Lutes Open Season on Tuesday

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran hosts the Northwest University Eagles in its season opener at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1.

SEASON OPENER ON TUESDAY: The 2009 Lutes open their season with a non-conference match against the Northwest University Eagles from Kirkland. Northwest is a member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, which is predominantly made up of NAIA schools from Oregon. Northwest women's soccer is in its fourth year as an intercollegiate program and enjoyed its finest season in 2008 with an 8-5-2 overall record. The Eagles finished conference play with a 7-3 record, good for fourth place and a first-ever trip to the postseason tournament.

LUTES HIT THE ROAD: Following their Tuesday opener, the Lutes will fly to Southern California for a pair of non-conference matches against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Chapman. The Lutes take on the CMS Sagehens at 4 p.m. on Friday in Claremont, then come back less than 24 hours later to battle the Chapman Panthers at 11 a.m. in Orange. The games are part of the BAS Classic.

ABOUT THE LUTES: The 2009 Lutes are a relatively young team with only two seniors, defender Meredith Newby and forward Monica Beard. Both will play key roles for PLU in terms of their physical talent and their experience. Newby has held down a starting outside back spot for the last two seasons. She will be joined on the back line by sophomore Jordan Daniels, who earned honorable mention all-conference honors last year. Beard has scored five goals over the past two years and will spearhead the attack up top. PLU should be pretty solid in the middle of the field with junior Courtney Walker and sophomore Karli Hurlbut. As a freshman, Walker was a full-time starter as a defender, and last year she started in the midfield before a high ankle sprain forced her to miss five matches. Hurlbut was among the Lutes' top offensive threats as an outside midfielder in 2008, notching three goals and one assist. Other top returning players on the front line include senior Karin Hatch, who tallied two goals and two assists in 2008, and junior Brittney Bronson, who has scored four goals in her initial two seasons. The PLU coaching staff will depend on a pair of sophomores, Olivia Lee and Kristina Snaring, to play utility roles. "They can play in any line and do an effective job," said PLU head coach Lynnette Buffington. Among the top newcomers are midfielders Mimi Granlund and Erica Boyle, both of whom could see significant playing time this season. Sophomore Lauren Chambard will start the season in goal for the Lutes after "making enormous strides in training over the summer," said Buffington. She is being pushed hard by sophomore transfer Ivory Harvey.

YOUTH WILL BE SERVED: Because of the team's youth, the coaching staff has depended a great deal on the veteran leaders to help the younger players in their adjustment to the PLU program and the college game. "There has been an active learning environment in practice," said coach Buffington. "As coaches we've explained why we play a certain way, and the veterans have been providing help to the younger players."

WHAT TO EXPECT: "We have pretty standard expectations - always doing better, improving in different categories such as placement in the conference, shots on goal, anything that shows improvement," said Buffington.

- PLU -