McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Looking to avenge its 6-1 loss at Whitworth in the first half of Northwest Conference play, the Linfield men's soccer team came out firing. The Pirates still got the last laugh, however, scoring the golden goal in double overtime to top the Wildcats, 2-1, Saturday afternoon at the Linfield University Soccer and Lacrosse Complex.
 
Whitworth opened the scoring in the 36^th minute as Victor Loyola notched his second goal of the season off an assist by Ethan Kem. Loyola and Kem finished with two shots apiece. The assist was Kem's first of the season.
 
The Wildcats evened the score early in the second half. Freshman midfielder Seamus Miller scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 48^th minute on a penalty kick. He tied for the match high with four shots in 81 minutes while junior forward Connor Heintz had three. Miller leads the Northwest Conference with 3.70 shots per game.
 
The Pirates fired off four shots in the first period of overtime, but the 'Cats killed the threat to force double overtime. Eric Shaporda's first goal of the season was a huge one as he registered the golden goal in the 103^rd minute, assisted by Tycen Santos.
 
Whitworth outshot Linfield 17-16 with seven shots on goal to the 'Cats' five. The Pirates applied the pressure on corner kicks with eight. Linfield freshmen Cameron Gaines, Sid Kosaris and Keegan Brooks all finished with two shots.
 
Junior Julian Inches played the entire match in goal, making five saves. He is 0-7-1 in goal on the season with 68 saves and a 2.83 goals against average.
 
NEXT
Linfield dropped to 1-13-2 overall and 0-10-2 in Northwest Conference play with the loss. The 'Cats will host Whitman at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, which marks Senior Day.