Kurtis Williams – For the Review. With 2-0 and 2-1 wins Sept. 26-27, the women’s soccer team has matched its win total from its previous season. It is 3-1 in the Northwest Conference and ranked third behind perennial front runners University of Puget Sound and Whitworth University.
There will be no celebration, however. There is unfinished business to attend to.
“We’re definitely not content with where we’re at,” junior midfielder Sara Blake said. “We know we have our work cut out for us. In this conference, there are so many upsets. No game is guaranteed for anyone.”
Blake shined for the Wildcats with two assists against Pacific University on Sept. 26 and a goal against Lewis & Clark College the following day.
Two well-placed corner kicks from Blake set up senior forward MacKenzie Doty for her team-high seventh and eighth goals.
“The balls I send in are driven and have a little height to them,” Blake said. “MacKenzie got both of those headers, and she was in the perfect spot.”
The shutout against the Boxers gave junior goalkeeper Kelsey Hasselblad her first of the year.
The Wildcats found themselves in a nail-biter against Lewis & Clark on Sept. 27.
With a second-half goal against the Pioneers, Blake tied the score at 1. Doty complemented her teammate’s efforts with a 55th-minute goal to seal the victory.
Doty’s late-game heroics that weekend vaulted her to the No. 1 position in the NWC in game-winning goals.
With nine goals and two assists, Doty has 20 points on the season, which ranks second in the NWC behind UPS all-time scoring leader senior Janece Levien, who has 22 points. UPS is currently ranked No. 1 in the d3soccer.com national poll.
Hasselblad made four crucial saves as Linfield was outshot 10-8.
Blake said she discovered a position on the field she prefers. She returned to her high school position as center midfielder after playing forward last season. Tallying three goals and three assists, she appears to be comfortable in her role as the team’s leading facilitator.
Now with her third coach in as many years, Blake is appreciative of cohesion and working with a forward who has a work ethic such as Doty, who transferred to Linfield from the University of Oregon.
“She definitely brings that leadership role,” Blake said. “She’s just a hard-working player and has a lot of intensity and passion for the game.”
Next, the team travels to Spokane, Wash., for a matchup against Whitworth University on Oct. 3. It then heads to Walla Walla, Wash., to take on Whitman College on Oct. 4.