Oct. 10, 2006

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Lutes Take Momentum Into Weekend Matches

THIS WEEK: PLU (8-3-1 overall, 5-2-1 Northwest Conference) at Lewis & Clark, Saturday, noon; PLU at Pacific, Sunday, noon.

LUTES UPSET NO. 5 WILLAMETTE: Junior forward Brittney Beitel (Puyallup, Wash. / Emerald Ridge HS, University of Idaho) scored the lone goal of the match in the 62nd minute and the defense made it stand up as Pacific Lutheran shocked No. 5-ranked Willamette, 1-0, in a Northwest Conference women’s soccer match played Sunday at the PLU field. Beitel, who recently moved to forward after playing defense for much of the season, was in the right place at the right time. She stopped a Willamette clearance at about the 30-yard line, took one touch and drove the ball into the upper left corner of the goal, out of the reach of Willamette goalkeeper Kari Woody. The goal, which came at 61:22, was only the third allowed by the Bearcats in 12 matches this season. The match was even throughout as the Lutes finished with nine shots to eight for the visiting Bearcats, that after the teams were tied at five shots apiece after the first half. Early in the second half the Bearcats had a series of three consecutive corner kicks, but the Lute defense and sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Tschauner (Yakima, Wash. / West Valley HS) managed to keep the ball out of the net. On the first corner, Tschauner tipped the ball over the crossbar to maintain the shutout.

LEARNING HOW TO WIN THE BIG MATCH: The Lutes hope that it was “lesson learned” with Sunday’s victory over nationally ranked Willamette. “We’ve played well against good teams and given up goals late,” said PLU head coach Jerrod Fleury. “Today was big for us. We took the lead and held onto it. We are learning how to win the big games.”

WEEKEND SWEEP: The win over the Bearcats, combined with a 4-0 win over Linfield on Saturday, gave the Lutes a weekend sweep. PLU scored two goals in each half against Linfield, with senior forward Jackie Oehmcke (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Gig Harbor HS) getting both first-half tallies. Junior forward Christina McDuffie (Yakima, Wash. / Davis HS) and Brittney Beitel added the other goals. Junior goalkeeper Alyssa Blackburn (Sandy, Utah / Judge Memorial Catholic HS) played 77 minutes and got credit for the shutout. Sophomore Kamryn Morgan (Poulsbo, Wash. / North Kitsap HS) came off the bench and finished the job.

BUILD ON THAT: That’s what the Lutes hope to do this weekend – build on the momentum generated from the Willamette win, unquestionably one of the biggest for a PLU women’s soccer team in recent history. PLU will need that momentum as they continue Northwest Conference play with matches at Lewis & Clark on Saturday and at Pacific on Sunday. The Lutes have wins against both teams this year. They defeated Pacific, 1-0, on September 16, and the following day beat Lewis & Clark 2-0.

CONFERENCE HONORS BEITEL: Brittney Beitel earned Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for leading the Lutes to their weekend sweep. Her goal against nationally ranked Willamette was an impressive strike from distance and presented evidence of her scoring ability.

SCORING LEADERS: The Lutes’ top two goal scorers, freshman midfielder Jenny McKinsey (Greenacres, Wash. / West Valley HS) and Jackie Oehmcke, have scored their goals in streaks. McKinsey got all seven of her goals in a five-match stretch, while Oehmcke had her four goals in a four-match run.

- PLU -