TACOMA, WASH. --- The Pacific Lutheran Women's Soccer team wrapped up their homestand on Wednesday against cross-town rival, Puget Sound, but fell short of a comeback as the Loggers took a 2-1 victory over the Lutes.
 
The Lutes had beat the Loggers on the road earlier in the season, shutting out the Loggers in the first matchup. But with the second matchup, the Loggers offense made key adjustments that kept the pressure on the Lutes for the majority of the game. The Loggers took the first shot just 37 seconds into the game, but it was from long range as sophomore goalkeeper Abby Winkler made the save.
 
Both teams traded shots early in the match, but it was junior Hannah Cecil who fired her first shot of the game in the 34^th minute, beating the Loggers keeper and giving the Lutes an early 1-0 lead. Cecil's goal meant she had now scored against every NWC opponent this season.
 
10 minutes later, the Loggers countered a Lute attack with a crossing pass from the far corner where sophomore Katelyn McDougal was defending as she stuck her leg out to deflect the pass, but it went wayward and found the back of the Lutes net; an own-goal to tie the match at 1-1 late in the first half.
 
The second half if where the Loggers found their stride on offense, controlling the possession for the first 12 minutes of the half, as they fired five shots and had two corner kicks. Cecil and senior Lily Dose responded with shots of their own that just missed the target.
 
In the 64^th minute, the Loggers made a run against the Lutes, beating the defense and scoring the eventual game-winning goal. The Loggers defense tightened up from then out, holding the Lutes to just two shots for the final 26 minutes of the contest.
 
The second-place Loggers went on to defeat the Northwest Conference clinching Champions 2-0.

"We had a very good first half last night…scored a great goal, hit the post a few times…we had an unfortunate own goal for us to go level at halftime. Second half UPS stepped up their game so credit to them. They scored a good goal and we just couldn't answer." Said Head Coach Seth Spidahl. "We put a lot of energy into last weekend and it looked like it caught up with us in the second half. The cross town rivalry always requires a lot, and we just couldn't find enough chance in the second half to score. We move onto Saturday, and continue our preparations for NCAA playoffs. This group overall has been amazing…a bunch of Eagles that's for sure! Excited to see us play our last NWC game on Saturday and get ready for a legacy run in the tournament. Go Lutes!" 
 
The two squads were even in shots and shots on goal with twelve and five a piece. Both keepers made a total of four saves, but with the Lutes not earning a shot on net in the second half, all four of the Loggers saves came in the first 45 minutes. The Lutes once again dominated the corner kick category by a margin of 10-5.
 
The Lutes will complete the regular season this weekend on the road against the Willamette Bearcats in Salem, Oregon at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
 
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