2006 PLU Season Statistics

THIS WEEK: PLU at Puget Sound, Wednesday, 3 p.m.; PLU at George Fox, Saturday, noon.

LUTES VERSUS LOGGERS: Pacific Lutheran (5-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the NWC), tied atop the Northwest Conference standings with Puget Sound and Willamette, will battle the Loggers for at least a portion of early season conference supremacy this Wednesday starting at 3 p.m. PLU will travel across town for the match against the Loggers (4-0-1 overall, 2-0-0 NWC). The Loggers have dominated the series in recent years, at the same time establishing the UPS program as one of the nation’s best at the Division III level. Puget Sound has won 15 straight matches against the Lutes dating back to the 1998 season. In those 15 wins, the Loggers have outscored the Lutes, 37-2. They last allowed PLU a goal (scored by Leah Anderson) on Nov. 9, 2002, that in a 2-1 UPS victory. The last time that PLU defeated UPS was Sept. 16, 1998, when the Lutes came out on top, 4-1. Karin Magnusson scored two goals and Kira Johnson and Mandy Mainard both had one in support of winning goalkeeper Gloria Cefali.

TIME FOR A CHANGE: The 2006 Lutes, with five wins in six matches and off to the program’s best start since the 1998 squad started 5-0-1, hope to change recent history against the Loggers. Given the strength of the UPS program, that is a big but not overwhelming task. “They are the defending conference champs,” said PLU head coach Jerry Fleury, himself 0-8 against the Loggers. “They are the measure of where every other conference program is at.” In their preseason poll, conference coaches picked the Loggers to win their fifth straight NWC title, though two of the nine coaches picked Willamette to win the crown. PLU, by the way, was picked to finish fifth.

LUTES FALL IN REGION RANKINGS: Despite winning both of its matches last weekend, the Lutes dropped one spot to No. 8 in the NSCAA West Region rankings.

MORE CONFERENCE ACTION: The Lutes continue their conference schedule on Saturday when they take on the George Fox Bruins in Newberg, Ore. The Bruins are 1-1 in the conference and 3-2 overall. George Fox is already exceeding the NWC coaches’ expectations. They selected GFU to place last in the conference race.

MORE CLEAN SHEETS: With a couple of conference shutouts last weekend, the Lutes now have four consecutive “clean sheets” to their credit. In order, PLU has whitewashed Cal Lutheran (1-0), Evergreen State (2-0), Pacific (1-0) and Lewis & Clark (2-0). In fact, the Lutes have shutouts in all five of their victories. Sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Tschauner (Yakima, Wash. / West Valley HS) had two saves while playing all 90 minutes against Pacific, while junior goalkeeper Alyssa Blackburn (Sandy Utah / Judge Memorial Catholic HS) had three saves in 90 minutes to earn the shutout against Lewis & Clark. Blackburn has three shutouts to her credit this season and Tschauner has two. The Lute defense is more than good goalkeeping, however, as central defender Brittney Beitel (Puyallup, Wash. / Emerald Ridge HS), a junior transfer from the University of Idaho, has played very well. She has twice been nominated for Northwest Conference defensive player of the week. Rounding out the solid back four are a trio of sophomores—Bré Greenman (Corvallis, Ore. / Corvallis HS), Nicole Reinke (Corvallis, Ore. / Crescent Valley HS) and Lauren Meyer (Renton, Wash. / Kentridge HS).

GREENACRES IS THE PLACE TO BE: Freshman forward Jenny McKinsey (Greenacres, Wash. / Central Valley HS) is surely having the time of her life while playing midfield for the PLU women’s soccer team. McKinsey has scored all of the Lutes’ last five goals while showing excellence accuracy. In six matches she has taken 15 shots, and 11 of them have been on-goal. Her second goal against Lewis & Clark last Sunday showed some of her skills. She took a long diagonal pass from senior forward Jackie Oehmcke (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Gig Harbor HS) in the left side of the penalty area and struck the ball back across the goal and into the far-side net. The Lutes hope for such continued play from the freshman from Greenacres (which is near Spokane, by the way). By the way, McKinsey has twice received honorable mention recognition as NWC Offensive Player of the Week.

THE COACH: Jerrod Fleury, now in his fifth season as women's soccer head coach at his alma mater, is 41-37-6 at PLU.

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