TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's soccer team looks sustain its winning streak this weekend as they travel to eastern Washington to continue its Northwest Conference slate against Whitworth University and Whitman College.
 
Last weekend the Lutes (5-3, 2-0 NWC) opened their Northwest Conference campaign with a bright start as they took down the Bruins of George Fox University 5-0 on Saturday, before finishing the weekend strong against the Boxers of Pacific University taking the 2-0 win. The weekend was capped with four total goals scored by first-year Keeton Heggerness and a strong defensive effort recording two clean sheets, allowing only one shot on goal over the two games.
 
That performance allowed the Lutes to sweep the NWC Player of the Week Award with Heggerness earning Offensive Player of the Week while Ryan Griffith landed Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
"It was good to come into conference play with a great performance and win against Chapman," said sophomore fullback Ryan Griffith. "This really prepared us for play by filling us with confidence in what we were doing. It's always feels great to get shut outs and it's difficult to get the back four connected and working as a unit so early in the season. Also, conceding only one shot (on goal) this weekend is great and not something many teams can say."
 
Not only is Griffith giving his all on the field, but he is also giving his all in the classroom as he tries to narrow down his choice of major and ultimately his career path.
 
"I am currently a sophomore and I am still deciding on my major, but I am leaning most towards being a physical education teacher. My post-graduation plans would be going into teaching directly after college and possibly coach wherever I end up teaching."
 
"This interest came from many places, but one could be that both my sister and my mom are teachers. They always have so many stories about how they were able to impact the children in their classroom for the better and that sounds like something I would love to do."
 
Even off the field, Griffith spends his limited free time hanging out with friends on the team and doing what they enjoy.
 
"We do not get a lot of free time during the season but when we do, I like to hang out with the guys on the team. We often play Wii and listen to music. I would say that we are all close and it's like having another family. When things get tough, we come together as a group because we all trust each other. Also, road trips with the team are a lot of fun and we always have a good laugh with each other."
 
As the team gets ready for the weekend, they are working hard in practice to prepare for the battle that playing Whitworth and Whitman always entail.
 
"We will definitely look to build off some of the ideas that gave us success this weekend but with new opponents come new challenges. Making this trip is always tough for any team in the conference to do and we hope to come away with 6 points. I'm personally looking forward to improving as a team each day and only get stronger as we progress. Our ultimate goal is to be Northwest Conference champions and we are training every day to achieve that goal."
 
Griffith and the Lutes look forward to showcasing their hard work and their drive to win the NWC as they travel to Spokane to play Whitworth on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Walla Walla to match up against Whitman on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
 
Sept. 28: PLU vs. Whitworth in Spokane, Washington (2:30 p.m.)
 
Series History: Whitworth enjoys a 31-25-9 advantage in the all-time series that first began in 1982. Last season the two squads split the season series with the Pirates prevailing 3-0 in Spokane while the Lutes claimed the 1-0 victory at East Field. 
 
About the Pirates: Whitworth (3-4-1, 1-1 NWC) experienced mixed results in the opening weekend of conference play. The Pirates fell 2-1 in overtime to Linfield College to open NWC action before rebounding with a 4-3 overtime triumph at the expense of Willamette University, snapping a five match winless streak (0-4-1). 
 
Chase Reidt has been the Pirates biggest offensive weapon with three goals and two assists on the season while Zanskar Blair adds two goals and two assists. Jesus Nunez has handled a majority of the goalkeeping duties, logging 658 minutes between the posts and making 26 saves with a 1.78 goals against average. 
 
Sept. 29: PLU vs. Whitman in Walla Walla, Washington (2:30 p.m.)
 
Series History: The Lutes and Blues have met 65 times since 1980 with the series slanted 50-12-3 in favor of PLU. Last year the Lutes earned a 1-0 win in Walla Walla while battling to a 2-2 stalemate in Tacoma. 
 
About the Blues: Whitman (4-4, 1-1 NWC) opened conference play by stumbling 4-1 to Willamette before smashing Linfield 5-0 the following day for the Blues' fourth shutout win of the season.
 
Sam Johnson has scored four goals for the Blues while Jourdan Furukawa has tallied three goals and one assist. Oscar Harding has been the leading distributer with four assists on the young season.
 
Owen Davis-Bower and Matt Reich have split time in goal, making 18 saves. Davis-Bower boasts a 1.11 goals against average while Reich heads into the weekend with a 1.19 GAA.