Pacific Lutheran University Athletics

CLAREMONT, CALIF. --- The Pacific Lutheran Women's Soccer team's season came to a close on Saturday, as they fell to the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament.
 
The start of the game was controlled by the Lutes offense, who kept the ball away from the Sagehens. Senior Lily Dose fired the first two shots of the game in the fourth and sixth minutes, but were saved by the Sagehens goalkeeper. Junior Julia Causbie took her first shot in the 11^th minute, missing just high.
 
Following a wave of substitutions for Pomona-Pitzer in the 28^th minute, the Sagehens offense came alive. The Sagehens took the final four shots of the half, hitting two off-target before the final two were saved by Lutes sophomore goalkeeper Abby Winkler.
 
The second half was much of the same from the Sagehens, as they controlled possession for the majority of the half. Keeping the ball away from the Northwest Conference leading scorer in Hannah Cecil. Winkler added another save, but the Sagehens continued to miss the target.
 
Cecil took her first shot of the game in the 64^th minute, but the ball sailed high. Dose fired yet another shot on goal, but the keeper made yet another save.
 
The Lutes and the Sagehens finished regulation tied 0-0 and headed to two ten-minute overtime periods.
 
Pomona-Pitzer's offense continued to shine under the hot California sun in extra time. The Sagehens broke the tie in the 96^th minute on a header from forward Hannah Hong.
 
The Lutes immediately tried to counter with an attack of their own, but Cecil's shot missed the upper left portion of the goal.
 
The final ten minutes of overtime was a back-and-forth battle, but the Lutes were unable to find their offensive rhythm that they had all season long. One final shot from Cecil in the 106^th minute would miss high.

"Pomona is a great team, they're here for a reason, they're undefeated for a reason. They scored a great goal, that was a good ball, and it was a great finish by #11. I'm proud of our team, and I am proud of how we played today. I know we still have some work to do to get past the first rounds, but that's what motivates me as a coach; I want to push this team to the furthest round in the tournament than any of our teams have ever gone before." said Head Coach Seth Spidahl. "The seniors, they were an amazing class. This class has been special since they began their college careers during COVID, it was a very unique time. This is a very talented, highly-academic, and high character class. They've really set the standards high for our program. We are going to miss them." said Spidahl regarding the last game for the senior Lutes.
 
The Lutes complete their season with a 15-5-1 overall record and won their seventh consecutive Northwest Conference Title. The Lutes boasted an impressive 6-2 record at home, and a 7-2-1 record on the road. The Lutes lead the Northwest Conference in shots (294), points (139), goals (52), assists (35), and in goals allowed (12). Across the nation, the team completed the regular season 13^th in corner kicks per game. Cecil was 10^th in game-winning goals, meanwhile Leong was 7^th in total assists.
 
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