College Scoreboard: Lutes, Pirates, Geoducks, Loggers remain unbeaten in league play

Lutes Earn Third Consecutive Clean Sheet in Win at Linfield

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran travelled to Linfield College Saturday yet to concede a goal to conference competition and left with that designation intact with a 3-0 win.

The Lutes peppered the Wildcat net, launching 24 attempts at goal over the course of the afternoon. Those efforts didn’t pay off until the 26th minute, when a Derek Johnson cross across the penalty area was poked down by Jeff Piaquadio to the feet of Brenden Cohen, who slotted his third goal of the season past Linfield keeper Scott Goodman.

It only took 3:11 after getting off the mark for Piaquadio to score one of his own, floating unmarked to the far post before heading a Shane Gutierrez cross into the back of the net. The goal was the junior center back’s first-ever in a PLU uniform. By his own admission, the feat came as a surprise. “Am I onside? Did this actually count? And it did, just like that,” said Piaquadio.

The second half saw the Lutes continue their dominance, with Linfield failing to register a single shot. In the 86th minute, freshman Sean Rigney put the game beyond doubt, netting his first goal of the year off a through ball from Derek Johnson. Second-half ‘keeper Grant Loriaux came off his line to meet Rigney whose composed finish found the top pocket of the Wildcat goal.

Joe Rayburn registered three saves in his third clean sheet of the season and the Lutes’ defense did not concede any corners in the match.

Despite the one-sided statistics, head coach John Yorke expressed mixed feelings about his team’s performance: “[In the first half] I didn’t think we were very precise. I thought we were a little bit causal, a bit sloppy in our touches. Second half I thought we were a lot better. That was a little more how we wanted to be.”

With Piaquadio and Rigney making their debuts on the score sheet, the Lutes now have seven different goal scorers through nine games. “It’s a different guy each game. I’m happy with the way we’re finding goals. That’s what we need to do to win games,” said Yorke.

PLU improved to 4-3-1 overall and 3-0 (9 pts.) in the Northwest Conference, even with Whitworth and Puget Sound at the top of the table. Sunday, September 23rd, the Lutes complete their first conference road trip of the season at Willamette. The match will kick off at 2:30 pm with a live broadcast on www.GoLutes.com.

Ubben’s Goal Lifts 11th-ranked Pirates at GFU

NEWBERG, Ore. – Robbie Ubben’s first half goal was just enough for visiting Whitworth to remain unbeaten and George Fox to remain winless in a Northwest Conference men’s soccer match on Saturday afternoon.

The 11th-ranked Pirates improved to 6-0-1 overall and 3-0 in the NWC, while the Bruins fell to 0-7-1, 0-3.

Ubben finished a corner kick by Anders Nostdahl in the 31st minute. It was Ubben’s second goal of the season and also his second match-winning tally of the year.

The Pirate defense remained rock-solid, posting its sixth shutout in seven matches this season. Whitworth has allowed only a single goal in 2012.

Kyle Novak posted his sixth shutout of the year by making three saves for the Bucs. Elliott Davis also made three stops for George Fox in goal.

Whitworth finished with a 15-9 advantage in shots, but only a small 4-3 edge in shots on-goal.

The Pirates will conclude their trip to Oregon with a match at Pacific University on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

Geoducks Take Fourth Straight With 2-1 Win at Warner Pacific

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Playing on the road for the first time in 2012, the Evergreen Geoducks found a way to win for the fourth straight match, defeating the Warner Pacific Knights, 2-1, in a Cascade Conference men’s soccer match on Saturday at David Douglas High School in Portland, Ore.

The Geoducks (4-3-0, 4-0-0 CCC) fell behind almost immediately as the Knights (3-5-0, 2-2-0 CCC) scored a second minute goal following the corner kick by Almir Celebic that was put in from point blank by Alberto Casas.

Evergreen evened things up in the 27th minute as freshman phenom Willie Spurr (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt HS) did it yet again, scoring his sixth goal of the year on the assist by Joseph Ademofe (Ifon, Nigeria/Shoreline CC) to even things up at 1-1.

With just two minutes left in the first half, the Geoducks took their first lead of the match following a bit of miscommunication by the Knights as a WPC defender attempted to pass the ball back to the keeper but instead put the ball into the net for an own goal.

Both teams had opportunities in the second half as the teams combined for seven shots on goal in the second half but neither would score again as Evergreen moved to 4-0 in conference play for the first time since joining the Cascade Conference.

Collin Harlow (Kirkland, Wash./Shoreline CC) won his fourth straight match as well, making five saves to finish a strong week in goal.

First place will be on the line on Tuesday when Evergreen heads back down to Portland to face off against Concordia (Ore.) beginning at 6 p.m. at Hilken Community Stadium.

White, Zisette Strike In 2-0 Win At Willamette

SALEM, Ore. – Andrew White and Sam Zisette each netted goals in the second half to lift the Puget Sound men’s soccer team to a 2-0 win over Willamette on Saturday. With the win, the Loggers (6-1-1, 3-0 NWC) stayed perfect in the Northwest Conference and ran their winning streak to six.

In the 50th minute, Sean Ryan’s throw in was flicked to the far post by Colin McIntosh where Andrew White headed it into the goal in the lower left corner for a 1-0 Logger lead.

Just four minutes later, Sam Zisette scored unassisted for an insurance goal for the Loggers and they held on for their second consecutive shutout victory.

Chris McDonald made a pair of saves with both coming in the second half. Willamette’s keeper, Brayden Calder made five saves in the match. The Loggers held a 10-7 shot advantage and put seven of their 10 shots on frame.

The Loggers head to Linfield Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. match.

Loggers D Air-Tight In 1-0 Win Over Linfield

TACOMA, Wash. – The Puget Sound women’s soccer team posted their second consecutive shutout in a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon at East Field as they hosted the 25th ranked Linfield Wildcats. Linfield came into the match with a perfect record of 6-0-0 (2-0-0 NWC). The Loggers improved to 3-2-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the Northwest Conference.

The Logger defense was the real story of the afternoon as the Wildcats had trouble finding any space to maneuver in their attacking third of the field, only managing four shots, none of which were a threat to goalkeeper Kara Merfeld’s net. Even the lone Logger goal of the day came from the defense in the form of a Lauren Swanson put back off a rebound from a Kylie Beeson corner kick, her first of the season.

Merfeld has yet to allow a goal on the season in three appearances, extending her scoreless streak to 200 minutes. Puget Sound now sits alone in second place in the Northwest Conference with the victory, leap-frogging previously unbeaten Linfield in the process.

The Loggers travel the next two weekends before returning home to host Lewis & Clark College on Saturday, October 6 at East Field. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.

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