TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team delivered a strong defensive performance Saturday afternoon, defeating Willamette University 2-0 at East Field to earn another Northwest Conference victory.
The Lutes struck early and added an insurance goal in the second half, while goalkeeper Mia Speir and the PLU defense held the Bearcats scoreless to secure the shutout.
Kami Novotny opened the scoring just one minute into the match, finishing a play assisted by Tia Schwetz to give Pacific Lutheran an immediate advantage. The early goal set the tone for a first half in which the Lutes generated seven shots and consistently pressured the Willamette defense.
PLU continued to control the match after halftime. Schwetz doubled the lead in the 52nd minute to give the Lutes some breathing room.
The Bearcats attempted to respond in the second half, recording six shots after the break, but Speir and the Lutes' back line kept Willamette off the scoreboard. Speir finished with five saves across 90 minutes to record the clean sheet.
Pacific Lutheran finished with a 10-7 advantage in total shots and put seven attempts on target. Willamette managed five shots on goal, but could not find a way past Speir. The Lutes also held a narrow 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
"The team really showed some good maturity today, some good discipline," Seth Spidahl, the head coach for PLU's Women's Soccer shared. "My concern was with a tough loss on Wednesday that probably knocked us out of the conference title race, how do we respond to that and make sure we don't have an emotional hangover and move on and look through the windshield, not the rear view mirror. And our team did that today."
The victory improves Pacific Lutheran to 10-3-3 overall and 8-2-2 in Northwest Conference play. Willamette falls to 6-6-1 overall and 4-6-1 in conference action.
The Lutes return to East Field on Saturday, Oct. 31, to host Linfield University in a Northwest Conference match up. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. Pacific Lutheran will look to build on Saturday's shutout victory as it continues its push toward the postseason.
