Sept. 13, 2006

Success In Colorado; NWC Play Opens With Pacific

2006 PLU Season Statistics

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (2-1-0) opens its Northwest Conference schedule hosting the Pacific Boxers (3-0-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. In their preseason poll, conference coaches predicted PLU to place fourth and Pacific to finish sixth in the nine-team league.

ABOUT THE BOXERS: Pacific has won all three of its non-conference matches to open its season, defeating Northwest Christian, 4-2, Northwest College, 1-0, and Cal State East Bay, 1-0. Senior forward Matt McDonough, who in mid-week scored the winning goal against Cal State East Bay with less than a minute remaining, leads the Boxers with two goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Jory Shene has played all 270 minutes for the Boxers, recording 12 saves and compiling a 0.67 goal against average.

LUTES LAST WEEKEND: By any measure, PLU’s weekend trip to Colorado was very successful as the Lutes registered a pair of victories. On Friday, freshman forward Mattis Ostvold (Kirkenaer, Norway / Høgskolen i Hedmark) tallied a goal and an assist in the first six minutes, setting the tone as the Lutes shocked Colorado College, 6-0, in a non-conference men’s soccer match. Colorado College came into the match with a 3-0 record, including a 2-1 win over Linfield (Ore.), and ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division III West Region. “Our guys were ready to go today, and they believe in each other,” said PLU head coach John Yorke. “If we’re going to be one of the better teams in our region, we have to beat the better teams in the region. That was a good team and we had to play very well to beat them.” Getting the early lead—with Ostvold providing two key plays—allowed Yorke to “run guys in and out” in a substitution rotation that proved beneficial in Colorado Springs’ high altitude. Ostvold's first goal came on a header at the 3:23 mark. He added an assist less than three minutes later on a goal by junior forward Mike Ferguson (Sumner, Wash. / Auburn Riverside HS). Freshman forward Baard Asker (Oslo, Norway / Wang) gave the Lutes plenty of cushion with two more first half goals, and sophomore forward Derek Karamatic (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Gig Harbor HS) finished the scoring with two strikes in the second half. Asker and Karamatic both had assists, as did freshman defender Peter Thomas (Sumner, Wash. / Sumner HS). Sophomore Andrew Croft (Kenmore, Wash. / Inglemoor HS) played 72 minutes in goal and shared the shutout with freshman Joshua Hooley (Cheney, Wash. / Cheney HS). The Lutes out-shot Colorado College, 16-13, and the Lutes put 12 of their attempts on goal. PLU finished off the weekend with a 1-0 non-conference victory Saturday afternoon over Buena Vista (Iowa). Freshman defender Derek MacLean (Seattle, Wash. / Kennedy HS) scored the game’s only goal in the 43rd minute when he knocked in his own rebound following a PLU corner kick. Defensively, the Lutes collected their second straight shutout, with Croft getting the “clean sheet.” Pacific Lutheran owned a 27-9 shot advantage.

LUTE LEADERS: Pacific Lutheran has scored eight goals in three official matches this year (not counting the four they tallied in an exhibition match against St. Martin’s). Mike Ferguson, Baard Asker and Derek Karamatic all have a pair of goals. With one assist each, Asker and Karamatic are tied for the team scoring lead with five points (two points for a goal, one for an assist). Mattis Ostvold has a goal and a team-high two assists to his credit. Ferguson came into the season with 24 career goals and now has 26 over two years and three matches. The PLU career goal-scoring record is 49 set by Brian Gardner (1986-89).

HEAD COACH: John Yorke is in his fifth season at PLU (his alma mater) and has a 39-39-4 overall record.

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