TACOMA, Wash. — A matchup of West Coast heavyweights lived up to the hype on Friday but had a sour ending for the 23rd-ranked Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team as visiting California Lutheran University tallied a late goal to slink away with a 1-0 victory in the home opener at East Field.

Friday's clash featured a pair of West Coast powerhouses. The Lutes (0-1-2) rank 23rd in the nation and are the eight-time defending Northwest Conference Champions while Cal Lutheran (2-0-1) entered the match as an NCAA playoff qualifier from a season ago and the 2023 NCAA Division III National Champions. 

"It was a tough physical opponent today and credit to Cal Lu, they were certainly the better team tonight. We were close to getting a tie which would have been a really good result," said Head Coach Seth Spidahl.

"Cal Lu was on it. Physical. Aggressive. Athletic. We started off slow, but we did find our feet and settled into the game."

The two sides battled to a scoreless opening half with just seven total shots taken in the opening 45 minutes of action. The game looked headed for a scoreless stalemate before Riley Cardenas threaded the ball through the Lute defense to Jessica Sprouse who scored what turned out to be the game's lone goal in the 83rd minute. PLU attempted a late rally but was unable to find the back of the net, suffering the program's first home setback since Nov. 1, 2023.

Olivia Boehm, Taylor Thomas, and Kyleigh Archer accounted for PLU's shots in the 1-0 setback.

Lute goalkeeper Abby Winkler had a busy day between the posts, making a season-high 10 saves in 90 minutes of work. Her counterpart, Kelsey Slaugh, earned the clean sheet for the Regals, also playing all 90 minutes.

"Abby was amazing in goal. She made some great saves and kept us in it and I thought Kelan Betts had a good game in the midfield."

The Lutes close out their non-league slate on Sunday, hosting 19th-ranked Ponona-Pitzer Colleges. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.

"We know we are where we are. We're playing a tough (non-conference) schedule that if we stay focused is ultimately to prepare us for Northwest Conference play in a few weeks."