Kurtis Williams – For the Review. The women’s soccer team faced its biggest challenge so far this year when its lone goalkeeper, junior Kelsey Hasselblad, was ejected during a match against Pacific Lutheran University.
Only 20 minutes into the 7-2 loss, Hasselblad was fouled by an opposing forward. Frustrated, Hasselblad spit to the side as the player left the scene.
After the referee spoke to the opposing player about the foul, the official showed Hasselblad a red card for spitting, one of seven actions deemed worthy of ejection.
“[The referee] wouldn’t even say anything,” Hasselblad said. “All he said was, ‘She knows what she did.’”
To make matters worse, Hasselblad is the only goalkeeper on the Linfield roster and the only one to hold the position in the past two years.
Five-foot tall junior defender Lian Yuen, who played four minutes as goalie in a game against Whitman College earlier this year, was then thrown into the net.
The Lutes were also awarded a penalty kick, Yuen’s first piece of action. PLU sophomore Olivia Lee took the shot and scored.
“There was a [penalty shot] right as I got back there,” Yuen said. “I tried to save it, and it went off my fingertips. It was kind of a good confidence builder that I [even] got a hand on the ball.”
Despite the team being down a player, senior forward Rachel Miles later tied the game, and the teams went into halftime all squared at 1-1.
“To be honest, playing with 10, we dominated the game for about 40 more minutes,” head coach Dominic Doty said. “We had a good hold of the game for the last 20 [minutes] after [Hasselblad] got the red card and the first 20 [minutes] of the second half.”
The first part of the second half saw the Wildcats outshoot the Lutes 7-1, and the Lutes received a red card of their own.
“We had at least five quality chances to score,” Doty said. “If we get a goal with one of those five chances, or even two, the game completely changes.”
Despite a goal from Linfield’s leading scorer, senior MacKenzie Doty, the last 20 minutes of the game didn’t go the ’Cats’ way. The team allowed six goals on eight shots, giving PLU its third conference win of the season.
“They poked one in first, and, after the first one, the flood gates kind of opened a little bit,” Dominic Doty said.
Because of NCAA rules, Hasselblad is forced to sit out for the Oct. 31 rematch against Whitman. Despite an ongoing appeals process, Hasselblad said she does not expect a decision to be made before the game.
“[Dominic Doty] said it’s going to be hard to get anything sorted out in time for Saturday’s game,” Hasselblad said. “[Dominic Doty] is waiting for the tape to see if he can protest it. But even from the tape, if it’s not extremely clear that I didn’t spit anywhere near her, it’s just [the referee’s] word against mine.”
Yuen, however, will not see anymore action as goalie. Two goalkeepers are practicing with the team and preparing for the coming home match.
“It’ll be someone other than Lian. Who? I don’t know yet,” Dominic Doty said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be one of the girls currently on the roster or if we’re going to add a girl.”
Hasselblad’s suspension will be lifted in time for the Nov. 1 game against Whitworth University.
Linfield is fifth in Northwest Conference standings. Whitman is fourth, and Whitworth is second, just one game behind the seven-time defending NWC champion University of Puget Sound.
The Whitman and Whitworth matches are scheduled for 11 a.m. Oct. 31 in McMinnville.