McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield clinched no worse than third place in the Northwest Conference with an 18-8 triumph over the Pacific Boxers 18-8 on a wet and windy Sunday at Maxwell Field.
 
The Wildcats hoped to send Genna Hughes, their lone graduating senior, away with a victory in her final home match. As it was, Hughes played a pivotal role in the Wildcats victory, scoring four goals.
 
How it played out
Hughes wasted little time getting Linfield on the scoreboard, taking a feed from Nathaly Sanchez and beating Boxers goalkeeper Ariel Watanabe at 28:04 of the first half. Sanchez then set up Maya Peterson for her first goal of the afternoon 43 seconds later to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Alex Jensen followed that up with her first goal at the 25:45 mark to put the 'Cats up 3-0.
 
Pacific mounted a short comeback after a timeout to cut the margin to 3-2 as Roya Tahmassebi scored twice for the Boxers.
 
Pacific started the match with only 11 available players. Then with just under the 11 minutes to play in the first half, Watanabe went down with a reoccurring injury and could not continue. Pacific finished the half with no one in goal and Linfield capitalized, outscoring its opponent 5-1. The half ended with the 'Cats leading 11-3.
 
Wildcats interim coach Brittany Hartmann said she was impressed with Pacific's resilience in light of the difficult circumstances "The Boxers battled with a lot of heart and never quit even when their bodies said otherwise," she said. "Our team kept it classy and played with utmost sportsmanship today."
 
Playing with a two-woman advantage throughout the second half, Linfield went to a more controlled game. Abby Tescher switched to goalkeeping duties while Epi Roldan-Rayo replaced Wildcats starting goalie Kylee Duey for the second half for the Wildcats.
 
Stat check
Earning the win, Duey made three saves, facing seven shots. Roldan-Rayo faced nine shots, gave up five goals and was credited with three saves. Watanabe was tagged with the loss. Pacific faced 32 shots, making six saves.
 
Hughes and Sanchez both ended up with four goals and two assists to lead the 'Cats on offense. Alex Jensen picked up three goals and two assists. Maya Peterson added three markers of her own.
 
Shawqueea Parker, Gabriella Moe, Molly Herrera and Jenna Hessel all contributed single tallies and Madison Hicks made one assist. Leading scorer for the Boxers was Tahmassebi with 4 goals.
 
Summing it up
Hartmann had nothing but praise for her lone senior. "Hats off to Genna for an incredible season and three years with our program. We did our senior proud."
 
The Wildcats are 6-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Boxers remain winless this spring, falling to 0-9 and 0-6 in conference action.
 
Next
Linfield plays its final home match of the season on Saturday with a conference match against Whitman. The Blues sit in second place in the NWC standings. The match begins a 1 p.m. at Maxwell Field.