Box Score
FOREST GROVE, ORE. – In one of their most impressive all-around performances of the season, the Pacific women's soccer team defeated Willamette 2-1 in a Northwest Conference match Sunday at Lincoln Park Stadium.
Less than a minute after the Bearcats scored a game-tying breakaway goal, Pacific's
Tianna Homad (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) sent a perfect cross into the box from the right side where
Bryanna DeLima (Sr., Hilo, Hawaii) volleyed a header inside the near post for the game-winning goal.
The victory was Pacific's tenth of the season, one off a school record set in 2003.
The Boxers (7-4-3 NWC, 10-5-3 overall) dominated the third-place Bearcats in all phases of the game, outshooting the visitors from Salem 22-9 with an 11-3 edge in shots on goal and an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks. Willamette (9-4-1, 10-7-1) came into the match just a point off the lead in the NWC standings, but saw their conference title hopes take a serious blow.
The Boxers had one of their strongest first-half performances of the season, outshooting Willamette 9-6, while putting six shots on frame.
Shortly after a
Shekema McCarthy (Sr., Davis, Calif.) corner kick, Homad gathered a ball near the top of the 18-yard box and drove a strong strike off the right post and into the side netting in the 4
th minute to put Pacific up 1-0.
DeLima nearly made it 2-0 Boxers after firing a low rocket toward the left post in the 21
st minute. Willamette goalkeeper Gina Barbieri made a spectacular full extension diving save, the most impressive of her nine stops in the match.
Andrea Rowan had Willamette's only shot on goal of the half in the 19
th minute, but Roman had a near miss in the 12
th minute, sending a shot from left to right across the Pacific goal mouth out of the reach of diving keeper
Kayla Davidson (So., Kailua, Hawaii) but just a foot wide of the right post.
Willamette came out with a charge early in the second half, possessing the ball deep in Pacific's end for much of the first five minutes, though one shot wide of the mark was the only result.
In the 53
rd minute, Ashland Bernard got behind the last defender on a breakaway run, bringing Davidson out past the top of the 18-yard box. The sophomore keeper's sliding tackle came up wanting, as Bernard played through to an empty net and tapped in from eight yards to level the match at 1-1.
Pacific's answer was swift. Shortly after the ensuing kickoff, Homad played a ball toward the right corner and sent a pinpoint cross onto the head of DeLima, who redirected the ball down and past Barbieri to put the Boxers back in front to stay in the 54
th minute.
The Boxers continued to attack the rest of the match, while Willamette had only one more shot on goal, a soft long ball right to the keeper. Pacific outshot Willamette 12-1, with four shots on frame over the final 35 minutes.
DeLima finished with five shots, while
Jordan Bodily (Sr., Eagle, Idaho) put all three of her shots on frame. Davidson had two saves to improve her goalkeeping record to 3-0-0, while the Boxers defense limited NWC-leading scorer Stephanie Skelly to just two shots in the match, neither finding the target. Skelly came into the match with 15 goals on the season.
With two matches remaining, the Boxers have an opportunity to make some history while disrupting the NWC playoff race. A win would not only equal a school record, but set a new mark for team points. The Boxers scored 34 points in 2003 (11-8-1 record) and 1985 (10-4-4). Teams are awarded three points for a win and one point for a tie.
Pacific will host Linfield on Friday, Nov. 4 before traveling to play Puget Sound on Saturday Nov. 5. Both matches will kick off at noon.
