MCMINNVILLE, Ore. --- Men's soccer (0-8-1, 0-4-1 NWC) capped off their three-match home stand late on Tuesday night, earning a 1-1 draw with the Willamette Bearcats (1-5-5, 1-2-4 NWC). The Wildcat's notched their first point of the Northwest Conference season, thanks to a goal mid-way through the second half from
Ross Vargo.
Willamette struck quickly, taking advantage of an opening in the third minute, narrowly getting over the hand of goalkeeper
Jacob Toves.
From there, Linfield's back line settled in, with defenders
Aedan Carroll,
Blake Tasci, and
Anderson Kelly holding the Bearcats to just one shot over the final 27-minutes.
Evan Stafford nearly equalized in the 35th minute with a shot low to the corner, for the Wildcats first shot attempt of the game.
Trailing 1-0 at the break, Linfield's offense began to control the possession, helping find he breakthrough in the 66th minute.
Caleb Ishizaka played a ball into the box that found
Ross Vargo, who calmly finished the header to the far post for his first goal of the season, and the Wildcat's equalizer.
From that moment, the momentum and energy shifted, Linfield controlled stretches of play, tallying six second-half corner kicks and eight shots. Toves made two critical saves down the stretch to preserve the draw, denying Willamette in the 70th and 85th minutes.
Vargo and Stafford were responsible for the two Wildcat shots on-goal, with Vargo's coming as the team's first goal in a three-match stretch.
Don Moss took a-third of Linfield's nine total shots in the match. With the draw, men's soccer earned their first point of conference play, looking to roll the momentum into a difficult weekend road trip.
Linfield hits the road, travelling to Tacoma, Washington, for a two-game set with two teams near the top of the NWC standings in Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran this weekend.
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