Second Half Flurry Secures Boxers' Second Straight Win
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FOREST GROVE – A second half scoring flurry punctuated an offensively charged night for Pacific Friday as the Boxers rolled past Northwest Christian 3-0 in women's soccer action at Lincoln Park Stadium.
Jordan Bodily (Sr., Eagle, Idaho) and
Shekema McCarthy (Sr., Davis, Calif.) notched the second half goals on a night where most of the match was played on the Boxers' offensive half of the field.
Kaitlyn Harper (Jr., Oregon City, Ore.) had Pacific's first half goal, connecting on the game-winner in the 24th minute.
The goals were the punctuation mark on an aggressive match where the ball stayed mainly in the Boxers' offensive half of the field. Pacific (2-0-0) outshot the Beacons 16-6 and had a total of 11 shots on goal.
“We definitely proved that with time and patience, good things will happen if we continue to do the right things,” said Pacific Assistant Coach Dane Christian. “From the standpoint of the game plan, it took it a while to turn into something productive, but in the end it worked out well.”
When the plan worked, the Boxers proved potent. With Harper camped out on the right corner of the 6-yard box,
Jordan Bodily (Sr., Eagle, Idaho) fed a pass from the opposite corner of the penalty area. Harper put a head on it and sent it to the far post for her first of the season and the only goal of the opening stanza.
Bodily added a goal of her own in 78th minute.
Shekema McCarthy (Sr., Davis, Calif.) made a hard charge on a breakaway to the right side of the 18-yard box, pulling Beacons' goalie Ali Foster out of position as she sent the ball across the box. Bodily followed up with the strike from the penalty spot for the 2-0 advantage.
McCarthy needed just two minutes more to add a goal of her own, taking a breakaway from midway between the circles to the top of the box. Her shot found the left corner of the net to effectively seal the match.
Northwest Christian (0-3-0) kept up with the Boxers over the first 10 minutes of the match, having their best first half look on a shot by Kara Nelson in the sixth minute. The Beacons, though, saw a major part of their offense taken out when midfielder Brittney Yip had to be taken away on a stretch with an apparent injury to her leg. Following the 30-minute delay, the momentum was firmly on Pacific's side.
Brittany Hartmann (Jr., Portland, Ore.) recorded her first shutout of the season in goal, making three first half saves. Foster finished with eight saves in the Beacons' third straight loss of the year.
Pacific takes the week off from competition, returning to the field for their first road trip of the season next weekend. The Boxers will play Montclair State in a neutral site match on Friday in Tacoma.
