Setting the Scene: The days are getting shorter, but things are heating up around Luteville with several Pacific Lutheran University athletic department teams in the hunt for a shot at a Northwest Conference title. Volleyball opens the weekend at home, hosting Willamette University on Friday Night with its annual Dig Pink match. 

Saturday has men's and women's soccer hosting Willamette while football hits the road for a battle in McMinnville, Oregon against perennial power Linfield University. The weekend wraps up on Sunday and Monday with the golf squads closing the fall slate in Walla Walla, Washington at the Confluence Classic. 
 
FRIDAY:
VB hosts Willamette inside Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
MSOC hosts Willamette at East Field (12 p.m.)
FB at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (1 p.m.)
WSOC hosts Willamette at East Field (2:45 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
Golf at Confluence Classic in Walla Walla, Wash. (Veteran's Memorial GC & Wine Valley GC)
MONDAY:
Golf at Confluence Classic in Walla Walla, Wash. (Veteran's Memorial GC & Wine Valley 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.
 
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
 
WINtober: The Lutes have been red-hot in the month of October with fall team sports combining for a 17-5-2 (.750) record during the month. That includes both men's soccer sitting in first place in the Northwest Conference standings with football, women's soccer, and volleyball all in the hunt.

That autumnal success isn't limited to just 2026. Last October, Lute teams boasted a 22-3-4 (.828) record during the month and over the last four Octobers, PLU has an 88-13-10 record.
 
Men's Soccer: Pacific Lutheran (10-2-3, 8-1-2 NWC) sits tied for first with Whitman College in the NWC standings heading into the final five games of the regular season. 

The Lutes own a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1), earning road wins over both George Fox University (2-1) and Pacific University (1-0) over the weekend before battling to a scoreless stalemate on Wednesday at East Field against the University of Puget Sound.

Connor O'Brien tallied both of PLU's goals in the win over George Fox, including the game-winner in the 84th minute while Misha Turchananinov was the star in Sunday's 1-0 win over Pacific with a goal in the 54th minute. 

Wednesday's crosstown derby saw the Lutes outshoot the Loggers 13-5, including 10-2 in the second half and take all six shots on target in the 0-0 draw. 

O'Brien currently leads the NWC in goals (eight), game-winning goals (four), and points (19) and on Monday was tabbed the NWC Offensive Player of the Week.

Milestone Watch: Head Coach John Yorke sits just two wins shy of 300 for his coaching career. A Lute alum, Yorke has been at the helm for the Lutes since the 2002 campaign and has guided the team to seven conference titles and seven NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. 

Volleyball: The Lutes (16-4, 9-2 NWC) slipped into a tie for second place in the conference standings after falling 3-2 to Puget Sound on Tuesday night.

Pacific Lutheran was tied with Whitworth University at the top of the standings to start the night and held a 2-1 lead before dropping the final two sets to the Loggers, a team the Lutes had beaten two times previously this season.

Shaela Allen-Greggs and Julissa Pernsteiner led the way for the offense with 14 kills.

Prior to Puget Sound, the Lutes tallied a pair of 3-0 road wins over Pacific and George Fox with PLU sweeping NWC Player of the Week on Monday. Macy Matsushima was tabbed NWC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this fall while Alexis Eggert earned offensive accolades for the second time this year.

Football: Will Frank had two interceptions, including a pick-six, helping the Lutes (3-3, 2-1 NWC) limit host Pacific University to just 119 yards through the air in a 30-14 road victory on Saturday.

Anthony Mahaffey had just four incompletions on the day, going 13-for-17 for 146 yards, slinging two touchdowns and running for a third. 
 
A Mahaffey touchdown and Frank's pick-six was part of a second quarter that saw PLU pile on 16 points, turning a 7-7 deadlock into a 23-7 advantage.

Women's Soccer: PLU (9-3-3, 7-2-2 NWC) allowed its first goal in 427 minutes on Wednesday, coming up short 2-0 against 25th-ranked Puget Sound on East Field.

The game also snapped the Lutes' NWC shutout streak which stood at nine games.
 
The Lutes currently sit in second place in the league standings behind the Loggers with five games left in the regular season.

Over the weekend, the Lutes handled business, earning a 3-0 win over George Fox and a 1-0 victory over Pacific. Kami Novotny scored in the second minute against George Fox with Zoe Markquart providing a goal and an assist. On Sunday it was Abby Manolovitz with the game winner, scoring in the 76th minute.

Milestone Unlocked: Friday's 3-0 win over George Fox was Head Coach Seth Spidahl's 200th career win, becoming just the second coach in program history to surpass 200 wins. A Lute alum, Spidahl has coached the Lutes since the 2012 campaign and has guided the team to nine NWC titles and seven NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. 

Men's Cross Country: The Lutes scouted out Oak Knoll Golf Course on Saturday, competing at the George Oja Invitational.  
 
Located in Independence, Oregon, Oak Knoll GC will be the site of the 2026 NWC Championships on Oct. 31. 

All five Lutes that ran earned personal best times with Justin Garrett powering the team after finishing the 8,000-meter layout in 27 minutes, 12.4 seconds to finish 247th overall in a packed field of runners from all three NCAA divisions, the NAIA, and junior college ranks.
 
Also running personal best 8K times were Corban Piper, Isaiah Bradley, Jonah Andrews, and Caleb Rigney. 

PLU rests up this weekend before returning for the NWC Championships on Halloween. 

Women's Cross Country: Pacific Lutheran finished above four conference rivals on Saturday at the George Oja Invitational, placing 21st in the team standings.

Ellie Norris was the first Lute to traverse the 6,000-meter course, doing so in a personal best effort of 23:36.5. 

The Lutes ended the meet with 599 points, finishing 24-points clear of Division II Saint Martin's University and ranking ahead of league rivals Pacific University, Linfield University, Lewis & Clark College, and Willamette University. 

Women's Golf: The Lutes return to the links after a 14 day break. PLU last competed on Oct. 11 at the Puget Sound Invitational, finishing runner-up at the two day tournament. 

Jayda Thomas headlined the tournament, winning medalist honors with a two-round tally of 146. Thomas opened up the event at Oakbrook Golf Club by firing a 75 before finishing up with a one-under 71.

Kate Sabarillo was sixth overall with a 160. That one-two combo helped the Lutes finish with a team tally of 652, finishing ahead of conference rivals Puget Sound and Whitman. 

Men's Golf: Similar to the women, the men's squad returns for one more tournament after a two week layoff.
 
The Lutes finished second overall at the Puget Sound Invite on Oct. 11 with four student-athletes earning a spot in the top 10. 

Jack Brigham led PLU's efforts, finishing one stroke out of medalist honors with a 142. Brigham shot a blazing 67 to open the event before shooting a 75 in round two. Soren Bostrom tied for fourth (147), Tanner Frinell was seventh (148), while Tyler Maag and Luke Butler were ninth with 150s.

Pacific Lutheran shot a 599 at the tournament, placing second overall and first among Division III schools, toppling league rivals Whitman, and Puget Sound. 

Swimming: Winter sports are just around the corner with the Lute swimming teams starting things off when then dip their toes in the water on Oct. 30 with a season-opening dual meet with Whitman College.

Learn more about the 2026-2027 Lutes next week with our season preview. 

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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.

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