Bearcats Begin Five-Game Road Trip Against Rival Linfield

By Mark Colachico, Interim Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- After playing four straight games at home, the Willamette University mens soccer team will begin a five-game road trip to close out the month of October on Saturday, Oct. 11, against Northwest Conference rival Linfield College. Kick off is set for 2:30 p.m. (PDT) in McMinnville.

Last weekend, the Bearcats pushed their unbeaten streak to four games with a 1-1 tie against Pacific University and a 4-1 victory over George Fox University.

Willamette opened the weekend on Saturday against the Boxers of Pacific battling to a 1-1 draw in double overtime, as Julian Hanlon-Austin (So., F, Portland, OR/Grant HS) scored the game's opening goal at 21:02.

Hanlon-Austin's second goal of the season came unassisted as he drove down the right wing and beat a defender before unleashing a 10-yard shot into the upper right corner of the net. Seventy-two seconds later, Pacific tied the game at 1-1 on a goal by Mark Watson, Jr. on an assist by Weli Alamillo at 22:14. Neither team would score over the remaining 67 minutes of regulation forcing overtime.

In the first extra period, Yazan Hishmeh (Jr., F, Ventura, CA/Saint Bonaventure HS) had a golden opportunity to end the game when his header at 96:59 hit the post and was cleared away by a Boxer defender seconds before a diving Luke Falcone (Sr., D, Boulder, CO/Colorado Rocky Mountain School) could redirect it into the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, Hishmeh was awarded a penalty kick at 98:52 only to miss the goal wide left to keep the game tied.

In the second overtime period, Pacific nearly ended the game when the Boxers scored what looked to be the game-winner only to have an attacking player be called for offsides keeping the game tied until the final whistle.

Braydon Calder (Jr., GK, Philomath, OR/Philomath HS) registered six saves for Willamette, as Hishmeh unleashed a game-high six shots for the Bearcats.

On Sunday, Willamette rebounded from its first tie of the season with a 4-1 victory over George Fox behind Hishmeh's second hat trick of the season. Alan Hernandez (Fr., F, Tigard, OR/Tigard HS) add the Bearcats' other score netting his third goal of the season, while Noah Walin (So., MF, Makawao, HI/Seabury Hall), Jack Elton (So., D, Corte Madera, CA/Redwood HS), and Adam Lewis (Sr., MF, Corvallis, OR/Crescent Valley HS/Pomona-Pitzer) registered assists for Willamette.

Julian Juarez (Jr., GK, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) registered his second win of the season in goal for the Bearcats despite not making a save in the game on eight Bruin shots.

So far this season, Hishmeh, who was named NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, leads the team in both goals (10) and points (21). Among the Northwest Conference leaders, Hishmeh is tied for first in goals and ranks second in points. Hernandez and Jesse Thompson (Jr., F, Santa Ynez, CA/Santa Ynez HS) rank second on the team with three goals each, while Tyler Yates (Jr., F, Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) has handed out a team-high five assists so far this season for the Bearcats.

All four goalkeepers have seen at least 17 minutes in net this year for Willamette, as Calder has logged the most with just over 794 minutes between the pipes to go along with 43 saves and a GAA of 1.13. Among the NWC leaders, Calder ranks third in saves and fourth in goals against average (GAA).

Linfield comes into Saturday's game having dropped three of its last four contests resulting in an overall record of 4-5-1 and 2-3-1 in NWC games. The Wildcats have allowed 12 goals so far this season in conference play, which is tied for second-most along with Pacific University.

Moi Diaz leads Linfield with five goals, while being tied for the team lead along with Brian DeGrandmont at 10 points each. DeGrandmont leads the Wildcats in assists with four to go along with three goals that is tied for second with Dylan Leathers. Grant Loriaux leads Linfield goalkeepers in minutes played at just over 660, while registering a team-high 29 saves to go along with a GAA of 1.64.