NEWBERG, Ore. --- An exciting weekend of soccer concluded Sunday with a narrow defeat as the Willamette Bearcats broke a 3-3 tie in the final five minutes to escape with a 4-3 win over the George Fox Bruins.
How It Happened
After a thrilling sudden death win in overtime the previous day at Linfield, the Bruins appeared headed for extra time again when junior defender Trevor Putnam headed in an Alan Rincón corner kick to level the match at 3-3 in the 86th minute.
An aggressive attacking team, Willamette wasted little time in breaking the deadlock. Ryan Sato sent a long ball toward goal from the left sideline from about 40 yards out. With players on the ground in front of the near post including George Fox goalkeeper Alex Muir, Jett Starr emerged from the rubble to tap the ball over the goal line for the deciding score with three minutes to go.
George Fox mustered a final attack in the waning seconds, putting the ball into the Willamette penalty box, but time expired before the Bruins could get a final shot at an equalizer.
While Willamette had a strong edge in possession and quality attacks (19-9 shot advantage), the opportunistic Bruins countered each early score to stay in contact. Down 1-0 in the first half, Jackson Keller spotted Joshua Chang in space at the top left of the box. Chang buried a strong strike back toward the right of goal to even the match at 1-1.
By halftime, Willamette had regained the lead, thanks to talented sophomore forward Sean Kim. The 2-1 advantage held until the 61st minute, when Keller pounced on a slow spinning clearance, beating a Willamette player to the ball on the right side of the attacking half. Taken down on a foul from behind less than a yard outside the penalty box, the Bruins capitalized on the close-range free kick. Rincon blasted a left-footed shot inside the left post to pull the Bruins even again.
Willamette began an action-packed final 15 minutes with a cross from the right side. Max Berner-Hays flicked a header across the goal mouth to the left post where Max Brown put on the finishing touch with his head, before the exchange of goals in the final four minutes led to the final result.
Top Performers
Rincon proved his high value on set-pieces, accounting for a pair of goals on a free kick and a corner. In addition to Keller's assist, his astute read and aggressive break on a free ball led to Rincon's close-range free kick goal. Muir surrendered four goals, but also had five saves, including a couple of fantastic plays off his line in the first half that snuffed out at least one if not two goals.
Coach's Thoughts
"They are a handful," said head coach Paul Karver about the Bearcats, who he predicts will finish in the top three in the NWC standings. "We knew we would have to play on the counter and that we would have to get set pieces. We did a good job of absorbing their pressure. A lot of heart and a lot of grit out of these guys."
What It Means
The Bruins slipped to 1-3 in conference play and 3-5 overall.
What's Next
It's the eastern Washington "Whit Trip" next weekend as the Bruins face the Whitman Blues on Saturday in Walla Walla, then on to Spokane to take on the Whitworth Pirates on Sunday.
How It Happened
After a thrilling sudden death win in overtime the previous day at Linfield, the Bruins appeared headed for extra time again when junior defender Trevor Putnam headed in an Alan Rincón corner kick to level the match at 3-3 in the 86th minute.
An aggressive attacking team, Willamette wasted little time in breaking the deadlock. Ryan Sato sent a long ball toward goal from the left sideline from about 40 yards out. With players on the ground in front of the near post including George Fox goalkeeper Alex Muir, Jett Starr emerged from the rubble to tap the ball over the goal line for the deciding score with three minutes to go.
George Fox mustered a final attack in the waning seconds, putting the ball into the Willamette penalty box, but time expired before the Bruins could get a final shot at an equalizer.
While Willamette had a strong edge in possession and quality attacks (19-9 shot advantage), the opportunistic Bruins countered each early score to stay in contact. Down 1-0 in the first half, Jackson Keller spotted Joshua Chang in space at the top left of the box. Chang buried a strong strike back toward the right of goal to even the match at 1-1.
By halftime, Willamette had regained the lead, thanks to talented sophomore forward Sean Kim. The 2-1 advantage held until the 61st minute, when Keller pounced on a slow spinning clearance, beating a Willamette player to the ball on the right side of the attacking half. Taken down on a foul from behind less than a yard outside the penalty box, the Bruins capitalized on the close-range free kick. Rincon blasted a left-footed shot inside the left post to pull the Bruins even again.
Willamette began an action-packed final 15 minutes with a cross from the right side. Max Berner-Hays flicked a header across the goal mouth to the left post where Max Brown put on the finishing touch with his head, before the exchange of goals in the final four minutes led to the final result.
Top Performers
Rincon proved his high value on set-pieces, accounting for a pair of goals on a free kick and a corner. In addition to Keller's assist, his astute read and aggressive break on a free ball led to Rincon's close-range free kick goal. Muir surrendered four goals, but also had five saves, including a couple of fantastic plays off his line in the first half that snuffed out at least one if not two goals.
Coach's Thoughts
"They are a handful," said head coach Paul Karver about the Bearcats, who he predicts will finish in the top three in the NWC standings. "We knew we would have to play on the counter and that we would have to get set pieces. We did a good job of absorbing their pressure. A lot of heart and a lot of grit out of these guys."
What It Means
The Bruins slipped to 1-3 in conference play and 3-5 overall.
What's Next
It's the eastern Washington "Whit Trip" next weekend as the Bruins face the Whitman Blues on Saturday in Walla Walla, then on to Spokane to take on the Whitworth Pirates on Sunday.
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