The Linfield Wildcats played two intense games Oct. 8 and 9, beating both the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes and the Pacific University Boxers.

This week, the women had “lots of energy,”  junior Christine Tamamoto said.

The Oct. 8 game against the Lutes had a rough start for the Wildcats, as Lutes player Sarah Gamache scored the first goal of the game. The first half ended with a score of 0-1.

The women stepped up their game during the second half.

Junior Anna Sours scored Linfield’s first goal, her second goal of the season. This first goal was the beginning of Linfield dominance on the soccer field.

Freshman Zoe Langsdorf scored the Wildcats’ second goal, assisted by Sours.

Linfield proceeded to score another goal less than 10 minutes later, this time scored by senior MacKenzie Doty, assisted by Tamamoto.

Both teams attempted to score another goal, but no more shots made it into the net. The game ended with a 3-1 victory for Linfield.

While the girls clearly won the game, “we could’ve played harder,” Doty said.

The match against the Pacific University Boxers on Oct. 9 proved to be a closer game than the match on Saturday.

No goals were scored in the first half, though several attempts were made by each team.

Linfield goalie Apolonia Martinez and Pacific goalie Brittany Hartmann each saved five goals during the first half.

No goals were scored in the second half of the game until less than 10 minutes left, when Tamamoto scored the first and only goal of the game.

“It felt really good to score,”  Tamamoto said.

The women’s soccer team has played eight conference games now and as the season reaches the halfway mark, training “gets harder,”  sophomore Megan Kearns said.

Practices are two hours long on Tuesday through Friday. With all of these practices and games, bodies can get worn down, resulting in injuries.

Doty said that injuries challenge the team’s strength and change field dynamics.

“We have a boatload of injuries,” Doty said. “Six or seven starters are out with injuries, but it gives other players the opportunity to step up.”

In addition to the two weekend games against Willamette University on Oct. 15 and George Fox University on Oct. 16, the Wildcats also have a game against Lewis & Clark on Oct. 12.

“This is a really important week,” Doty said. “It’s vital for our well-being in the conference.”

The games on Wednesday and Saturday are both away and Sunday’s game against George Fox University is a home game.

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