Pacific University Women's Soccer Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC WOMEN'S SOCCER
PACIFIC VS. GEORGE FOX
Match No. 5/Home Match No. 2
Wed., Sept. 12, 7 p.m., Lincoln Park Stadium, Forest Grove, Ore.
Live Stats: www.goboxers.com/livestats
Live Video: www.goboxers.com/webcasts
PACIFIC VS. LINFIELD
Match No. 6/Road Match No. 4
Sat., Sept. 15, Noon, Linfield Soccer Field, McMinnville, Ore.
PACIFIC VS. PACIFIC LUTHERAN
Match No. 6/Road Match No. 4
Sat., Sept. 16, Noon, PLU Soccer Field, Tacoma, Wash.
Live Stats: www.golutes.com/information/livestats
SHUTOUT WEEKEND
The Pacific women's soccer team finished the weekend with two shutouts. On Saturday, the Boxers ended in a 0-0 draw against Northwest Christian. On Sunday, the Boxers collected their second victory of the season, in front of their home crowd, winning 2-0 over Oregon Tech. The Boxers received solid defensive performances, while taking advantage of offensive opportunities. Pacific open Northwest Conference play this week with George Fox on Wednesday.
BOXER BYTES
• Kayla Davidson and Brittany Hartmann combine for three shutouts in first four matches of the 2012 season.
• Kamryn Plechot continues to show she belongs in the middle of the park for the Boxers after a tough match against Northwest Christian and scoring the game-winner against Oregon Tech on Sunday.
• Newcomer Dani McMurray scored her first goal of the season as a Boxer against Oregon Tech.
• Kaeli Laxson and Linnette Jessop are a solid defensive duo that has helped the Boxers collect two shutouts over the weekend.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
GEORGE FOX
George Fox finished seventh in the Northwest Conference in 2011 with a 2-10-4 record. Andy Hetherington is in his 11th season with George Fox. The Bruins are off to a 1-1-2 start heading into NWC action. On Saturday, the Bruins played Evergreen State to a 1-1 draw. On Sunday, they collected their first victory of the season, winning 4-0 over Warner Pacific. The Bruins return
forward Melanie Gaither (Sr., Vancouver, Wash. / Skyview HS), who was accorded First Team All-NWC honors. She scored eight goals, and three assists for 19 points, tying for fourth in the league in goals and ranking fifth in points.
ALL TIME SERIES: Pacific leads 2-0 AGAINST CRABTREE: 1-1-2
LAST MEETING: Tie 1-1 at Newberg, Ore. (10/12/11)
LINFIELD
Linfield finished second in the Northwest Conference in 2011 with a 11-2-3 record. Dominic Dody is in his fourth season with Linfield. The Wildcats are off to an undefeated start, winning their first three matches. On Sunday, the Wildcats traveled to Trinity Lutheran to play an exciting match, ending in a 1-0 double overtime victory. The Wildcats return all-time leading scorer Emily Fellows, who only played in six matches last season due to an injury. She was nominated as Northwest Conference Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her performance last week against Cal Lutheran, knocking in the game-winner to beat the 16th ranked Kingsmen.
ALL TIME SERIES: Pacific leads 26-16-3 AGAINST CRABTREE: Linfield leads 0-3-1
LAST MEETING: Tie 0-0 at Linfield (11/4/11)
PACIFIC LUTHERAN
Pacific Lutheran finished eighth in the Northwest Conference in 2011 with a 3-12-1 record. The Lutes are off to a 1-0-0 start, under a new head coach, Seth Spidahl. The Lutes collected a 4-2 victory over Trinity Lutheran on Friday. Newcomer Lauren Larson scored three goals and sophomore Hannah Bush recorded three assists to lead the Lutes to victory. The Lutes return Junior Mariah Rasmussen at defender, who has started 35 of 36 matches in her career. Many freshman join the Lutes at the forward position including Larson, who had her Pacific Lutheran debut against Trinity Lutheran.
ALL TIME SERIES: PLU leads 27-13-5 AGAINST CRABTREE: Crabtree leads 4-0
LAST MEETING: Won 1-0 at Tacoma, Wash. (10/29/11)
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
SHUTOUT DUO: Pacific collected their third consecutive shutout in just four matches. On Saturday, the Boxers ended in a 0-0 draw against Northwest Christian, their second draw of the season. On Sunday, the Boxers collected their second victory of the season, shutting out Oregon Tech 2-0. Brittany Hartmann (Sr., Portland, Ore.) and Kayla Davidson (Jr., Kailua Kona, Hawaii) combine for those three shutouts. Davidson collected her first career shutout on Sept. 2 against Whittier, collecting seven saves. Hartmann recorded her first shutout of the season against Northwest Christian on Friday and collected her second on Sunday against the Hustlin' Owls, her first win of the season.
EARNING HER WAY: Kamryn Plechot (So., La Palma, Calif.) is earning her spot at the midfield position for the Boxers. After being unable to find the back of the net on Saturday, Plechot scored her first goal of the season against Oregon Tech on Sunday. In the fifth minute, Sarah Tuffey (Sr., Valencia, Calif.) fired a corner kick that hooked into the penalty area. Kailee Green (So., Hillsboro, Ore.) redirected the ball to Plechot, whose short header found the back of the net. "She has been a rock in the middle of the park and we anticipate it being that way for a long time to come," said Associate Head Coach Dane Joseph.
FRESHMAN STEPS UP: Dani McMurray (Fr., Gresham, Ore.) came off the bench to record her first goal in a Boxer uniform against Oregon Tech on Sunday. In the 28th minute, McKenna Davidson (Fr., Kailua Kona, Hawaii) crossed to an open McMurray, who fired from the middle, to the left side of the net from six yards out. McMurray has played in all four matches, starting two matches at midfield. McMurray played at Gresham High School and was selected to the Second Team All-Mt. Hood Conference in 2011. "We knew Dani would be a tremendous threat as her confidence grew," said Joseph. "She's scored some fantastic goals in practice so what you saw today was just her being her brilliant self."
HOLDING DOWN THE BACK LINE: Kaeli Laxson (Jr., Nampa, Idaho) and Linnette Jessop (So., Sparks, Nev.) continue to hold down the back line. This defensive due has been instrumental in helping the Boxers shutout their opponents. Laxson has started all four games at the defender position, while Jessop made her first career start on Sunday against Oregon Tech. Laxson has been a leader on the field, communicating to her teammates the expectations set by the coaches. Jessop had a stand-out defensive performance against Northwest Christian on Saturday. She has struggled through some injuries but has fought her way to be a strong defender.
PACIFIC PICKED FIFTH IN NWC POLL: Northwest Conference coaches have picked Pacific to place fifth according to the league's preseason poll released in August. The Boxers received 36 of a possible 80 points in the poll, beating out Whitman, Pacific Lutheran, George Fox and Lewis & Clark. Pacific finished fifth in the conference standings in 2011, after a fifth place selection in the preseason poll. Puget Sound was the favorite to win a eleventh straight conference title. The Loggers earned six first place votes and 66 points. Linfield (56 pts. ) came in second place in the poll, scoring three first place votes.
