MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield hosted NWC leader Pacific Lutheran Saturday afternoon at the Linfield Soccer complex in an exciting match where the Wildcats' comeback bid fell short 3-1.
Linfield came out aggressive from kickoff, tallying a shot just 15 seconds into Saturday's competition. But the Lutes were able to wear down the Linfield defense with their first goal coming in the 10th minute off the foot of Christian Pineda.
Pacific Lutheran took the 1-0 lead into halftime and began the second half eager to add to the scoreboard. Trevor Thompson took the match over in the second half, with goals in the 46
th and 82
nd minutes to put the match away after a
Sid Kosaris goal brought the match within one for the Wildcats.
Kosaris was one of three Wildcats who finished the match with three shots,
Reece Gaines and
Oli Gaines being the other two. As a team, Linfield totaled 16 shots, with six of them ending up on target. The 'Cats were able to move the ball around effectively but were unable to keep up with the lethal Lutes attack.
Pacific Lutheran was led by Thompson who finished with 10 shots to go along with his two goals. Owen Bliskis and Craig Johnson chipped in three shots while Pineda added two of Pacific Lutheran's 25 shots.
Both goalkeepers impressed on Saturday with
Jacob Toves anchoring the Wildcats' defense as he stood tall in the goal, knocking a career-high 11 shots off target. For the Lutes, Nicholas Gaston took goalkeeping responsibilities and finished with five saves and one goal allowed.
Aside from Toves,
Radule Bozovic and
Blake Tasci played all 90 minutes for the Wildcats.
NEXT
Linfield continues NWC and looks to get back in the win column at the Linfield Soccer Complex on Sunday against Puget Sound at 2:45 p.m.
