Box Score
PARKLAND, WASH. – While the goalkeeper carousel continues to spin for the Pacific men's soccer team, one of the quartet of sophomores produced the first truly standout performance of the season, albeit in a losing cause.
Spencer Agustin scored his ninth goal of the season just two minutes into overtime as the Lutes held off Pacific's upset bid with a 2-1 victory at PLU field Sunday. The win lifted the Lutes (5-1-0 Northwest Conference, 8-2-0 overall) into a three-way tie for first in the NWC, while the Boxers (2-4-0, 2-8-0) went to 2-2 on their five-game road trip.
Pacific goalkeeper
Michael Summers (Beaverton, Ore.), who has been starting in place of the injured
Chris Reimer (Ferndale, Wash.), began Sunday's contest on the sidelines, but was summoned off the bench 15 minutes into the first half after Zack Cohen (Graton, Calif.), making his first start of the season, left the game with an injury.
Summers would surrender a first-half goal to Lucas McCallum, but put on a whale of a performance in the second half on a day that was probably most suitable for whales or other seafaring creatures.
With the teams and onlookers soaked by torrential rains that pelted the south Puget Sound, the host Lutes fired torrents of shots at the lanky Pacific netminder. But, like the best Northwest Gore-Tex, Summers repelled everything that flew his way, keeping the Boxers in the match and allowing
Nick Rudella (So., Sammamish, Wash.) to even the score in the 77th minute to force overtime.
Rudella had the strongest foot in a scrum right in front of the PLU goal and connected on Pacific's second and final shot on goal of the match.
Alex Arrington (Fr., Portland, Ore.) had the Boxers' only other shot on goal in the 11th minute of action.
Overtime seemed like a rather unlikely prospect considering the way the Lutes were dominating play. That prospect became decisively more unlikely when Pacific defender
Ian Ward (Fr., Chehalis, Wash.) was issued a red card for an intentional foul in the box on Agustin. Summers, however, was equal to the task. Having already saved eight PLU shots in the second half alone, he deflected Surafel Wodajo's penalty kick out of harm's way to keep the game level.
Summers would garner one more save to make it an even ten for the half and 13 for the match before the end of regulation horn, but playing with a man advantage, the Lutes finally broke through for the game winner when Agustin connected from eight yards out with the outside of his foot, deflecting a Shane Gutierrez pass past Summers for the game-ending goal.
PLU outshot Pacific 23-7 for the match with a 17-2 edge in shots on goal. Agustin has had the hot foot of late for the Lutes, as his third game-winning goal of the season was also his fifth tally in the last four matches.
The Boxers long road swing concludes Saturday, Oct. 8 at George Fox in a match that kicks off at 2:30 p.m.
