Sept. 25, 2007

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Lutes Look for More Offense This Weekend

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran hosts Whitworth, Saturday, noon; PLU hosts Whitman, Sunday, noon.

TOUGH OPPONENTS AHEAD FOR LUTES: PLU faces off this weekend against the 8th ranked Whitworth Pirates, who are undefeated in seven matches. Whitworth is currently tied with Puget Sound atop the Northwest Conference standings with a 4-0 record. The Pirates offense has stacked up 27 goals this season, an average of 3.9 goals a game. Emily Rohde leads the Pirates with six goals this season and Kaylyn Plumb has added four, but their strength is in their balance as 10 players have already tallied at least one goal. While the Pirates have averaged almost four goals a game they have only given up five goals in eight matches. Krista Dietz has taken over from incumbent Leah Motz at goalkeeper and has compiled a 0.91 goals against average. The Lutes, coming in with a 2-5-1 overall and 1-3-0 NWC record, will need to tighten up the defense and find a way to put some more goals on the board. The Lutes have struggled with only seven goals in eight matches this season, and they continue to be without the services of freshman forward Cheryl Burris, who scored two goals before going down with a knee injury. Senior midfielder Melissa Buitrago has stepped up with two goals this season, and all eyes will be on the Lutes as they look to step up in the Saturday match.

NO REST FOR THE DETERMINED: The Lutes will get little rest as they return to their home field for a Sunday afternoon contest against the Whitman Missionaries. Whitman stands fourth in the Northwest Conference with a 2-1-1 record and it is 3-3-2 overall. The Missionaries have built their record on defense as they have allowed only six goals all season. Their offense is a perfect match for PLU, however, only scoring seven goals in their eight games. PLU will focus on stopping Corina Gabber and Kristen Berndt, who combined have scored six of Whitman’s seven season goals.

LAST WEEK: Pacific Lutheran found the going difficult last week as it dropped a pair of Northwest Conference matches. Puget Sound limited the Lutes to just two shots as the Loggers took a 3-0 conference victory on Wednesday afternoon. The Loggers, then ranked No. 4 in the NSCAA Division III national poll, remained undefeated with the win. PLU had its best scoring opportunity early in the second half when Christina McDuffie beat a UPS defender to the ball, but her first-time volley sailed over the crossbar. On Saturday, the Lutes put plenty of shots on goal but came out on the short end of a 2-1 decision to host Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. Pacific goalkeeper Sydney Vincent was forced to make a season-high 10 saves in the victory, while Amanda Tschauner made four stops in goal for the Lutes. The Boxers scored the winning goal in the 68th minute to break a 1-1 tie. The Lutes came out strong in the second half and finally broke through in the 62nd minute when Melissa Buitrago put a shot into the left corner of the net on Monica Beard's assist.

- PLU -