TACOMA, Wash. – Needing a win to keep its Northwest Conference title hopes alive, the four-time defending champion Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team came through in the biggest match of the season, knocking off previously undefeated and No. 19 nationally-ranked University of Puget Sound 1-0 in front of a raucous crowd at East Field.
"I thought it was our best performance all year," said PLU Head Coach
Seth Spidahl. "Our first half was exceptional. The second half UPS threw a lot of numbers, which made it difficult, so credit to them. Our defending was good. We absorbed what they threw at us. I thought our back four was really solid all game."
The Lutes had good opportunities throughout the first half and finally capitalized on a corner kick in the 33
rd minute.
Ellie Reardon served the ball to the head of
Keila Kruse and
Ashlee Gormley headed it into the net to score the game-winner.
"I'm really proud of Ash and Keila making a difference off the bench," said Spidahl. "We talk that they are not subs, they're game changers and they came in and created a moment that scored the goal."
Both defenses were up to the challenge on the evening with the Lutes yielding just seven shot attempts, while producing nine of their own. Each team had a pair of shots on net, but it was PLU's
Shaylin Cesar who made a pair of saves to pitch the shutout.
Ellie Reardon,
Hannah Cecil and
Kimber Thomas all had a pair of shot attempts, while
Vera Panescu-Reich had the home team's other shot on goal.
Coming in to today's match, the Lutes trailed UPS by two points in the NWC race, but with the win they leapfrogged the Loggers for the top spot in the standings. With a victory over George Fox University on Saturday, the Lutes will clinch their fifth consecutive league championships and the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm really happy for the team," said Spidahl. "It's a great time of the year to play our best game."
Earlier this season, PLU beat the Bruins 2-1 at East Field. Kickoff in Newberg, Ore. is set for 11:00 a.m.
