Box Score
FOREST GROVE, ORE. – After a frustrating couple of weeks rife with missed opportunities and a season full of closely contested matches, the Pacific women's soccer team finally experienced the feeling of playing with a two goal lead for an extended period.
Sarah Tuffey (So., Valencia, Calif.) and
Jordan Bodily (Sr., Eagle, Idaho) scored goals five minutes apart early in the second half as the Boxers defeated Lewis & Clark 2-0 in a Northwest Conference match at Lincoln Park Stadium Friday night.
The Boxers halted a three-game winless streak and leveled their NWC record at 4-4-2 (7-5-2 overall), while dropping the last place Pioneers to 1-8-1 (2-10-2 overall).
“The last three games were really tough,” said Pacific assistant coach Dane Christian. “We outplayed all of our opponents. Against UPS and Linfield we dominated large parts of the game and couldn't put away our chances.”
The Boxers connected on two of their five shots on goal, while edging the Pioneers 13-12 in total shots for the game.
After an evenly played scoreless first half, the Boxers came out with renewed energy in the second period, with
Kailee Green (Fr., Hillsboro, Ore.) just missing a header high off a cross by Tuffey two minutes in. In the 51
st minute, another right flank attack would net the icebreaking goal for the Boxers, this time with the roles reversed.
Chandler Bowen (Fr., Silverdale, Wash.) started the run by winning a ball at midfield, then playing the ball to Green running up the right side. Green found Tuffey charging to the near post and sent a low cross that she volleyed into the back of the net.
The Boxers kept the pressure on in the Pioneers' half and five minutes later drew a foul just a few paces outside the 18-yard box on the right side.
Shekema McCarthy (Sr., Davis, Calif.) sent a low free kick to Bodily, who one-timed it off the turf inside the right post for her team-leading fifth goal of the year. It was a rare set play goal for a team that has had numerous tries this season.
“It's something we work on and emphasize,” said Christian, whose team is among the conference leaders in corner kicks. “We have people who can deliver the ball real well. Hopefully, maybe it's about the law of averages and in the second half of this conference we're just going to be swimming in it.”
The first half was a dead heat as each team took seven shots, Pacific finding the frame three times and Lewis & Clark placing two shots on target.
The Pioneers had the first real threat in the ninth minute as Lexi Bolton took a ball near the left corner of the six yard box and sent a shot toward the near post.
Brittany Hartmann (Jr., Portland, Ore.) came outside the post and deflected the ball off Bolton and over the end line for a goal kick. A Lewis & Clark free kick in the 27
th minute was cause for a few tense seconds as Hartmann went to the ground to smother the ball only to see it slip out of her grasp. The Pioneers were unable to direct a shot toward the vulnerable goal.
In the 35
th minute, Tuffey chipped a beautiful shot from 20-yards out on the right that glanced off the crossbar.
Shekema McCarthy's rebound follow was punched away by Lewis & Clark goalkeeper Elise Delgado, who finished with three saves.
Hartmann collected two first half saves, then took a rest on the bench for the first time this season.
Kayla Davidson (So., Kailua, Hawaii) capitalized on her first appearance in goal, collecting three saves in the second half and the win.
“We feel Kayla has been pushing Brittany in training for the past few weeks,” said head coach Morgan Crabtree. “We felt Kayla had earned the opportunity to get in the game and show what she can do. She definitely stepped up.”
McCarthy led the Boxers with three shots and notched her team-leading fourth assist. Bolton paced the Pioneers with three shots, putting all three on target to lead all players in the match.
Once again, the Boxers got a lift from their younger players off the bench in the second half, in particular Bowen, Davidson and
Kristen Dick.
The Boxers enter their longest hiatus of the season with eight days off before heading on a three-game road swing in Washington, with matches at Whitman on Oct. 22, Whitworth on Oct. 23 and Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 29.
