Oct. 25, 2006

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Lutes Host Whitman, Whitworth

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (10-4-2 overall, 7-3-2 Northwest Conference) hosts Whitman, 11 a.m.; PLU hosts Whitworth, Sunday, 11 a.m.

KEEP HOPE ALIVE: Pacific Lutheran, currently holding down fourth place in the Northwest Conference standings with 23 points, tries to keep its slim conference and playoff hopes alive when it hosts Whitman and Whitworth in weekend conference matches. The Lutes battle Whitman on Saturday and Whitworth on Sunday. Both matches get underway an hour earlier than normal – 11 a.m. in this case – because of the switch back to standard time this weekend. In matches played against these same teams earlier this season, the Lutes saw a lead slip away in a 2-1 loss to Whitworth on Sept. 30, then played to a 1-1 draw with Whitman on Oct. 1. In the Missionaries, the Lutes face a team that is in fifth place with 19 points on a 5-3-4 conference record. After starting the season with a 1-4-3 record, the Missionaries have won four matches and tied another, so they come to the Parkland campus as one of the hottest teams in the conference. PLU has got to find a way to stop Kristen Berndt, who is among the NWC’s goal scoring leaders with nine this season. Whitworth is currently tied for second in the conference standings with 28 points, one point behind leader Puget Sound, so this is a huge match for the Pirates. Whitworth is 11-2-2 overall and comes into the match on a three-match winning streak. Greta Thibodeau leads the Pirates with eight goals, and goalkeeper Leah Motz had a 0.71 goals against average while playing every minute for Whitworth.

LAST WEEK: The Lutes had their struggles last week, losing 2-0 to Puget Sound on Oct. 18 and tying George Fox, 0-0, on Sunday afternoon. The Lutes and Loggers were matched in a scoreless duel through nearly 80 minutes last Wednesday at Mount Tahoma High School when the Loggers finally broke through for the first goal. The second tally came two minutes later. Last Sunday, the Lutes peppered George Fox goalkeeper Jessica Cardwell throughout the two 10-minute overtime periods but could not get the ball into the goal. She came up big with back-to-back saves of shots by freshman midfielder Jenny McKinsey (Greenacres, Wash. / West Valley HS) and sophomore forward Christina McDuffie (Yakima, Wash. / Davis HS) in the 104th minute. The Lutes out-shot the Bruins, 22-8, but couldn’t get the one goal to win the match.

LUTE LEADERS: Jenny McKinsey continues to pace the PLU goal scorers with nine, while senior forward Jackie Oehmcke (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Gig Harbor HS) is next with four goals. PLU is getting excellent play from the defense, in particular from its two-player goalkeeping duo of junior Alyssa Blackburn (Sandy, Utah / Judge Memorial Catholic HS) and sophomore Amanda Tschauner (Yakima, Wash. / West Valley HS). Blackburn has a stingy 0.23 goals against average this season, and Tschauner isn’t far behind with a 0.79 goals against average.

- PLU -