TACOMA, Wash. --- The Pacific Lutheran Men's Soccer team (2-1-1) wrapped up the non-conference schedule on Sunday at East Field, defeating the Warner Pacific Knights 3-1 as three different Lutes scored in the second half.

Both offenses began the game firing, as the Lutes shot attempts were continually blocked by the Knights defenders. Although, the Knights were able to slip one past the Lutes and beat goalkeeper Nicholas Gaston in the 12^th minute to take an early 1-0 lead.

The Lutes offense stumbled from there, only able to get one shot off for the next 27 minutes. Warner Pacific took two shots in this span, one missing the target, and the other earning a save for Lutes' Gaston. The defense of the Knights remained strong throughout the end of the first 45 minutes of play, holding Criag Johnson and Trevor Thompson to zero shots in the first half.

Johnson and the Lutes took their first possession of the second half deep into Knight territory where Johnson would get fouled inside the box to earn a penalty kick less than 60 seconds into the final half. The Lutes midfielder remained a perfect seven-for-seven in penalty kick attempts in his career, beating the Knights keeper to make it a 1-1 game. This also marks Johnson's first goal of the 2024 season.

Midfielders Johnson and Christian Pineda responded moments later with a pair of consecutive shots that missed the target. The Lutes defense spearheaded by 2023 NWC Defensive Player of the Year Cole Dobson and senior Jordan Ross locked down their half of the field, preventing the Knights from getting a shot past the defenders until the 65^th minute. This defensive stand opened up the offense for PLU, as senior forward Trevor Thompson was found by Johnson on the near sideline, where Thompson went on to beat two defenders and find the lower-left portion of the goal to give the Lutes a 2-1 lead in the 63^rd minute.

As the offense began to hit their stride, the Knights had an opportunity to capitalize on a counter-attack, getting a shot on-target that Lutes goalkeeper Nicholas Gaston made a diving save to keep the Lutes on top in the 78^th minute.

Sophomore Yuta Shimazu made the second start of his PLU career on Sunday after missing the majority of the 2023 campaign with an injury. Shimazu reentered the game late in the second half, going on to score off a pass from Thompson just eight minutes into his shift to put the Lutes up 3-1 and seemingly put the game out of reach. The Lutes held onto their lead for the final four minutes, taking the win in their 2024 home debut.


"The first half we were not very good, we didn't have the right energy, and we probably didn't have the right plan. We made changes at half and the guys played really well in the second half. The way we played in the second half is exactly how we need to play this Northwest Conference season. Craig, Trevor, and Yuta are going to be guys we rely heavily on in the offense, so it was nice to see Craig and Yuta breakthrough the way they did today." Said Head Coach John Yorke following the victory.
 

The pair of record-setting goal scorers for the Lutes, Johnson and Thompson, led the Lutes with nine shots combined as each found the back of the net once. Shimazu fired two shots in the game with one beating the keeper and sealing the 3-1 victory for the Lutes. PLU took just two more shots than the Knights in the contest, as 11 of the Lutes 15 total shots came in the second half. Gaston made four saves on Sunday, as the Knights goalkeeper did not record a save in three shots on goal against.

The Lutes begin their defense of the Northwest Conference title next weekend at home on Saturday and Sunday against Willamette and Linfield at 12 p.m.

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