SALEM, Ore. – Linfield avenged its first-round loss to Willamette with a 2-1 road win over the Bearcats Saturday afternoon at Sparks Field.
The win splits the season series between the in-state foes. The Bearcats took the first meeting of the season, winning 3-0 back on Sept. 24 in McMinnville.
Freshman defender
Bella Hanna notched her first collegiate goal in the 18
th minute. She redirected a corner kick by
Mia Curtaz, heading the ball off the right post and into the net. Curtaz was credited with her third assist of her freshman campaign, which is tied for the team lead with
Janae Lewis and
Riley Omonaka.
Nina Krassner-Cybulski tied the match at 1-all with her team-leading seventh goal of the season. She finished with two shots, both landing on goal, in just 44 minutes played.
Makenna Blix picked the perfect time to score her first goal of the season. She fired in the game-winner on a penalty kick in the 43
rd minute. It was the senior's first goal since the shortened spring 2021 season. Blix had a match-high four shots and three shots on goal.
The Wildcats tallied eight shots and six shots on goal. Six of their shots came in the first half. The home team had its chances with nine second-half shots, but the Linfield defense held on to shut out the Bearcats in the period. Each team had four corner kicks.
Along with Hanna and Blix, Lewis,
Kamahie Samudio and
Anna Dazey also recorded shots for the visiting 'Cats. Hanna,
Kathryn Pearson and
Jenna Stanley all played the full 90 minutes.
Alexa Fritz played the entire match in goal, tying her season high with nine saves to improve to 2-1-1 on the season. The freshman has 30 saves, a .857 save percentage and a 1.25 goals against average in four starts.
NEXT
Linfield moved to 4-6-5 overall and 2-5-4 in NWC play. The 'Cats will stay on the road to play at Lewis & Clark at noon on Sunday at the Pioneers' Griswold Stadium.
