Bearcats tie UC-Santa Cruz 2-2 on two goals by Kim

Salem, OR - Sean Kim's second goal of the game, a penalty kick in the 82nd minute, helped lead men's soccer to a 2-2 tie with the University of California-Santa Cruz in the regular season home opener for the Bearcats.  

Kim started the scoring early for Willamette, netting his first goal of the game just 2 minutes and 56 seconds into the match.  He received a long ball down the left side from Tiago Palhetas and hit it far post past the Banana Slug's goalkeeper.

UC-Santa Cruz would tie the game just over three minutes later as Zander Crawford scored off a Bearcat turnover in their defensive end.  Willamette then found themselves trailing 2-1 after Ace Cristea scored in the 21st minute.  

Trailing 2-1 at halftime, Willamette continued to attack throughout the second half and came close to scoring in the 78th minute as Andrew Reed's shot hit off the crossbar, with the same thing happening to Sean Kim just over a minute later.  

As they kept the pressure on the Banana Slugs, the Bearcats earned the penalty kick in the 82nd minute as Simon Stein was pulled down in the box as he attempted to connect on the other end of a free kick.  Kim stepped up and calmly placed the shot in the upper left corner of the goal to tie the game 2-2.

For the game, Willamette outshot UC-Santa Cruz 16-15, led by Kim with eight and Krisna LaFrance with three. Ibrahm Garza had one save in goal for the Bearcats.

Men's Soccer returns to Sparks Field for their next match when they host Calvin University on Saturday, September 14th, at 5:00 pm.