SPOKANE, Wash. – The Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team ripped off 18 shots but wasn't able to land one in the back of the net on Saturday, stumbling 1-0 to in-state rival Whitworth University in the penultimate game of the Northwest Conference slate.
The two teams went into the halftime break deadlocked at 0-0 despite the Lutes taking seven of the 10 shots. The second half saw PLU own a 6-1 spread in shots on goal but the host Pirates made the one that mattered with Kayla Santa Monica scoring the lone goal in the 62nd minute.
Liv Olson took five of PLU's 18 shots on the day, landing three on frame while
Zoe Markquart and
Tia Schwetz each had three shots. All told, nine different players took a shot on Saturday.
Mia Speir made three saves in goal for the Lutes, playing all 90 minutes while Whitworth's Karlee Roderick made eight saves on the afternoon to secure the clean sheet.
"We had 18 shots, nine saves, and had some really good looks. I don't know how we didn't score a goal, but we didn't and they had a good counter attack and a good strike and we ended on the wrong end of a 1-0 game," said Head Coach
Seth Spidahl.
"You put a lot of effort in and want to get at least a win or tie, but it was a day where it was very hard for us to score, so credit to Whitworth. They worked hard and battled and had opportunistic scoring. Good news is we have everything to play for tomorrow with second place on the line against Whitman."
The Lutes finish off the season tomorrow, battling Whitman College at 1:45 p.m. in Walla Walla, Washington.
Â
