Grant Lucas – Sports editor. After succumbing to Pacific University 2-0 Sept. 26, the Linfield men’s soccer team rebounded, securing a 3-1 victory against George Fox University on Sept. 27.
The Wildcats stand at 3-5-1 overall and 2-2 in Northwest Conference play.
“In the Pacific game, we were a little overconfident because of how hard we worked the previous weekend,” freshman goalie Cody Tipton said. “We felt we should have beaten [PLU] and that our effort in that game was good enough to beat Pacific if we brought it. We obviously didn’t.”
Tipton said the squad made a quick recovery, however, and got pumped up for the GFU game.
“We made sure all of our passes were crisp and our shots were on frame,” he said. “Our defense made sure to work as one and give nothing up.”
Although Linfield was outshot 23-11 by the Boxers, the Wildcats hung with Pacific for 70 minutes as the match remained scoreless.
In the 71st minute, however, junior Kizamu Tsutakawa rebounded a ball off a Linfield defender and drilled it into the net to give Pacific the outright lead.
Boxer junior Mike Iacolucci tacked on another score in the 88th minute after a cross from fellow junior Travis Birrell. Iacolucci received the ball in the penalty box, turned and scored to seal the Pacific win.
Though two goals were allowed, Wildcat junior goalkeeper Jon Thompson made eight saves in the match, while Pacific junior goalie Andrew Stevermer denied seven shots in the match.
Linfield saw scoring opportunities struck down in the first half by Stevermer. Senior Kurtis Wong had a header saved by a diving Stevermer in the sixth minute. Two minutes later, junior Colin Bebee ripped a 15-yard shot that was stopped by the shutout-determined goalie.
With major contributions from Wong and senior Travis Isaacs, the ’Cats came out strong against GFU on Sept. 27.
Linfield junior Nick Powers put the Wildcats on the board first with a goal in the 29th minute off a corner kick from Isaacs.
Wong extended the lead in the 66th minute with a penalty kick goal.
The Bruins responded soon after when a corner kick turned into a loose ball in the box. Senior Kyle Story booted it in to bring the Bruins to within a goal.
Wong answered in the 82nd minute with a goal off a cross from Isaacs, giving Wong two goals and Isaacs two assists in the contest.
Tipton, who filled in for a resting Thompson, performed well in the box, tallying six saves in the contest.
Next, Linfield will make the trek to Spokane, Wash., to face Whitworth University on Oct. 3. The team will then travel to Walla Walla, Wash., to take on Whitman College on Oct. 4.
“We’re making sure to bring our ‘A’ game to practice in preparation for this weekend’s matches,” Tipton said. “These are very good teams and the fact that we have to beat them at their place makes it harder. We’ll be working on adjusting our defense to their key offensive players.”