McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield applied pressure on the Willamette defense, but the Bearcats left with a 3-0 win over the Wildcats Saturday afternoon at the Linfield Soccer and Lacrosse Complex.
Linfield held the advantage in corner kicks (10-1) and matched Willamette's shots on goal with four of their own. The Bearcats outshot the Wildcats 13-11 and picked up 14 fouls.
The Wildcats handled the Bearcats in the first half, firing off six corner kicks and forcing the goalkeeper to make a pair of saves.
Willamette flipped the script in the second half. Jackie Gilroy broke the silence with a goal off a free kick just outside the box in the 57
th minute. Erin Denney notched her first goal of the season in the 71
st while Nina Krassner-Cybulski scored her fifth goal of the year in the 83
rd. All three goals were unassisted.
Linfield had some good looks but couldn't connect with the back of the net.
Anna Dazey and
Janae Lewis led the team with three shots apiece. Lewis also had a shot on goal.
Ruby Lacktrup added two shots, one on goal, in 77 minutes played.
Sidra Griffin played the full 90 minutes in the midfield while
Bella Hanna logged 85 minutes to help anchor the Wildcat backline.
Laney Green saw 78 minutes of action, contributing a shot.
Rachel Compton made four saves for the Bearcats to improve to 4-1-0 in goal.
Emilee Miller played the entire match in goal, making one save to bring her season total to 25.
NEXT
The Wildcats (2-4-1, 0-3-0 NWC) look to break a three-match skid on Sunday, hosting Lewis & Clark (2-3-1, 2-1-0 NWC) at noon.
Linfield Athletics will be giving away free Dutch Bros Catzone Crew T-shirts to the first 75 Linfield students who attend Sunday's soccer doubleheader. Students are encouraged to wear the shirts during the matches and cheer on the Wildcats.