NEWBERG, Ore. – Chad Kearns, the 2010 Northwest Conference Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, kicked in two goals and assisted on another as the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes defeated the George Fox University Bruins 3-0 Sunday afternoon here at the Austin Sports Complex to earn a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

PLU improved to 15-2 overall, a new school record for wins, and 12-1 in the conference, maintaining a one-game lead over second-place Whitworth University, which defeated Willamette University 6-1 Sunday.  With only one game left for each team, the best Whitworth can do is tie for first, but the Lutes, who have won 11 straight games, swept the Pirates in their two-game season series and thus have the tiebreaker.  George Fox dropped to 2-15-1 overall and 0-12-1 in the league.

PLU got on the board at 25:13 in the opening period as Kearns initiated a scoring play from midfield, sending a ball to the right sideline for Surafel Wodajo, who raced with it across the top of the box and rocketed a shot from 20 yards away into the lower right corner for his third goal of the season.  It was the Lutes' only score of the half, despite a 15-2 advantage in shot attempts.

The last-place Bruins gamely kept the first-place Lutes within sight until the 61st minute in the second half.  Giancarlo Santoro placed a cross from the left side perfectly into the box for Kearns, who sent the ball into the right corner from five yards away at 61:31 to make it 2-0.

Kearns added his second score and 13th goal of the season only 31 seconds later.  Bruin keeper Elliott Davis had a free kick to clear the ball but mishit it to Kearns, who settled the ball quickly, beat a pair of Bruin defenders, and scored one-on-one against Davis to the left corner, effectively sealing the conference title ( or at least a share of it) for the Lutes.

PLU held a decided 25-11 advantage in shots, 13-6 in shots on goal, and 11-5 in corner kicks.  Joe Rayburn had six saves in posting the shutout for the Lutes, while Davis had nine saves in 82 minutes for the Bruins.  Jacob Baker had one save in five-and-a-half minutes of substitute relief in the GFU net, and Arlo Powell got no save opportunities in the final two-and-a-half minutes.

It was the final home game for George Fox seniors Sean Daughtry and Josh Couch.  Daughtry, who played everywhere from the back line to the front line in his five years (2010 was a medical hardship season), missed the last several games this fall due to injury and was not at the game, while Couch, a stalwart defender for the Bruins for four years, was recognized in pre-game ceremonies on the field.

NEXT: George Fox goes to Pacific University and Pacific Lutheran hosts the cross-town rival University of Puget Sound Saturday to close out the regular season, both games starting at 2:30 p.m.