Bearcats Earn Forfeit Victory Over Carthage

By Mark Colachico, Interim Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- Following a decision by the NCAA, Willamette University was awarded a victory via forfeit over Carthage College (Wisc.) due to the Red Men using an ineligible player in its first two contests of the season.

Originally, the Bearcats were defeated by Carthage, 2-0, but Wednesday's decision reversed the final outcome giving Willamette a 1-0 victory that evened its win-loss record at 2-2-0.

According to a statement by Carthage, "It was determined that the student-athlete had received a red card in his final game at the previous institution, forcing him to sit out the first game of Carthage's 2014 season."

Carthage's Athletic Director did not read an email from the previous institution until after the game against Willamette and then self-reported the violation to both the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin and NCAA causing the decision to be made.

All statistics from the game are still official, while the scored will go down in the books as a 1-0 victory for the Bearcats.

Willamette returns to the pitch tomorrow - Friday, September 12th - for their home opener against the University of California-Santa Cruz beginning at 7 p.m. PST on Sparks Field. The Bearcats will conclude a soccer double header that kicks off the Alumni/Homecoming athletic contests for the weekend.