Bearcats Kick Off Home Schedule Against Banana Slugs & Lions

By Mark Colachico, Interim Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- For the first time this season, the Willamette University mens soccer team will step onto the friendly confines of Sparks Field when the Bearcats host the University of California Santa Cruz and Multnomah University on Friday and Saturday. Both games will kick off at 7:00 p.m. (PST).

After playing their first four games of the season on the road, the Bearcats welcome the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz and first-year program Multnomah to the Capital City for this weekend's Alumni/Homecoming festivities.

Willamette is coming off a 2-1 victory over The Evergreen State College on Sunday for the Bearcats' first win of the 2014 season. Jesse Thompson (Jr., F, Santa Ynez, CA/Santa Ynez Valley Union HS) and Tyler Yates (Jr., F, Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) both scored goals for the Bearcats, as Julian Juarez (Jr., GK, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) and Braydon Calder (Jr., GK, Philomath, OR/Philomath HS) split time in goal combining for five saves.

So far this season, the Bearcats have scored three goals with Thompson, Yates, and Alan Hernandez (Fr., F, Tigard, OR/Tigard HS) accounting for Willamette's scores. Calder, Juarez, and Josh Fuentes (So., GK, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) have all logged time between the pipes with Calder and Juarez manning over 360 minutes combined. Juarez leads the Bearcat net-minders with 11 saves followed by Calder's 10.

After this weekend's Alumni/Homecoming games, Willamette opens Northwest Conference play on the road in Spokane, Washington against Whitman on September 20th and preseason favorite Whitworth on September 21st. Both games are scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. (PST) on the east side of The Evergreen State.

UC Santa Cruz comes into Friday's game with an overall record of 3-1-1 following three straight wins over California Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound, and Pacific Lutheran University. The Banana Slugs are in the midst of a seven game road trip throughout the Northwest that includes five straight against Northwest Conference opponents. In five games this season, Santa Cruz has allowed only two goals and scored four with Neal Hetzel, Zach Hummel, Brock Kobayashi, and Nassim Lemseffer tallying a goal each. In between the pipes, David Vivian has registered 12 saves in 480 minutes of action with a goals against average (GAA) of 0.38.

Multnomah, who is sponsoring intercollegiate men's soccer for the first time this season, enters Saturday's game with a win-loss record of 0-4-0. The Lions have yet to score a goal this year, while giving up a combined 47 goals against Northwest Christian University, Pacific University of Oregon, Warner Pacific College, Northwest University, and an exhibition against Corban University's reserve team. Multnomah is led by first-year Head Coach Tom Stephens, who has an impressive resume with over 150 wins at the high school level along with one state title.

Following this weekend's games and a two-game road trip, Willamette will return home on Saturday, September 27th, against Pacific Lutheran University beginning at 2:30 p.m. (PST) on Sparks Field.