Oct. 16, 2007

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Lutes Face No. 4 and Unbeaten Puget Sound

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran at Puget Sound, Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.; PLU hosts Pacific, Sunday, noon.

NO. 4 ON THE ROAD: The No. 4-ranked team in the country is next for Pacific Lutheran as the Lutes travel across town on Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. Northwest Conference match against Puget Sound. The match will be played at East Field, next to Memorial Fieldhouse, instead of Baker Stadium. The Loggers, who have won five consecutive conference championships, are unbeaten (14-0-0 overall, 10-0-0 NWC) this season and, not surprisingly, have dominated their opponents from a statistical standpoint. The Loggers have scored 42 goals while allowing only six, and they have taken 341 shots while giving their opponents only 93 attempts. Janece Levien is the scoring leader with 13 goals and one assist for 27 points, but make no mistake that 2006 NWC Player of the Year Adrienne Folsom is the key player up front with eight goals and seven assists. Midfielder Fiona Gornick is not to be overlooked, not only because she has compiled seven goals and four assists, but because she runs things in the middle of the park. Goalkeeper Kallie Wolfer has a stingy 0.44 goals against average and has a very good defensive back line in front of her. In their first meeting on Sept. 19, UPS defeated the host Lutes, 3-0.

Amanda Crawford

FINAL HOME MATCH: Pacific Lutheran finishes the home portion of its 2007 schedule this Sunday when it hosts the Pacific Boxers at noon. The Boxers won the first match between the two by a 2-1 count on Sept. 22. Following this match, the Lutes will play their final four contests on the road, including matches at Whitman, Whitworth, Linfield and Willamette.

LUTES BREAK OUT OFFENSIVELY: Pacific Lutheran scored nearly one-third of its season goal total – and all in the first half – as the Lutes defeated visiting Lewis & Clark, 4-2, in a conference match played last Saturday at PLU. Going into the match, the Lutes had managed just nine goals in 12 matches, but they had no trouble scoring in this contest. Amanda Crawford got the Lutes off to a great start with a header about one minute into the match, and Lauren Meyer made it 2-0 in the third minute with a looping left-footed shot. Both goals were season firsts for the PLU players. Christina McDuffie scored her second goal of the season for the Lutes when she headed home Crawford’s cross in the 19th minute. After Lewis & Clark got one back on Sarah Kieffer’s first goal of the season about a minute later, the Lutes responded about one minute after that when Brittney Bronson scored her second of the campaign following a goal mouth scramble. Kieffer got the game’s final goal in the 70th minute, again on a goal mouth scramble. The Lutes took 13 shots in the match to seven for the visiting Pioneers. Amanda Tschauner and Kamryn Morgan had identical stats – one goal allowed, two saves - while each playing 45 minutes in goal for the Lutes.

Melissa Buitrago

ANOTHER TOUGH LOSS FOR LUTES: Pacific Lutheran has had a handful of tough luck losses and ties this season when opponents scored late goals. That was the case last Sunday when Carol Christiansen, broken wrist and all, scored her first goal of the season with 22 seconds left, lifting the George Fox Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Lutes in Newberg, Ore. The Lutes scored the only goal of the first half on Melissa Buitrago’s shot at the 11:27 mark. It was her fourth goal of the year. Molly Schaefer scored back-to-back goals, her second and third of the season, to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Her first came at 51:08 on a pass from Amber Stevens, and her second came at 65:27 with an assist from Jenny McKinsey. The Lutes tied the game again with just over 10 minutes left. Monica Beard lofted a high ball into the middle of the penalty area where keeper Jessica Cardwell punched the ball out toward the right side of the box. Jill Trumbull was there to corral the loose ball for the Lutes, and she reversed it just inside the far post for her first goal of the season and a 2-2 tie. The game was decided in the final 30 seconds when Stevens, following a PLU foul, sent the ball from the left sideline into the center of the box. After a brief scrum as players tried to come up with the loose ball, Christiansen gained possession and threaded a shot.

LUTES BY THE NUMBERS: As a team, the Lutes have scored 15 goals in their 14 matches, led by Melissa Buitrago with four goals. PLU has allowed 23 goals and keeper Amanda Tschauner has a respectable 1.57 goals against average.

- PLU -