TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team closed out its non-conference slate on Saturday evening, battling to a 1-1 double overtime draw against Calvin College at East Field.
The Lutes drew first blood with
Jamie Saito scoring in the 14th minute off corner kick with
Maddie Landreth claiming the assist. PLU's lead proved fleeting with the visiting Knights (3-0-1) equalizing just over three minutes later with Maria VanderLei leveling the score.
Neither team was able to break through the rest of the contest, settling for a stalemate after 110 minutes of play, which included two 10-minute overtime sessions.
"We got off to a good start today. Calvin is an undefeated team from the Midwest that is physical and athletic. It was a great experience for our team to go through because sometimes we're going to score and then the other team scores, and we're going to have to know how to deal with that," said Head Coach
Seth Spidahl. "We didn't concede a second goal all the way through overtime and we created a ton of chances to score with our highest shot and corner kick totals all year."
PLU enjoyed a slim 12-11 advantage in shots and a 9-6 edge in corner kicks.
Natalie Robinson had another busy night in net, making five saves while Amy Kliewer turned away four shots for Calvin.
"Although we didn't win I'm proud of how we competed. It was a rugged and physical game and not as much soccer as we'd like but sometimes we just have to match off with what the opponent is doing."
PLU's quest for a third consecutive Northwest Conference title begins next Saturday, hosting Whitworth University at 12 p.m.
"Overall (the non-conference schedule) it's the most demanding I've ever put a PLU team through in my seven years here. We had six games, two against NCAA Division II teams, four games against Division III. Trinity is perennially in the playoffs, Emory is perennially in the playoffs, and UMHB was a 16-win program in the playoffs and Calvin looks to be good. So it was hard and I'm really proud how the team has grown in just two weeks since we played SPU in our first scrimmage. We saw four different systems and that's the point, to test and grow and learn because really what matters is Northwest Conference play."
