Oct. 25, 2006

MEN’S SOCCER: Lutes Keep Hope Alive, Host the Whits

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (9-5-1 overall, 6-3-1 NWC) hosts Whitman, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.; PLU hosts Whitworth, Sunday, 1:30 p.m.

WHITS IN TOWN: Pacific Lutheran, still hopeful of a winning a Northwest Conference championship and with it a berth in the NCAA Division III national playoffs, hosts Whitman and Whitworth in must-win conference matches this coming weekend. The Lutes will face the Whitman Missionaries on Saturday and the Whitworth Pirates on Sunday. Both matches will start at 1:30 p.m. – an hour earlier than normal – because of the switch to standard time early Sunday morning. The Lutes had mixed results against the Whits earlier this season, losing to Whitworth, 2-0, on September 30, and beating Whitman 1-0 on a header by junior midfielder Erik Gracey (Maple Valley, Wash. / Tahoma HS) on Oct. 1. Whitman, Saturday’s opponent, is tied for fifth in the conference standings with 14 points, five points behind third place PLU. The Missionaries, 5-5-2 overall, have played well of late with three wins in their last four matches. Whitworth, the defending NWC champion, currently sits atop the NWC standings with 26 points. The Pirates are a very balanced team with 11 players contributing to the team’s 29-goal total, while goalkeeper Kevin Bostock has an impressive 0.90 goals against average. Since starting the season 3-3-2, the Pirates have won six matches and tied one to enter the contest with a 9-3-3 overall record. The Lutes cannot afford to lose either match if they hope to keep their slim championship hopes alive.

LAST WEEK: Pacific Lutheran’s title hopes took a serious hit last Wednesday, Oct. 18, when the Lutes dropped a 2-0 decision to Puget Sound at Mount Tahoma High School. The Lutes never did get untracked against their cross-town rival, who parlayed an early goal and a solid defense into the victory. Still smarting from the UPS defeat, the Lutes came out sluggish against George Fox before finally prevailing, 3-2, in overtime. After a scoreless first half, junior forward Mike Ferguson (Sumner, Wash. / Auburn Riverside HS) struck for the Lutes in the 58th minute. Freshman midfielder Henrik Oiseth (Oslo, Norway / Wang) started the play with a pass to Erik Gracey, who crossed from the wing to Ferguson, who struck with his left foot from eight yards out. The Lutes increased their lead to 2-0 on Oiseth’s first goal of the season in the 65th minute. A long throw in by sophomore forward Derek Karamatic (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Gig Harbor HS) went to Erik Gracey, who flicked the ball to Oiseth. The Norwegian midfielder hit a half volley from 20 yards out. The Bruins got back in the match with a couple of late goals, but Ferguson ended it in the 98th minute with a 25-yard free kick strike. He struck the ball with the outside of his right foot, bending the ball around the defensive wall and into the corner of the goal.

FERGUSON KEEPS UP PACE: Mike Ferguson came into the season just about on pace to eclipse the Pacific Lutheran goal-scoring record currently held by Brian Gardner, who tallied 49 goals while playing from 1986-89. Ferguson started the season with 24 goals (nine as a freshman, 15 last year) and has added 11 to his tally. With four regular season matches remaining this year and his senior season ahead, Ferguson has a chance to move to the top of the PLU men’s soccer all-time goal scoring list.

- PLU -