The Wildcats defeated the Lewis & Clark Pioneers 2-1 Sept. 14 at home and Puget Sound University with another score of 2-1 Sept. 18 in Tacoma, Wash.

The team had to fight to the end in order to triumph over the Pioneers Sept. 14.

“Lewis & Clark was man-marking Emily Fellows which shut out one of our best attackers and play makers and made it difficult to put away our chances,” said sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Collinsworth. Most of the game was played in the Pioneer’s half, but the Wildcats couldn’t get a shot past the goalkeeper. At halftime, the Pioneers led with a score of 1-0.

Sophomore goalie Apolonia Martinez spent the entire game in the goal, where she made two saves against Lewis & Clark.

“We came out hard the second half knowing what we needed to do which was get our other forwards to step up and put our opportunities away,” Collinsworth said. The team aimed several shots at the goal during the start of the second half, but none of them made it in.

Finally, the Wildcats got their big break when one of the Pioneers got a yellow card. Sophomore Emily Fellows scored a goal on a penalty kick, earning the Wildcats their first goal of the game.

The game was tied, and the Pioneers made the Wildcats work hard for a win. Linfield made an attempt at a goal with 10 minutes left, but the ball didn’t make it past the goalie. With about five minutes left in the game, junior Christine Tamamoto kicked a corner kick and freshman Zoe Langsdorf scored the winning goal with a header.

Early in the game against UPS Sept. 18, the Loggers committed a foul, awarding a penalty kick to junior Anna Sours. The shot missed the goal, leaving both teams with a score of 0-0. The Wildcats continued to fight for a goal, attempting another shot, this time made by freshman Lindzee Baker. Then, 15 minutes into the game, Fellows scored the Wildcats’ first goal, bringing the game’s score up 1-0.

Both teams began playing aggressively after the first goal was made. The Wildcats committed three fouls and the Loggers committed two additional fouls. This aggressive play didn’t stop the Wildcats from scoring another goal, this time scored by sophomore Anna LeBeaume.

The second half was just as aggressive as the first half, with several more fouls being committed. Martinez once again
spent the entire game in the goal, where the Loggers scored their first goal 74 minutes into the game on a header made by Mikaela Freeman with an assist from Christine Isabella, both of UPS. Neither team scored again in the game.

The games played against Lewis & Clark and University of Puget Sound were the first two conference games played this season, leaving the Wildcats with a 2-0 record.

The next game is Sept. 24 against George Fox University in Newberg, Ore.

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Meghan O’Rourke/Opinion editor
Meghan O’Rourke can be reached at [email protected].