MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Linfield Wildcats suffered a 2-0 defeat against Whitworth on Sunday in a Northwest Conference matchup at the Linfield Soccer Complex. A sluggish start from the home side allowed the Pirates to capitalize with two early goals, but the Wildcats showed resilience in the second half, finishing the match on a strong note.
After the defeat, Linfield falls to 1-8 on the season and 0-5 in NWC play. Whitworth improves to 4-3-1 and 2-1-1 in conference.
Both Whitworth goals came in the first 10 minutes before the Linfield defense settled into the match. Despite failing to find the back of the net, Linfield recorded a season-high 21 shots to Whitworth's 16.
The Wildcats offense was led by
Sid Kosaris and
E.J. Sablan, tallying four shots each.
Cameron Gaines,
Reece Gaines and
Sam Haynes each finished with three shots.
Aedan Carroll,
Keegan Brooks,
Reece Gaines,
Sid Kosaris,
Evan Stafford and
Jacob Toves played all 90 minutes of Sunday's match.
Linfield's defense was anchored by freshman
Jacob Toves, who shut down the Whitworth attack after the two early goals, notching seven saves, a season high for the Wildcats.
Clayton Crockett and Beckett Arthur took responsibility for Whitworth's two goals while Cole Friesen led the Pirates in shots with five. Goalkeeper Aiden Chase kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard with five saves.
NEXT
Linfield travels to Portland on Wednesday where the 'Cats will take on Lewis & Clark at 5 p.m. and aim to secure their first NWC win of the season.
