Box ScoreFOREST GROVE –
Leyton Thommasen (Fr., Des Moines, Wash.) made an impressive 16 saves Friday, but Dylan Leathers' rebound of a penalty kick in the 109th minute allowed Linfield to escape with a 3-2 double overtime victory over the Boxers in Northwest Conference men's soccer action at Hanson Stadium.
Â
The freshman goalkeeper played one of his best matches of the season, covering nearly every corner of the net in a strong offensive flurry by the Wildcats. He made a save on Moi Diaz's penalty kick in the 108th minute and then proceeded to save a first rebound attempt by Jake Baker before Leathers fire in from just two yards away for the game-winner.
Â
Diego Lopes (Fr., San Francisco, Calif.) opened scoring for the Boxers in the 10th minute, scoring his second goal of the season off of a well-placed cross by
Ian Farley (Sr., Spokane, Wash.).
Â
"We started the match off well as we scored quick to get the first goal," said Pacific head coach
Eric Mild. "After that, Linfield started applying a lot of offensive pressure and made us work hard the rest of the way."
Â
Jake Baker tied it for the Wildcats with the first of three penalty kicks in a physical match that saw 35 fouls called and 10 cards issued. Diaz gave Linfield the 2-1 lead in the 54th minute as he beat Thommasen by pulling him off his line and scoring from 15 yards away.
Â
Just a minute later, the Boxers would benefit from a penalty kick of their own as Farley connected against Linfield goalkeeper Jack O'Keefe for his fourth goal of the season.
Â
Mild singled out the play of Thommasen and
Steen Shober (So., Missoula, Mont.) in anchoring a strong defensive effort for the Boxers. Shober returned to the lineup after missing the last two matches due to injury.
Â
Thommasen dropped to 5-7-1 with the loss in goal for Pacific. O'Keefe improved to 1-1-0 on the year, making two saves. Lopes led Pacific with two shots while Diaz had eight attempts for the Wildcats.
Â
Pacific (5-7-1, 2-5-1 NWC) will finish up a two-match home stand on Sunday, hosting Willamette at 2:30 p.m. A live video webcast will be available at GoBoxers.com. Linfield (5-6-1, 3-4-1 NWC) returns to action on Sunday at George Fox.
Â
