TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team looks to continue its impressive non-conference form this upcoming weekend, traveling to California to face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and the University of the Redlands.

Last weekend the Lutes (1-0-1) traveled to Minnesota to play against Carleton College and St. Olaf College. The Lutes battled hard in both games taking a 0-0 draw in double overtime against Carleton before taking a resilient 3-1 win against St. Olaf thanks to two goals from Leah Magee and another from Maddie Landreth.

The game against Carleton was marked by Cassidy Crosswhite collecting a shutout in her first career start in goal, making two saves in 110 minutes of action.

Both games showed promise for the three-time defending Northwest Conference Champion Lutes. Despite settling for a scoreless draw, the Lutes dominated the stat sheet against Carleton, including have two shots ricochet off the post while overcoming a 1-0 deficit against St. Olaf before pulling out the victory and ending the Minnesota trip unbeaten.
 
"To get 39 shots and 21 corners over two games, I'm very happy about that. We have so much to get better at but this team really cares a lot about their season and how good they want to be. We'll push them hard to be great but we also love them as a program and as a group, and we're just excited to get back on the field and continue to get better," said Head Coach Seth Spidahl.

These two games have given the Lutes a great starting point, and the team has acknowledged some points of improvement for the upcoming games in California and subsequently heading into the season.

The Lutes weekend begins under the lights on Friday night, facing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 7 p.m. before tackling Redlands at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Sept. 6: PLU vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, California (7 p.m.)
 
Series History: The Lutes and Athenas have met five times on the pitch with CMS enjoying a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two sides last met in the 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament with the Athenas prevailing 1-0. 
 
About the Athenas: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2-0) heads into the weekend undefeated after opening the season with a pair of home shutouts. The Athenas smashed John & Wales University (Colorado) by a 6-0 scoreline while blanking Illinois Wesleyan University by a 2-0 count. 
 
11 total players tallied a point in the wins with Rhiann Holman emerging as the top offensive threat with two goals and two assists to her name. Cam Hamson has logged a majority of the minutes in goal, making four saves in 157 minutes of action. 
 
Sept. 7: PLU vs. Redlands in Redlands, California (7 p.m.)
 
Series History: The Lutes and Bulldogs have met just twice on the pitch with Redlands winning both matches. 
 
About the Bulldogs: Redlands (2-0) also heads into the weekend with an unblemished record after earning a 2-1 win over Illinois Wesleyan and a 4-1 win over Johnson & Wales last weekend. Tristen Sherley provided the game-winner over IWU in the 73rd minute while the Bulldogs raced out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back against the Wildcats. 
 
Five Redlands players have found the back of the net through the opening two games of the season with Eva Vlassopoulos leading the way with two goals. Four keepers have seen action on the season with Brittany Dinkins seeing the most action, making seven saves with a 1.00 goals against average.