PARKLAND – It took three second-half goals and numerous clutch saves by backup goalkeeper Bryce Kennedy, but the Pacific Lutheran women's soccer team knocked off cross-town rival and 12-time defending Northwest Conference champion Puget Sound for the first time since 1998 with a 3-1 victory Wednesday evening.
Pacific Lutheran improved to 13-3-1 overall and 11-2 in conference play, claiming a three-point lead over the 18th-ranked Loggers (12-4 overall, 10-3 NWC) in the NWC standings with three matches remaining in the 2014 regular season.
"I had a good feeling going into today," PLU head coach Seth Spidahl said. "I had the same sort of feeling last time against them and we didn't have a great performance, but I was optimistic that we would play well, and we played some of our best soccer today."
Making her first start for the Lutes in place of injured starter Takara Mitsui, Kennedy was put to the test right off the bat with a key save on a close shot by Puget Sound's Robin Vieira. Kennedy tallied four saves in the first half and five for the match as six of UPS' eight shots were on goal. The Logger offense maintained pressure throughout the first 30 minutes, and UPS held a 4-1 shot-on-goal advantage as the match reached a scoreless halftime.
"It was a big challenge for Bryce, but I think our team rallied around her and she played really well," Spidahl said.
The Lutes got on the board early in the second half, as Hailey Smoot headed a shot just under the cross bar following a corner kick by Lena Moreno in the 54th minute. PLU maintained that narrow lead for the next 14 minutes before a Logger red card forced the visitors to play 10-on-11 for the final 22 minutes. PLU used that advantage and scored its next goal less than two minutes later as Blake Warner passed the ball from the left side to Machaela Graddy in front of the goal, who sent a slow roller past UPS keeper Lauren Thomas and into the left side of the net to make it 2-0 in the 70th minute.
Puget Sound pulled within one 10 minutes later as Vieira took possession in the middle of the field and drove 20 yards before sending a shot up the middle from just outside the top of the box past Kennedy. The Lutes reclaimed the two-goal lead in the late minutes when Emily Hanna found Lauren Larson at the top of the box to draw Thomas out. Larson shot it past Thomas and in for her seventh goal of the year and a 3-1 PLU lead.
"To their credit they showed good character to come back and make it 2-1," Spidahl said. "Then Lauren got the goal to kind of put it away for us."
The Lutes end a 32-match winless streak against the Loggers with their first win since a 4-1 victory in 1998. UPS won 27 straight in the series, and the past three seasons had seen a pair of draws and three Logger wins. UPS defeated the Lutes 1-0 in Tacoma in the teams' first meeting last month. Puget Sound had won its past six matches, including four consecutive shutouts, and the Lutes' three goals marked the most the Loggers have allowed this season.
The teams finished the day with an even eight shots apiece, while Kennedy tallied five saves and Thomas finished with two. PLU wrapped up the day with 12 fouls to six for Puget Sound, and the Lutes held a slim 4-3 corner kick advantage.
"I'm really proud of our team," Spidahl said. "It's been a long time since our team has beaten theirs, and our team really stepped up today to change that."
With 13 overall wins this season, PLU has the most wins since the 1994 team won 14 contests. The Lutes' 11 conference victories is a program record and marks only the second time in team history that the Lutes have 10 NWC wins. Heading into the final three matches of the season – all on the road – PLU controls its own fate in the NWC standings as the Lutes aim to end Puget Sound's run of 12 straight titles and win the Lutes' first conference crown since 1992.
PLU returns to action Saturday, when the Lutes will take on Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore., with kickoff set for 11 a.m.
