal is to now build a winning streak to finish out the season. As mentioned before, the Lutes' biggest challenge has been offense. This weekend the Lutes scored the first goal in each game. Against Linfield, frosh Sarah Gamache hit a left-footed rocket for a first half goal. Unfortunately, the Lutes were not able to hold on to the lead on Saturday and lost 3-1. All three of the Linfield goals were scored in a 10-minute span in the second half. On Sunday, a lapse in goalkeeping by sophomore Laurie Reddy allowed George Fox to even the score at 1-1, sending the match into overtime. Junior Erica Boyle had opened the scoring with her second goal of the season, the assist going to frosh Blake Warner, her fourth. Thankfully, the Lutes out-shot the Bruins 12-9 overall and were able to convert another goal with 4:10 left in the first overtime period. Gamache scored the winner with the assist going to Karli Hurlbut. The Lutes plan on continuing this offensive pressure going into this weekend.
MAKING WHITWORTH WALK THE PLANK: The Pirates currently hold a conference record of 4-2-1, winning the majority of those games on the road. Goalkeepeer Callie Bergstrom is on good form and was named NWC Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago for her game against Linfield. Callie made five saves that game and has had four shutouts this season. Whitworth faced second-place Willamette last weekend and won 3-1. In the first meeting between PLU and Whitworth on Sept. 25 in Spokane, Whitworth scored two goals within a two-minute span of the first half and also didn't allow Pacific Lutheran a shot during the match in taking a 2-0 win. The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Chloe Cook found the back of the net for the first time this season. Mackenzie Grow picked up the assist. Less than two minutes later, Chelsea Schooler headed home a pass from Aaren Sherpe for her first tally of the season and a 2-0 Whitworth advantage. That was all the scoring the Pirates needed - though they did hit the crossbar twice in the game - as they kept the Lutes out of the shot column for all 90 minutes. Whitworth ended up with 15 total shots, including six on goal. PLU senior keeper Lauren Chambard finished the match with four saves.
MISSIONARIES COME FOR A VISIT: The Missionaries, who play Whitworth on Wednesday of this week, currently have a 3-5-0 conference record, and they play conference leader Puget Sound on Saturday. Last weekend they faced Willamette and came out with a 2-1 loss. The game was decided by Willamette's Stephanie Skelly, who scored two goals in the last six minutes of the game. Whitman's senior Amy Hasson scored the Missionaries only goal off a corner kick by junior Jaclyn Rudd in the 14th minute of the first half. The Missionaries will face the University of Puget Sound, and Whitworth before playing the Lutes this weekend. The first time that PLU played Whitman, the Missionaries took a 2-0 win on Sept. 24 in Walla Walla. The Missionaries had the run of play in the opening half, outshooting the Lutes 8-2. Pamela London gave Whitman an early 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, outracing the PLU defense to a through ball from senior Amy Hasson. London, in booting her first goal of the season, finished the quick-hitting strike by flicking the ball to the back of the net as PLU keeper Lauren Chambard came off her line. Eight minutes later, Hasson made it 2-0 with her seventh goal of the season. She collected a loose ball at the top of the 18-yard box and then to drive a shot from the right side to the far post. Karli Hurlbut put the first PLU shot on goal and later skipped a free-kick bullet off the crossbar. Whitman finished the game with a 19-10 shot advantage, including a 10-1 surplus in shots on goal. Lauren Chambard had seven saves, five in the second half, to keep the Lutes close.
- PLU -
