PORTLAND, ORE. --- The Pacific Lutheran Women's Soccer team travelled south to Oregon for the second consecutive weekend to take on two more NWC opponents. The Lutes battled the Pioneers of Lewis & Clark on Saturday morning as they came away with a dominant 4-0 victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior Hannah Cecil got the scoring started very early for the Lutes, when her first shot found the low left corner of the Pioneers goal just 54 seconds into the match. The forward combo of Cecil, junior Julia Causbie, and senior Alyssa Leong continued to fire shots on the Pioneers goal for the next 14 minutes, but none could find the back of the net. Sophomore goalkeeper for the Lutes, Abby Winkler, made two saves inside the first 15 minutes of the offensive battle.
 
In the 19^th minute, the Lute offense broke free down the field yet again. This time it was Cecil who passed the ball to Causbie who would find the upper left corner of the goal; putting the Lutes up 2-0 under 20 minutes into the game.
 
The Lutes defense remained strong even after a Pioneers shot was rejected by the crossbar in the 30^th minute. Both defenses stood tall for the final fifteen minutes of the first half, as the Lutes lead 2-0 with 45 minutes to play.
 
In the second half, more Lutes players found themselves in the offensive zone, with senior Sawyer Anderson and sophomore Katelyn Mcdougal taking shots that just missed the net. But seven minutes into the half, Leong took a shot of her own that found the high right corner of the net. Freshman Lyla Merte was credited with the assist on the Lutes third goal of the day.
 
Seven minutes later, Cecil was fouled inside the Pioneers box, earning a penalty kick. Cecil would take advantage and score her second goal of the day. With a 4-0 lead, the Lutes would rest their starters and give great minutes to numerous Lute reserves. In the final minute of the match, Kelan Betts was given a yellow card.
 
The strong defense of PLU showed itself on Saturday, holding the Pioneers scoreless and winning their third consecutive game by a score of 4-0. Winkler earned yet another shutout, and her second in a row.
 
INSIDE THE STATS
 
Cecil lead the Lutes on Saturday with five shots, four of which were on goal. Cecil also earned an assist on the goal scored by Causbie. Leong followed close with four shots on her own, with her only shot on goal, finding the back of the net. Merte's assist was the first of her PLU career.

FROM COACH SPIDAHL

"Very happy with how we played. Lewis & Clark is always a tough place to play at; one of the tougher places to play in the conference. It was a big game for our team, and I'm really proud of the maturity we showed. We faced some adversity on the way to the game, and so I am extremely proud of how we matured and were able to start fast and score within the first minute. We started the second half very well, a lot of sustained pressure, corners and shots, which lead to a great goal from Alyssa [Leong] off of a pass from Lyla [Merte]. Very happy with the result overall. Lewis & Clark is a very good team and a tough place to play. I am very proud of the way they performed today. We have to recover and prepare for Pacific, they are always a tough opponent. We're excited to keep improving, we have a lot of work to do and a lot of games to play. Go Lutes!"
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
 
The Lutes continue their Oregon campaign tomorrow in Forest Grove, Ore. as they take on the Pacific Boxers at 12 p.m.
 
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