Setting the Scene: The Lutes are road warriors this weekend with eight Pacific Lutheran University athletic programs hitting the road for competitions in both Oregon and Washington. Men's and women's soccer and volleyball return to Oregon while cross country heads across the state to Spokane for its second full distance meet of the year. Football opens Northwest Conference play at Willamette University while men's and women's golf compete in Oregon at the NWC Fall Classic. 

FRIDAY:
VB at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
XC at Frank Knott Classic in Spokane Valley, Wash. (10 a.m.)
MSOC at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. (12 p.m.)
WSOC at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. (2:45 p.m.)
FB at Willamette in Salem, Ore. (4 p.m.)
VB at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. (6 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
GOLF at NWC Fall Classic in North Plains, Ore. (Pumpkin Ridge GC)
MSOC at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (12 p.m.)
WSOC at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (2:45 p.m.)
MONDAY:
GOLF at NWC Fall Classic in North Plains, Ore. (Pumpkin Ridge GC)

Get with the Flo: Last 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.
 
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Volleyball: The Lutes (11-2, 4-0 NWC) return to Oregon sitting in first place in the league standings as the only undefeated squad and are riding a seven-match winning streak. 

PLU hasn't dropped a match since Sept. 11 and have won 12 of the 13 sets played in conference play. Last weekend the Lutes swept Willamette University 3-0, getting a big performance from Alexis Eggert who had 15 kills with a .467 hitting percentage. As a team, the Lutes racked up 11 aces against the host Bearcats. 

Ayre Takamoto leads the NWC in assists per set and ranks 23rd nationally in the category, averaging 9.3 per set while Macy Matsushima, this week's NWC Defensive Player of the Week, leads the league in both digs and aces. 

Men's Golf: Pacific Lutheran finished six strokes shy of winning the team title, placing runner-up on Tuesday at its own invite at The Home Course. The Lutes tallied a team score of 580 (294-286) at the PLU Invitational, finishing second overall among the 10-team field and finishing ahead of NWC rivals Lewis & Clark College, Pacific University, University of Puget Sound, and George Fox University.

Soren Bostrom paced the Lutes, finishing second with a three-under 141 (71-70). Jack Brigham and Tyler Maag tied for sixth, both shooting a 144 while Tanner Frinell was the fourth Lute in the top 10, placing 10thwith a 145.

Men's Soccer: PLU (5-1-2, 3-0-1 NWC) is riding a seven game unbeaten run and returns to Oregon tied for first place in the conference standings. 

Last Saturday, the Lutes tallied two goals in five minutes, earning a 2-0 victory at Willamette. Connor O'Brien scored his NWC leading fifth goal of the year in the 21st minute on a feed from Mike Murega before Ty Brunner matched O'Brien with his fifth of the year in the 26th minute on a pass from Eric Martinez.

Landon Gordon and Gio Aguilar-Gutierrez split time in goal to get the clean sheet. This fall, the Lutes have posted five shutouts and have outscored conference opponents 7-1 through the opening four games. 

Women's Soccer: The Lutes (4-2-2, 2-1-1 NWC) blew out Willamette on Saturday, scoring early and often in a 5-1 rout. 
 
Kami Novotny put PLU up 1-0 just five minutes into the game, her second goal in as many games. Kyleigh Archer scored seven minutes later with Novotny providing the assist while Zoe Markquart scored just before half as the visiting Lutes owned a 3-0 lead at the break.
 
Archer scored again six minutes into the second half while an Abby Manovolitz goal sealed the win.

Emily Meigs made her collegiate debut in goal, making three saves to earn the win.
 
Saturday's game extended PLU's dominance over the Bearcats, outscoring Willamette 32-5 in the 12 games played since 2021. 

Women's Golf: Jayda Thomas finished inside the Top 10 for the second straight tournament, placing eighth overall at the PLU Invitational at The Home Course.

Thomas shot a blistering 71 on Monday, finishing with six birdies before carding an 87 on Tuesday and finishing the event with a 158. Kate Sabarillo was PLU's next highest finisher, placing 38th with a 180 (92-88). 
 
As a squad, the Lutes placed seventh overall, finishing four strokes behind Puget Sound while finishing above conference mates Linfield and Willamette. 
 
Women's Cross Country: The Lutes are back in action after taking last week off. Pacific Lutheran last raced on Sept. 19, finishing 12th overall at the PLU Invitational.

That meet saw Ellie Norris lead the Lutes in her first race at the 6,000-meter distance. The first year made three trips around the looped layout in 23 minutes, 29.1 seconds to place 45th overall. Sal Mattivi was the second Lute finisher in 24:27.5 while Mariel Robles was the third PLU finisher in 25:02.1.

PLU scored 290 points as a team, finishing just four points short of Division II Saint Martin's University.

Football: The Lutes (1-2) took a well-earned week off after a bruising non-conference slate that included two Top 20 teams and another team that won a division title and played for a conference championship.

PLU topped Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Sun Division Champion California Lutheran University 37-30 in the 2026 lid lifter before falling 29-6 to then No. 19 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) and stumbling 24-6 to then No. 12 Trinity University (Texas).
 
In both setbacks, the Lutes proved they can play against the nation's best, including holding the then No. 12 Tigers scoreless in the first and fourth quarters.

Heading into conference play, the Lutes are picked to finish third in the league standings, according to the annual NWC Preseason Poll released back in August. 

Men's Cross Country: The Lutes last raced on Sept. 19, finishing seventh in their race at the annual PLU Invitational. 

Noah Friedrich carried the banner for the Lutes, placing 59th overall after covering the 8,000-meter course in a brisk 27:35.7. Isaiah Bradley was the next Lute in 28:22.9 with Corban Piper finishing in 28:35.9.

PLU scored 221 points in the team standings against a strong field that included six of the nine Northwest Conference schools. 

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