Bearcats Pull Away from Wildcats for 4-1 Win in Men's Soccer

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Fabian Guerrero (So., F, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) scored on a rebound for Willamette University at 72:35 to break a 1-1 tie and the Bearcats went on to a 4-1 win over rival Linfield College on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Sparks Field. Seven Bearcats earned a goal or an assist during the game.

Willamette improved to 13-5-2 overall and to 10-2-2 (32 points) in the Northwest Conference. The Bearcats finished second in the NWC standings behind Whitworth University, which ended the conference schedule at 10-1-3 (33 points).

The Pirates defeated Whitman College, 3-1, on Saturday to clinch the title. If Whitworth had lost or tied the Missionaries, Willamette's win would have given the Bearcats the title.

Willamette opened the scoring in Saturday's game with an exciting offensive play. Adam Lewis (Sr., MF, Corvallis, OR/Crescent Valley HS/Pomona-Pitzer) possessed the ball on the right side of the field about 35 yard from goal. He sent a perfect pass through the defense that Andrew Woods (Sr., MF, Eugene, OR/Marist Catholic HS) received in stride.

Woods shot from 15 yards, sending the ball low and into the net near the left post at 15:09. It was Woods' first career goal for Willamette.

Lewis and Woods were two of the four seniors honored by the Bearcats prior to the game. Willamette's seniors also include Kevin Martin (Sr., D, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA/Francis Parker School) and Luke Falcone (Sr., D, Boulder, CO/Colorado Rocky Mountain School).

The Bearcats outshot Linfield 9-5 in the first half, including 6-2 in shots on goal. Linfield goalkeeper Jack O'Keefe made two saves in the first few minutes, and also earned saves against Eric Spresser (Jr., MF, Pleasant Hill, OR/Pleasant Hill HS) at 22:34 and against Alan Hernandez (Fr., F, Tigard, OR/Tigard HS) at 36:10 to keep Willamette's lead at 1-0.

Linfield tied the game with a goal by Brian DeGrandmont at 40:42. He scored on a header from five yards near the right post, placing his shot toward the left post. Chris Musser earned an assist with centering pass from the right side.

WU had a chance to retake the lead before halftime, when a foul occurred inside the Linfield penalty area at 40:56. Tyler Yates (Jr., F, Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) shot toward the right post, but O'Keefe made a diving save.

The Bearcats added 16 shots in the second half, while holding the Wildcats to five shots. Even so, the score remained 1-1 for much of the half, as O'Keefe recorded five more saves before Guerrero scored.

Two of the saves occurred just over a minute into the half, when he stopped shots by Yates at 46:01 and Julian Hanlon-Austin (So., F, Portland, OR/Grant HS) at 46:04. In addition to saves by O'Keefe, the crossbar prevented a shot by Yazan Hishmeh (Jr., F, Ventura, CA/Saint Bonaventure HS) from going into the net at 69:39.

Hishmeh shot again a bit later at 72:32. O'Keefe made a save on Hishmeh's shot, but the ball fell to Guerrero, who scored to give Willamette the lead.

Willamette extended the margin to 3-1 at 78:36 when Noah Walin (So., MF, Makawao, HI/Seabury Hall) scored on a direct free kick from 32 yards out. The ball bounced into the goal near the right post.

WU had another quality chance when Sam Adelman (Jr., D, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) sent a powerful cross into the box for Willamette at 85:41, but a header by Jesse Thompson (Jr., F, Santa Ynez, CA/Santa Ynez HS) hit the crossbar.

Thompson scored less than a minute later at 86:24 on a header from four yards into the upper right corner. Hanlon-Austin assisted on the play with a long throw-in from the right side.

The Bearcats outshot Linfield 25-10 overall and 18-3 in shots on goal. O'Keefe made several outstanding point-blank saves on his way to 14 saves during the game. WU starting goalkeeper Braydon Calder (Jr., GK, Philomath, OR/Philomath HS) registered two saves. Julian Juarez (Jr., GK, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) played the final 8:15 for the Bearcats.

Willamette has earned its most wins since the 1991 team went 13-6-2, and the 10 conference wins are the most ever by the Bearcats. WU has achieved three consecutive winning seasons, earning a combined record of 33-18-7 since the start of 2012.