Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's cross country team's host the annual PLU Invitational on Saturday, while men's soccer, women's soccer, and volleyball all open up Northwest Conference play at home. Women's golf competes on Monday and Tuesday in the season opener nearby at the home course while football is the lone outlier, heading to Texas for a battle against 12th-ranked Trinity University to close out its non-league slate.
 
FRIDAY:
VB hosts George Fox inside Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
XC hosts PLU Invitational at PLU Meadows XC Course (11:30 a.m.)
MSOC hosts Pacific at East Field (12 p.m.)
WSOC hosts Pacific at East Field (2:45 p.m.)
FB at #12 Trinity in San Antonio, Texas (7 p.m. Central)
VB hosts Pacific inside Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
MSOC hosts George Fox at East Field (12 p.m.)
WSOC hosts George Fox at East Field (2:45 p.m.)
MONDAY:
WGOLF at Grisham Memorial in DuPont, Wash. (The Home Course)
TUESDAY:
WGOLF at Grisham Memorial in DuPont, Wash. (The Home Course)
VB hosts Puget Sound inside Olson Gymnasium (7 p.m.)
WEDNESDAY:
MSOC at Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. (12 p.m.)
WSOC at Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. (2:45 p.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
 
Welcome to Luteville: The Lutes added Chloe Froeschner to the athletics staff this week as the department's new assistant director of sports communication. A 2026 Lute graduate, Froeschner has worked in the sports communication office the past four years. Learn more: LINK
 
Lute Welcome Back: On Monday the PLU Athletic Department officially welcomed back its more than 450 student-athletes with its annual welcome back event. Highlighting the night was a department-wide Rock-Paper-Scissors competition that was won by track & field's Bridger Hanis. It was Hanis's second R-P-S win, also winning the tournament as a first year. 

Volleyball: It was another big weekend for the Lutes (7-2), winning three of their four matches in California at the Whittier Invitational. Pacific Lutheran dropped its opening match 3-1 to host Whittier College before rebounding later on Friday with a 3-0 sweep of University of Redlands.

PLU upset #11 and 2025 NCAA runner-up University of La Verne 3-2 to open Saturday before closing the day with a 3-1 triumph over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
 
Alexis Eggert was dialed in with 52 kills across the four matches and was tabbed the NWC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Eggert was the third Lute to win Player of the Week this year with Julissa Pernsteiner earning NWC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 while Macy Matsushima was NWC Defensive Player of the Week that same day.

Men's Soccer: Pacific Lutheran (2-1-1) dives into conference play riding a three-match unbeaten run after posting a pair of shutouts over the weekend in suburban Chicago.

It was the Ty Brunner show last Friday, scoring goals in the 15th and 65th minutes in a 2-0 Lute win over host Wheaton College to open the Bob Baptista Invitational. That game saw Chris Jamrok make six saves in net for his first collegiate clean sheet. The next day, the Lutes battled to a scoreless draw against North Park University.

Landen Sexton was a lynchpin of the defense over the two shutouts, playing all 180 minutes and on Monday was named the NWC Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Men's Golf: Two Lutes finished in the top 10, including a fifth place showing from Grant Raubenolt as PLU opened the 2026 fall season in Spokane at the Whitworth Invitational.

Raubenolt was on fire during Sunday's opening round, firing a five-under 66 before carding a 73 on Monday, finishing with a two-round tally of 139. Soren Bostrom was four strokes back in 10th with a 143 (68-75). 
 
PLU placed fourth as a team, shooting a 573, finishing with a three-stroke lead on host Whitworth University at the 11-team event. 
 
Women's Soccer: Nine-time defending NWC Champion Pacific Lutheran (2-1-1) begins its title defense this weekend and takes a three-game unbeaten run into league play. The Lutes got goals from Elayna Blodgett and Liv Olson in a 2-0 win over Wheaton College last Thursday before battling to a 1-1 draw with Azusa Pacific University two days later. 
 
Mia Speir made 11 saves over the weekend, earning NWC Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. 
 
Football: A 54-yard punt return just minutes into the game and a 92-yard kickoff return to start the second half, dashed hopes of an upset on Saturday as the Lutes (1-1) fell short 29-6 to 19th-ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at Sparks Stadium.
 
The Lute defense kept things close, allowing just a field goal the rest of the opening half, making it just a 10-0 deficit at the intermission with PLU outgaining the Crusaders.

Darius Sum provided the Lutes' touchdown early in the fourth quarter, scoring on a nine-yard pass from Jaxon Budd to cap off a 15-play, 99-yard drive.
 
Wide receiver Dayton Savea had his second straight 100-yard game, finishing with seven catches for 125-yards to earn NWC Offensive Player of the Week.

Men's Cross Country: The Lutes host the annual PLU Invitational on Saturday, lacing up the spikes for a full distance 8,000-meter race for the first time this fall.

PLU began the season back on Sept. 4, placing fifth as a team at the Lewis & Clark Opener at McIver State Park. Noah Friedrich carried the torch for the Lutes, crossing the finish line 25th overall in 16 minutes 41.9 seconds in the 5,000-meter race. 
 
Women's Cross Country: Similar to the men, the women's cross country squad is back in action this Saturday after taking last weekend off. Ellie Norris led the Lutes' in the season opener back on Sept. 4, traversing the 5K course in Estacada, Oregon in 20:14.2. Norris was the second fastest first-year at the meet and helped PLU place third as a team, defeating host Lewis & Clark College by three points.  
 
Women's Golf: Pacific Lutheran tees off the fall season on Monday with the first of five tournaments, competing at the Grisham Memorial hosted by Saint Martin's University. It will be the first of two straight at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington with the Lutes hosting the PLU Invitational the following week on Sept. 28-29. 
 
The 2026-2027 Lutes return Second Team All-Conference performer Jaida Thomas along with two other seniors to mentor a crop of three first-years.  

Download the GoLutes App: Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University Athletic Department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

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.

Link to download on Google Play: LINK

Link to download on Apple App Store: LINK