Setting the Scene: It's championship time for the Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's cross country teams that host the 2025 Northwest Conference Championships on Saturday at the PLU Meadows Cross Country Course. Meanwhile, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, and football are scattered on the road while swimming and women's rowing open up their seasons on the road.
FRIDAY:
VB at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
MXC hosts NWC Championships at PLU Meadows XC Course (10 a.m.)
WXC hosts NWC Championships at PLU Meadows XC Course (11 a.m.)
WSOC at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (11 a.m.)
SWIM at George Fox in Newberg, Ore. (1 p.m.)
FB at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash. (1 p.m.)
MSOC at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (1:45 p.m.)
VB at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (6 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
WROW at Head of the Lake in Seattle, Wash. (8:05 a.m.)
WSOC at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (11 a.m.)
MSOC at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (1:45 p.m.)
Wintober: PLU has been on fire in October, winning 82.1 percent of its games during the month. The Lutes boast a 21-3-4 record across the team sports of football, men's soccer, women's soccer, and volleyball. That success isn't just a one hit wonder. Over the last three years, those team sports own an impressive 70-8-8 record (.860 winning percentage) during October.
Trunk or Treat: The Pacific Lutheran University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) lived out Lute core values of unity and service on Saturday, hosting a Halloween "trunk or treat" event inside Olson Gymnasium for members of the Parkland community. Learn more:
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Get with the Flo: This summer the Northwest Conference signed an exclusive five-year deal with FloSports to be the live streaming platform of the Lutes and the rest of the conference.
Make sure to sign up for FloSports today so you don't miss any of the action at home or on the road. Sign up today:
LINK
Volleyball: The Lutes (11-8, 9-3 NWC ) have won four straight matches after securing a three-set sweep of Willamette University on Friday evening. The win was PLU's 11th consecutive home win and came just three days after sending NWC-leading University of Puget Sound its first loss of the conference slate.
Je T'aime Paio finished one kill shy of a double-double in the win over the Bearcats, finishing with nine kills and 10 digs while
Ayre Takamoto registered a double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs.
With four matches to go, the Lutes still have a shot to take the NWC title and hosting duties for the conference tournament but need some help, sitting two matches behind Puget Sound and one back of Whitworth University.
Men's Soccer: Pacific Lutheran (10-3-3, 9-0-3 NWC) controls its own destiny with four games to play, owning a four-game win streak and a 13-match unbeaten run.
The Lutes' offense has been on fire during their recent win streak, scoring 16 goals over the four-game run. On Sunday, the Lutes built an early 3-0 lead thanks to goals from
Owen Bliskis,
Caden Davis, and
Ty Brunner, doing just enough to hold on for a 3-2 victory over Willamette.
PLU averages a league-best 3.3 goals per game during the conference slate with Bliskis leading the league in both goals (10) while
Connor O'Brien paces the league in assists with 10.
Women's Soccer: The NWC-leading Lutes (9-2-5, 9-0-3 NWC) inch closer to their ninth straight league title, owning a two-point lead in the standings with four games to play.
Defense has been the team's hallmark, going 520 minutes without allowing a goal. That includes posting a 2-0 shutout on Sunday over Willamette, getting goals from
Olivia Boehm in the ninth minute and
Zoe Markquart in the 19th minute of play.
Pacific Lutheran leads the NWC in defense, allowing just 0.380 goals per game. Goalkeeper
Abby Winkler has been a massive reason for that success, leading the league in goals against average (0.377), saves (72), and save percentage (.923).
Football: PLU (4-3, 3-1 NWC) suffered its first blemish of the conference slate on Saturday, falling 31-15 to defending NWC Champion Linfield University.
A
Jacob Schuh 58-yard run gave the Lutes a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter but a botched snap on a punt allowed the Wildcats to pounce in the second quarter, scoring a touchdown on the special teams miscue as it was tied 7-7 at the half.
Linfield took control midway through the third, scoring three unanswered touchdowns plus a field goal to escape Sparks Stadium with the win.
Eli Fernandez led the Lutes with 13 tackles while
Jackson Hale had 11, including three TFLs and a sack.
Men's Cross Country: After four regular season meets the postseason is finally here as the Lutes host the 2025 NWC Championships at the PLU Meadows Cross Country Course. It's the first time since 2015 the Lutes have hosted and just the third time ever the race has been conducted on PLU's campus.
Kai Sorensen looks to be the leader for the Lutes, finishing as the top PLU runner in three of the four meets. That includes two weeks ago at the George Oja Invitational in Salem, a meet the Lutes finished 23rd as a team amongst a field of runners from all three NCAA divisions.
Women's Cross Country: Pacific Lutheran is peaking at the right time. The Lutes had five personal record times in the 6,000-meters in early October at the Whitman Open and was even better two weeks ago in Oregon with eight Lutes netting PR times in the distance.
That included
Jessalyn Robles who finished the Oja Invite with a PR time of 24 minutes, 12.57 seconds to lead the team with her younger sister
Mariel Robles the second fastest Lute, finishing under 25 minutes in a personal best time.
Swimming: The Lutes have been off for over two weeks after opening the year back on Oct. 16 with an unscored exhibition meet with University of La Verne.
This Saturday, PLU opens the regular season with the first of eight NWC dual meets and the first of four taking place in the fall semester.
Women's Rowing: This will be PLU's second attempt to open the fall racing season after the American Lake Fall Classic was canceled on Oct. 12 due to windy conditions.
On Sunday, the Lutes will race two boats at the University of Washington's Head of the Lake held at the Montlake Cut. The Lutes will race again the following Saturday on American Lake to close out the fall campaign.
Download the GoLutes 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.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gamely details and more, the PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Link to download on Google Play:
LINK
Link to download on Apple App Store:
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