New Look Lutes Ready to Defend NWC Crown

The Lutes finished the 2024 season with a 13-3-5 overall record and an 11-1-4 mark in conference action, wrapping up the league title a week early. PLU’s dominance included a 7-0-2 record in home games at East Field, a venue the program enjoys a 25-1-2 record at since 2022.

“I think how the season goes depends on how quickly we can come together, how our chemistry develops, how quickly we can get on the same page, and how quickly these younger guys who've had smaller roles on the team can accept the responsibility and be accountable for the bigger roles on the team. We feel like we have the talent. We feel like we have the ability to compete for the conference championship and that will be the goal for us.”

PLU had five First Team All-Conference players a season ago and a pair of Second Team selections. Of those, all but two have graduated. That includes NWC Offensive Player of the Year Trevor Thompson and NWC Defensive Player of the Year Cole Dobson. 

One of the Lutes looking to make a bigger splash offensively is Owen Bliskis. The junior from Spanaway, Washington had six goals and three assists last fall in his 19 appearances.  

“ I think Owen has a change to be a big time scorer for us. I think Yuta, who's coming back and is now recovered from his torn ACL, he's not going to be a massive goal scorer, I don't think, but I think he's going to be a guy that creates a lot of goals.”

A junior from Kobe, Japan, Yuta Shimazu has three goals and three assists over his 22 games over the past two seasons. 

Western Oregon University transfer Ty Brunner looks to be in the mix up front after spending last season with a Division II Wolves’ squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Yorke’s squad will also lean on returners Mike Moraga, Liam Stoner, Quinn Bieber, and Connor O’Brien who combined for 10 goals last fall. 

Defensively, the Lutes will need to fill in some gaps but can lean on the experience of All-Conference defenders Alvin Kamau and Landon Sexton.

Kamau was a First Team All-Leaguer last fall, part of a defensive united that posted six shutouts and allowed just 21 goals in 21 games. The Nairobi, Kenya native also tallied a few offensive numbers with a goal and two helpers in 2024. Sexton was a Second Team selection and a workhorse for the defense, starting all but one game and playing in 1,675 of the team’s 1,890 minutes.

“Defensively, we also lost some pretty big hitters for the last couple of years. Some huge gaps there. Fortunately, we have the core of our defending in Landon and Alvin who've been pretty entrenched in those spots for a couple of years. And then Gracen was able to get some good experience last year. Mattias has experience and we've got some new guys in the mix that will contribute.”

A Bellingham, Washington native, Gracen Connell made 11 appearances last fall while Mattias Anderson— one of nine international student-athletes and one of two Canadians— brings seven games of experience from 2024. 

“We feel like we have a food goalkeeping room. Right now, a lot of good competition going on there for who's gonna be the guy. But I think, again, it's hard to replace Cole Dobson, Christian Pineda, Jordan Ross, and some of those guys.”

Also vying for time defensively will be Owen Harned who saw some action last fall and Kansas Wesleyan University transfer Leon Tomno who played in 12 games for the Coyotes who qualified for the NAIA Championships.

First Team All-Conference goalkeeper Nicholas Gaston graduated, leaving it wide open for a talented group of keepers. That includes returners Gio Aguilar-Gutierrez and Landon Gordon who both saw a few minutes as first-years last fall along with University of California-Santa Cruz transfer Chris Jamrock. A senior, Jamrock made 17 appearances for the Banana Slugs over the past two years, earning Second Team All-Coast 2 Coast Conference honors in 2024. Also in the fold will be Toronto, Canada native Keegan Roddis. 

This fall the Lutes have seven first-years, including four from the State of Washington.

“In our freshman class, Eli Hamlin from Sumner High School has impressed in training camp, along with goalkeeper Keegan Roddis.”

This summer the Lutes were able to get in some extra training and team building with the squad taking an international trip to Spain.

“The Spain experience was invaluable. We had 16 total training opportunities - 13 sessions and three games. Beyond the technical aspects, the trip fostered team camaraderie and cultural understanding. While it was optional and not everyone could attend, the benefits are already evident in training camp.”