Setting the Scene: The first weekend in October has only the Pacific Lutheran University football team playing at home, hosting George Fox University on homecoming to begin Northwest Conference play. The NWC-leading Lute volleyball team heads to the Whits while the NWC-leading men's and women's soccer teams along with golf and cross country head to Oregon for the weekend.
 
Views from the Top: Three PLU programs sit atop the NWC standings after two weeks of conference play. The four-time defending NWC Champion women's soccer team is on top of the league standings at 4-0 as are the three-time defending NWC Champion men's soccer squad, and the PLU volleyball team. 

Spectator Policy: If you plan on attending a Lute sporting event, home or away, make sure and check out the NWC Institutional Spectator Policies: LINK
 
FRIDAY:
VB at Whitman in Walla Walla, Wash. (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
MG at GFU Fall Invite in Warrenton, Ore. (All day)
WG at Culturame Classic in Canby, Ore. (All day)
XC at Charles Bowles Invite in Salem, Ore. (9:30 a.m.)
WSOC at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (12 p.m.)
FB hosts George Fox at Sparks Stadium (1 p.m.)
MSOC at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (2:30 p.m.)
VB at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash. (6 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
MG at GFU Fall Invite in Warrenton, Ore. (All day)
WG at Culturame Classic in Canby, Ore. (All day)
WSOC at Willamette in Salem, Ore. (12 p.m.)
MSOC at Willamette in Salem, Ore. (2:30 p.m.)

FULL HOMECOMING SCHEDULE: LINK
 
Volleyball: The first place Lutes (7-6, 4-0 NWC) head across the Cascades riding a five-match win streak and sit tied atop the league standings. Last week PLU closed its homestand with a pair of 3-0 sweeps, downing University of Puget Sound last Wednesday and George Fox University on Saturday. 
 
This weekend, PLU has a chance to seize sole possession of first place with a date on Saturday evening against Whitworth University who also sits atop the NWC standings with a 4-0 record in conference play.
 
McKenzie Pfeiffer leads the Lutes with 143 kills on the season with Baylee Johnson adding 120 through the opening 13 matches of the fall. The offensive runs through Emily Dulaney who averages 8.8 assists per set while Halle Hetzler is the leader in both aces (22) and digs (236).
 
Men's Soccer: Longtime assistant coach Jamie Bloomstine registered his 500th career game as a Lute on Sunday, capping off another undefeated weekend for PLU (7-2, 4-0 NWC). The Lutes dismantled Whitman College 5-0 on Saturday before scoring an identical 5-0 victory on Sunday at the expense of Whitworth.
 
Keeton Heggerness scored the game-winning goals in both matches while Craig Johnson finished the weekend with two goals and two assists. Lute keeper Nicholas Gaston collected five saves and earned NWC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, and has yet to allow a goal in NWC play this season.
 
Women's Soccer: 20th-ranked Pacific Lutheran (8-0, 4-0 NWC) remained perfect on the season with a 4-1 win over Linfield University and a 2-0 victory over Lewis & Clark College. 
 
Vera Panescu-Reich tallied a pair of goals in the win over Linfield while five total Lutes registered a goal over the course of the weekend. Through four conference games, PLU has outscored its opponents by an 11-1 margin. 
 
Football: The Lutes (1-1) had a bye week in preparation to opening the seven game NWC slate that begins on Saturday at Sparks Stadium. Pacific Lutheran headed into the bye after earning a 22-12 victory over the University of La Verne, a game that saw the Lute offense rack up 206 rushing yards. 
 
Malik White had 102 of those yards while Laakea Ane had two touchdowns, rushing for one and catching a pass for another. Ashton Barton had 13 tackles and an interception helping the Lute defense limit the high-octane Leopard offense to just 252 yards, well below their 517.5 yards per game average heading into the tilt. 
 
Women's Golf: Pacific Lutheran is back in action this weekend, competing in its second competition of the fall. The Lutes hosted the PLU Invitational on Sept. 18-19, finishing third overall and placing ahead of four NWC rivals. Lauryn Tsukimura paced the team, carding a 160 (81-79) to finish ninth overall while Emily Fisher was 14th with a 164 (83-81).
 
Men's Cross Country: The Lutes return to action after taking last weekend off, heading to the Charles Bowles Invitational. Ranked seventh in the West Region, the Lutes are fresh off a dominating victory at the PLU Invitational back on Sept. 18.
 
Ryan Stracke set the tone, placing runner-up after covering the 8,000-meter course in 25 minutes, 25.8 seconds. Hezekiah Goodwin was eighth while Owen Ladinig was ninth.
 
PLU scored 63 points, owning a five-point edge on Division II Central Washington University.
 
Women's Cross Country: PLU heads to Salem, Oregon this weekend after being idle last week. Similar to the men, the Lute women last competed at the PLU Invitational on Sept. 18, logging a third place showing. 
 
Annika Deazley continued to impress in her debut season, placing 16th after covering the 6,000-meter course in 24 minutes, 3.6 seconds. Sulin Degollado was 21st while Joan Park and Anna Iverson were back-to-back in 23rd and 24th, respectively.
 
The Lutes scored 107 points to place third, owning a six-point advantage on NWC rival Whitworth and enjoying an 88-point buffer on crosstown rival University of Puget Sound.
 
Men's Golf: The Lutes took last weekend off after placing second at the Collegiate Invitational on Sept. 20 to open the fall season.
 
PLU boasted four golfers inside the top 10 with Gunner Nielsen headlining those efforts after shooting a 146 (73-73) to capture fourth overall. Josh Cross and Ryan Pearson tied for fifth with a 147 while Simon Luedtke was 10th with a 149.
 
Women's Tennis: The Lutes competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northwest Regional last weekend, the program's lone tournament of the fall.
 
Meggie Burnett won a match in the singles main draw, 6-0, 6-0, over Willamette University's Ruby Thompson. Taylor Stokes and Lilian Nguyen posted an 8-7 win in doubles as did Ella Burris and Libertad Sarmiento. 
 
The Lutes will return to the courts in late January, heading to Arizona for three non-conference dual matches.  

Give to What you Love: Join Lutes all over the world on PLU's Bjug Day of Giving on Oct. 19 and 20! Bjug Day is a fun, philanthropic tradition during which PLU alumni and friends come together to celebrate and support what they love about PLU. 

During the 2021 Bjug Day, thanks to a generous group of donors, you can make a gift to anything you love at PLU and have it matched with a gift to student scholarships.

With your gift of any size to any area of PLU, you can make the 2021 Bjug Day bigger and better than ever before, providing more support for more students and cross-campus causes! Donors can give prior to Oct. 19 and still have it count towards the overall Bjug Day totals.

Click HERE to donate now!