TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's soccer team hits the road for the final time during the regular season, trekking back to Oregon to take on Linfield College and Willamette University.
The Lutes (12-4-1, 8-2-1 Northwest Conference) are red-hot heading to Oregon, bringing a seven match unbeaten run (6-0-1) down with them. Pacific Lutheran tallied a 1-0 win over Whitworth University last Saturday at East Field before salvaging a 2-2 double overtime draw against Whitman College after playing the final 30 minutes with just 10 men.
To say the Lutes' success is a team effort is a massive understatement with a total of 17 Lutes scoring a goal this season and 20 total Lutes collecting a point on the year. Of the 17 goal scorers, nine have found the back of the net at least twice.
Headlining the bunch is
Joe Sammartino who heads into the weekend ranking second in the NWC in scoring with seven on the season.
Jaisen Zurfluh ranks third in the league in assists (four) while
Rainier Schlekewey paces the team with three game-winning goals.
A balanced scoring attack isn't the only thing going well for the Lutes with goalkeeper
RJ Noll ranking third in the league in both goals against average (1.14) and saves (54) while sitting fourth in the NWC in save percentage (.761).
The weekend provides an excellent opportunity for the Lutes to seize control of the NWC race. Pacific Lutheran heads into Saturday sitting just one point behind current conference leader Willamette, who the Lutes can leapfrog thanks to a head-to-head meeting on Sunday to cap off the trip.
Oct. 27: PLU vs. Linfield in McMinnville, Oregon (12 p.m.)
Series History: The Lutes and Wildcats have met 61 times on the pitch with PLU enjoying a 28-20-3 edge in the all-time series. The Lutes have won four straight in the series, including a 1-0 victory on Sept. 16 with
Rainier Schlekewey providing the game's lone score in the 22
ndminute.
About the Wildcats: Linfield (5-7-3, 3-5-3 NWC) finished last weekend unbeaten, earning a 2-1 victory over visiting George Fox University before playing to a 2-2 double overtime stalemate on Sunday.
Gerardo Perez is the Wildcats' leading scorer with four goals while Irvin Figueroa and Cesar Cruz both have three goals and one assist to their name. Ronan Krutzikowsky has been the team's top assister with four helpers on the year.
Linfield has rotated the goalkeeping duties between Cameron Perron and Nick Van Kleek. The duo have combined for 75 saves and a 1.78 goals against average.
Oct. 28: PLU vs. Willamette in Salem, Oregon (12 p.m.)
Series History: The Lutes and Bearcats have met 64 times since 1980 with PLU enjoying the upper hand with a 37-24-3 series lead. Willamette gained the upper hand in the last meeting back on Sept. 15 at East Field, rallying from an early deficit to net the 3-1 victory.
About the Bearcats: Willamette (11-2-3, 8-1-2 NWC) holds a tenuous one-point lead on first place in the conference standings. The Bearcats ripped off nine straight wins but have cooled off a bit since, going 0-1-2 in the last three NWC contests. That span included a 1-1 draw against Whitworth on Oct. 14, a 1-1 draw against George Fox University on Oct. 21, and a 1-0 setback at the hands of Pacific University on Oct. 20.
Max Berner-Hays is the Bearcats leader in both goals (eight) and points (20) while Nicholas Ballenger adds seven goals for WU. Quinn Mello-Bastida is the team's leader in assists with six on the season.
Mason Kelliher has spent a majority of time in goal, netting 10 wins and four complete game shutouts with a 0.60 goals against average and 47 saves.
