Senior forward Chad Kearns scored a hat trick on Saturday afternoon to lead the host Pacific Lutheran Lutes to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Linfield College Wildcats in a Northwest Conference men's soccer match played at the PLU field.

The win came in the conference opener for both teams. The Lutes improved their overall record to 4-1, while the Wildcats fell to 1-3 with the defeat.

Kearns, who earned Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2010 with a 15-goal season, improved his season total to seven goals in just five PLU matches. Spencer Augustin, another senior forward, had a goal and two assists, while senior midfielder Surafel Wadajo chipped in his sixth assist of the young season.

The Kearns-Augustin duo accounted for the first three goals. Kearns put the team on the board at the 14:56 mark, taking a through ball from Augustin and slotting it past Linfield keeper Greg Sander. Augustin scored the second 51 seconds later on a similar play, getting a through ball from Kearns and beating Sander. Kearns got his second of the match and the team's third at 24:21, taking a long pass from Augustin and juking a handful of defenders before whipping the shot past Sander and into the far side of the net.

Kearns ended the scoring at 56:43 when Wadajo's pass sent him into open space before he finished under the hard-charging Sander.

The shot differential was close as the Lutes had 13 to 12 for the visitors, and both put eight on goal, but Linfield couldn't get one past PLU sophomore keeper Joe Rayburn. Corner kicks favored the Lutes, 4-3.

PLU returns to conference action at 2:30 p.m. Sunday when it hosts the Willamette Bearcats.

- PLU -