Setting the Scene: The Lutes are road warriors for the weekend with all seven sport programs competing on the road. Men's tennis opens the fall season at the ITA Northwest Regional in Portland, cross country competes in Michigan at Pre-Nationals, and football opens Northwest Conference play at George Fox University. Men's soccer and volleyball are on the road in Oregon with women's soccer facing off against the Whits in eastern Washington. 

Homecoming 2022: Next week— October 3 through October 9 is Homecoming Weekend on campus. Join the action packed weekend that includes home games for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, and volleyball. The week will also feature a "Meet the New Coaches" zoom chat on Tuesday night with the newest head coaches at PLU. To learn more about Homecoming and sign-up for events visit: LINK

Hispanic Heritage Month: Hear how Hispanic student-athletes on the Lute men's soccer team feel supported by their teammates and the campus community. 
 
FRIDAY:
MTEN at ITA Northwest Championships in Portland, Ore. (All Day)
MSOC at George Fox in Newberg, Ore. (7 p.m.)
VB at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
MTEN at ITA Northwest Championships in Portland, Ore. (All Day)
XC at NCAA Division III National Preview Meet in East Lansing, Mich. (10:30 a.m.)
WSOC at Whitman in Walla Walla, Wash. (12 p.m.)
FB at George Fox in Newberg, Ore. (4:30 p.m.)
VB at Willamette in Salem, Ore. (6 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
MTEN at ITA Northwest Championships in Portland, Ore. (All Day)
WSOC at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash. (12 p.m.)
MSOC at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (2:30 p.m.)
WEDNESDAY:
VB at Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. (7 p.m.)
 
Women's Soccer: The Lutes (6-1-1, 3-1 NWC) suffered their first setback on the season last Thursday but quickly rebounded with a 4-1 thrashing of host Willamette University on Sunday. Hannah Cecil and Alyssa Leong both scored twice, including goals in the 83rd and 88th minutes to cement the win.
 
Leong was credited with the game-winning goal, her third of the year that not only leads the NWC but ranks 10th in all of Division III.
 
Volleyball: Pacific Lutheran (6-6, 1-3 NWC) started the weekend by dropping a five-set heartbreaker to Linfield University last Friday before rolling Lewis & Clark 3-0 the following day.
 
Hailey Iha led the charge for the Lutes against Linfield, collecting 11 kills in a match that the Lutes rallied from a 2-0 deficit to set up a deciding fifth set.  The Lutes were cooking on Saturday against the Pios, finishing with 10 aces in the blowout win. 
 
Halle Hetzler missed the weekend but currently ranks second in NCAA Division III and fourth among all NCAA divisions in digs per set (6.16). There are currently 426 volleyball programs in Division III and 1,040 among all three NCAA divisions.
 
Men's Soccer: The Lutes (7-2, 2-2 NWC) experienced another weekend of mixed results, downing Whitworth University 3-1 on Saturday before allowing two early goals in a 2-1 setback to George Fox. 
 
Trevor Thompson leads the NWC in goals (six) and points (16) and on Monday was tabbed the NWC Offensive Player of the Week. Thompson nabbed the honor after earning the assist on Sammy Tafolla's game tying goal in the 54th minute against Whitworth and scoring a goal the following day in what turned out to be the Lutes' lone goal of the game.
 
Men's Cross Country: The Lutes moved up the regional rankings to sixth this week heading into the Pre-Nationals meet in East Lansing, Michigan.
 
PLU has been rolling this fall, winning the Puget Sound Invitational on Sept. 3 before topping an international field at the PLU Invitational two weeks later. Ryan Stracke was second overall at the PLU Invite, finishing the 8,000-meter course in 24 minutes, 28.4 seconds with Logan Werner placing fourth.
 
Football: The Lutes (1-2) were unable to overcome a rash of turnovers, falling 17-14 to California Lutheran University in the home opener. PLU got going early with Erik Bainter hitting Manuel Felan on a 70-yard score. The Lutes struck again later in the half with Kellan Kranc connecting with John Walker for a 34-yard score to take a 14-7 halftime lead. 
 
Cal Lu would score a touchdown and boot a field goal in the fourth to escape with the win.
 
Lute punter Max Boekenoogen was tabbed the NWC Special Teams Player of the Week whle Michael Gurr was the NWC Defensive Player of the Week. Boekenoogan had six punts for 238 yards while Gurr had six tackles, two break-ups and an interception. 
 
This season, Walker ranks 15th nationally in yards per reception (27.5) while Gurr sits seventh nationally in passes defended with four breakups and two interceptions. 
 
Women's Tennis: The Lutes competed at the ITA Northwest Regional in Walla Walla, winning three matches. Libertad Sarmiento won by default to open the B singles bracket before earning an 8-4 win in the B singles second round consolation bracket. Meggie Burnett earned an 8-2 win in the B singles consolation draw before falling 8-2 to eventual B singles consolation champion Hayley Kreps of Lewis & Clark College.
 
The ITAs was the Lutes' lone competition of the fall. 
 
Women's Cross Country: Pacific Lutheran is back in action this weekend in Michigan at Pre-Nationals. The Lutes finished third at the PLU Invitational back on Sept. 17 with Sarah Paquet dominating the field and winning by a 32.5-second margin. Paquet finished the 6,000-meter course in 21:35 while Annika Deazley placed just outside the Top 25 in 26th in 24:36.9.
 
Men's Tennis: PLU heads to Portland for the ITA Northwest Regional that starts on Friday and runs through Sunday. The Lutes have a young squad and will rely on the veteran leadership of returning players Caleb Grass, Drew Kraft, and Evan Kaku.
 
Men's Golf: Josh Cross led the Lutes at the Bishop Invitational at the Home Course, as the Lutes finished 13^that the tourney featuring some of the top Division II programs on the West Coast.
 
Cross finished with a 153, shooting a 79 last Friday before shaving off five strokes with a 74 during Saturday's final round. 
 
The Lutes shot a 626 as a team, finishing eight strokes ahead of D2 Chaminade University.
 
Women's Golf: Emily Fisher shot a 176 (86-90), leading PLU to a ninth-place showing at the Bishop Invitational hosted by Saint Martin's University.
 
Sara Rhodes was four strokes back with a 180, shooting an 89 on Friday and a 93 on Saturday.
 
PLU finished with a team score of 725 and was the lone Division III institution in the stacked field featuring several Division II programs. 

Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace on Wednesday through the department's partnership with Opendorse. Learn more about the deal here: LINK. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
 
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website. 

Tickets, Tickets Tickets: The Lutes have made it easier for fans to attend home sporting events, signing a deal with HomeTown Ticketing to be the department's official electronic ticket provider. Lute fans can now purchase tickets online at GoLutes.com/tickets or on the HomeTown Ticketing mobile app available on iOS and Android devices. Learn More: LINK

Download the PLU Athletics App: Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. 
 
To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store (DOWNLOAD LINK) or Google Play (DOWNLOAD LINK) and search for "PLU Athletics."