Oct. 10, 2007

WOMEN’S SOCCER: PLU Looks to Break Winless Streak

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran hosts Lewis & Clark, Saturday, noon; PLU at George Fox, Sunday, noon.

LUTES DO NWC TWO-STEP: The Lutes (2-8-2 overall, 1-6-1 NWC) will be at home on Saturday and on the road Sunday in Northwest Conference action. Saturday’s match is a battle between the teams at the bottom of the conference standings. The Lewis & Clark Pioneers (1-8-1 overall, 1-7-0 NWC) are in the cellar of the nine-team league with three points from a win and the Lutes are one notch above them with four points from a win and a tie. PLU beat the Pioneers 2-1 in their first meeting back on Sept. 16 in Portland. Since then, however, the injury bug has taken a big bite out of the Lutes with at least three regulars out of action this weekend. After hosting the Pioneers, the Lutes take to the road to face George Fox (currently 8-4-0 overall, 5-3-0 NWC), which also has a Thursday match against Willamette. The Bruins have played well this season and already have a 1-0 victory over the Lutes to their credit.

GOING FOR THE WIN: The Lutes have suffered five losses and one tie in their last six matches, and the high number of injuries has certainly contributed to that. Still, the Lutes have been in the majority of their recent matches, and a win would certainly help turn things around. PLU’s last win came in the aforementioned 2-1 decision over Lewis & Clark.

SECOND HALF GOAL SINKS PLU: Michelle Noelke broke in behind the defense from the right side to score the only goal of the match as Willamette defeated Pacific Lutheran, 1-0, in a conference match played last Saturday at PLU. Noelke’s goal, her second of the season, came at the 48:59 mark on an assist from Lauren Miller. It was one of 12 shots taken by Willamette, seven of which were on goal. Pacific Lutheran’s offensive woes continued as they were shut out for the third time this season. The Lutes, who had 13 shots, including five on goal, have scored just nine goals in 11 matches this season. Both goalkeepers were kept busy, Willamette’s Kelli Gano making five saves and PLU’s Amanda Tschauner coming up with six.

AS TOUGH A LOSS AS YOU CAN TAKE: Sunday’s heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to Linfield was about as tough as it can get. The game was played at Curtis High School because an expected storm figured to damage the PLU field. Playing on the unfamiliar CHS field, which also doubles as the school’s football field, may have been the key reason why the Lutes lost the match. Sara Blake took advantage of a mistake in the PLU defense to score the only goal about five minutes into overtime. Blake was in the right spot when PLU goalkeeper Amanda Tschauner came out to grab Lian Yuen’s long ball into the box. Tschauner, seeing a line on the field and thinking she was outside the penalty box, let the ball bounce, and Blake came in behind and scored the game winner. Unfortunately for the Lutes, Tschauner saw a line for the football field and mistook it for the penalty box. Linfield’s Kelsey Hasselblad came up with the best save of the match in the first half when she tipped Amanda Crawford’s left-footed drive off of and over the crossbar.

- PLU -