Oct. 31, 2007

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Lutes Finish Season in Oregon

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran at Linfield, Friday, 11 a.m.; PLU at Willamette, Saturday, 11 a.m.

PLU FINISHES IN OREGON: Pacific Lutheran wraps up its 2007 season in Oregon, taking on a couple of Northwest Conference opponents. The Lutes (4-12-2 overall, 3-10-1 NWC) battle Linfield (6-9-2 overall, 5-8-1 NWC) in McMinnville on Friday before heading over to Salem to take on Willamette (6-9-2 overall, 5-7-2 NWC) on Saturday. The start time for the Linfield match is 11 a.m. as originally scheduled, and PLU will play Willamette starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Lutes lost a pair of heart-breaking 1-0 decisions to both of these teams during the first half of conference play. The Lutes currently occupy seventh spot in the nine-team league, six points behind Linfield and seven behind Willamette.

SHUTOUTS ON THE ROAD: PLU came out on the short end of a pair of road shutouts last weekend on the east side of the state. Playing on its home field in Walla Walla, Whitman beat the Lutes, 1-0 on Saturday, when Kristen Berndt booted her 42nd career goal. Whitman, winning its six straight game, out-shot the Lutes 14-11, as Missionaries goalkeeper Courtney Porter pushed her NWC-leading shutout total to eight. PLU's best scoring opportunity came with about 33 minutes left in a still-scoreless first half. A streaking and lunging Christina McDuffie just missed getting her head on a well-placed crossing pass in front of the Whitman goal. The following day in Spokane, the Lutes hung in there with second-place Whitworth before the Pirates scored a pair of second-half goals in a 2-0 victory. Whitworth out-shot PLU 17-7, including a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal. Amanda Tschauner made five saves for the Lutes.

LUTES BY THE NUMBERS: As a team, the Lutes have scored 20 goals in their 18 matches, led by Melissa Buitrago with four goals and Monica Beard with three. A total of 11 different players have scored goals for the Lutes.

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