Setting the Scene: Season openers, championship races, and senior days all happen in Luteville as the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department gears up for one of the busiest weekends of the fall. 

Football, soccer, swimming, and volleyball all play at home this weekend, with the season opener for the swim teams and senior days for soccer and volleyball. Meanwhile, cross country hits the road, racing at the 2026 Northwest Conference Championships in Independence, Oregon while women's rowing opens its fall season in Seattle at the Head of the Lake.

FRIDAY:
SWIM hosts Whitman at PLU Pool (6 p.m.)
VB hosts Lewis & Clark inside Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
XC at NWC Championships in Independence, Ore. (10 a.m.)
MSOC hosts Linfield at East Field (11 a.m.)
FB hosts Whitworth at Sparks Stadium (1 p.m.)
SWIM hosts Whitworth at PLU Pool (1 p.m.)
WSOC hosts Linfield at East Field (1:45 p.m.)
VB hosts Linfield inside Olson Gymnasium (6;30 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
ROW at Head of the Lake in Seattle, Wash. (8:18 a.m.)
MSOC hosts Lewis & Clark at East Field (11 a.m.)
WSOC hosts Lewis & Clark at East Field (11 a.m.)

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 19-6-3 (.732) record during the month. 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 90-14-11 record (.830). 

Men's Soccer: The Lutes (10-2-4, 8-1-3 NWC) sit two points out of first place in the Northwest Conference standings but control their own destiny with four games left in the regular season. 

PLU is unbeaten in its last four games (2-0-2), battling to a 1-1 draw with Willamette University on Saturday. In that game, the visiting Bearcats scored in the 84th minute but the Lutes didn't panic, with Troy Brown collecting the equalizer in the 87th minute, his first goal of the year, off a pass from Isak Medhaug.

Between the Saturday draw and the scoreless tie with University of Puget Sound last Wednesday, the Lute defense allowed just one shot on goal. It's a performance that earned Gracen Connell NWC Defensive Player of the Week accolades on Monday.

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. 
 
Women's Soccer: Pacific Lutheran (10-3-3, 8-2-2 NWC) picked up its ninth shutout of the season on Saturday, defeating Willamette 2-0. The Lutes scored goals in both halves with Kami Novotny opening the scoring in the game's first minute off a pass from Tia Schwetz. Schwetz would add her name to the scoresheet in the 52nd minute with an unassisted goal. 

Novotny and Schwetz are among the five Lutes tied for the team lead in goals with four on the season. Abby Manolovitz, Kyleigh Archer, and Liv Olson also have four goals with Manolovitz leading the squad with three assists.

Volleyball: PLU (17-4, 10-2 NWC) remains tied for second in the NWC standings and is still in the mix for a league title and the rights to host the conference tournament. 

The Lutes rolled up Willamette 3-0 last Saturday, getting 10 kills from Alexis Eggert and 35 assists from Ayre Takamoto. 
 
Eggert currently leads the NWC in blocks with 65 on the season while Takamoto has a conference-best 9.5 assists per set. Macy Matsushima also tops the stat charts in the NWC, leading the nine team circuit in digs per game (5.1). 

Football: The Lutes (3-4, 2-2 NWC) are back at home after two weeks on the road in Oregon. The road swing began with a 30-14 win over Pacific University before falling 41-0 this past Saturday to NWC juggernaut Linfield University.

The Lutes limited the host Wildcats to a field goal in the first quarter and trailed just 10-0 at the halftime intermission before Linfield pulled away. 

Cross Country: The Lutes are back in action this weekend, competing at the NWC Championships on Oak Knoll Golf Course. It's a familiar venue for the runners, racing two weeks ago on the same course at Linfield's George Oja Invitational.

That race on Oct. 17 saw five members of the men's team run 8,000-meter personal best times, including Justin Garrett who was PLU's top finisher in 27 minutes, 12.4 seconds.

The women had equal success, recording five PRs and one season best time at the meet. Ellie Norris was the top PLU finisher, covering the 6,000-meter course in 23:36.5. 

Men's Golf: Pacific Lutheran had a strong finish to the fall season, placing runner-up at Whitman College's Confluence Classic. 
 
Three Lutes finished inside the top 10 with Tyler Maag leading the way, shooting a two-under 142. Maag was consistent over the tournaments two rounds, shooting a 71 on Sunday at Veteran's Memorial park Golf Club and a 71 again on Monday at Wine Valley Golf Club. 

Soren Bostrom and Jack Brigham both finished one stroke behind Maag, tying for seventh overall. 

PLU amassed a team score of 572 (286-286), finishing above conference rivals Whitworth University and University of Puget Sound. 
 
Women's Golf: The Lutes closed out the fall season on Monday, finishing fifth at the Confluence Classic. 

Jayda Thomas headlined the tournament for PLU, finishing two strokes out of medalist honors, tying for second place with a 146. Thomas shot a 75 during Sunday's round at Veteran's Memorial Park Golf Club and was even better on Monday at Wine Valley Golf Club, turning in a 71. 

Mari Morris cracked the top 20, placing 19th with a 164 (82-82). PLU carded a 664 as a team (334-330), finishing 10 strokes ahead of Spokane Community College. 
 
Swimming: The Lutes open up the 2026-2027 season on Friday, hosting Whitman College in the first of three home dual meets. 
 
The women's team was picked to finish fourth in the NWC Coaches' Poll with the men slotted to place fifth. Last year the women finished third at the NWC Championships with the men placing fifth. Learn more about both swim squads in our season preview: LINK. 
 
Rowing: PLU will hit the water for the first time this fall on Sunday at the University of Washington's Head of the Lake. 
 
The Lutes will be racing a varsity eight boat and a varsity four boat at the regatta against crews from all three NCAA divisions, college club teams, and institutions from Canada. 
 
This is the first of two fall regattas that are longer than the typical 2,000-meter races contested during the spring semester. 

Basketball: Hoops season is just around the corner with this weekend the final open weekend before the squads compete. 
 
Both programs will open the 2026-2027 season at home with Head Women's Basketball Coach Aly Lacey making her Lute debut on Nov. 6 against Warner Pacific University with the men playing later that night against Division III newcomer Azusa Pacific University. The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. inside Olson Gymnasium with the men's game set for 7:30 p.m. 

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