Box ScoreFOREST GROVE – A defensive battle was not decided until the final five minutes Sunday as Willamette's Jesse Thompson scored in the 87th minute as the Bearcats took a 1-0 win from Pacific in Northwest Conference men's soccer action at Hanson Stadium.
Â
With time winding down, Kevin Martin made a well-placed crossing pass to Thompson from the far touch line. The ball bounced through the middle of the 18-yard box to Thompson, who snuck the ball past the left side of Pacific goalie
Leyton Thommasen (Fr., Des Moines, Wash.) for the game-winner and his fourth goal of the season.
Â
The strike topped off a match where the defense on both teams dictated the pace from start to finish. "Our guys put in a great effort today," said Pacific head coach
Eric Mild. "The team defense was pretty good, but we never seemed to be able to get into our rhythm offensively. We will work on things to get better and get ready for next week.:
Â
Both teams had stretches of pressing on offense in the first half, but the defenses prevailed to keep the match scoreless. Willamette (10-4-1, 7-1-1 NWC) started quick as Fabien Guerrero broke away to challenge Pacific goalie Thommasen just 45 seconds after the opening kick. Guerrero challenged one-on-one from eight yards out, but Thommasen prevailed with the save.
Â
Willamette's next best look came in the seventh minute as Stefan Wutte was awarded the free kick midway between the circles. Â Wutte fired to Luke Falcone, who shot went wide left of the goal.
Â
Pacific's (5-7-1, 2-5-1 NWC) best first half chance came in the 28th minute.Â
Matt Kimball (Fr., Tigard, Ore.) sent his corner kick to
Esteban Cruz (Fr., Dayton, Ore.), who was stationed next to the near post. Cruz's header flew high, but he was in position to take a second chance, which also flew high of the goal.
Â
The Boxers put together a breakaway attempt in the 52nd minute as
Ian Farley (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) ran up the near sideline. Farley fed the ball to
Lee Arakawa (So., Aiea, Hawaii) near the end line, but his crossing pass flew high and out of bounds.
Â
Willamette had two solid looks within a minute of each other. Jack Elton fed the ball into the box to Jesse Thompson in the 62nd minute, whose header sailed just over the crossbar. Alan Hernandez found himself open for a one-timer just inside the 18-yard box in the 64th minute, which Thommasen came up to save. Farley responded with a one-timer of his own in the 65th minute, with the shot flying high of the net.
Â
Pacific had their best chance of the match in the 73rd minute. Starting on a free kick near the center line, Kimball fed the ball to
Diego Lopes (Fr., San Francisco, Calif.) near the end line. Lopes' crossing pass was right to a wide open Jared Otani (Fr., Wailuku, Hawaii), but his shot flew high and right of the net.
Â
Thommasen dropped to 5-8-1 with the loss, making three saves. Braydon Calder went without a save in improving to 7-4-1 on the year for the Bearcats. Cruz's two shots led Pacific while Martin had three shots to pace Willamette.
Â
Pacific now looks ahead to the eastern Washington road trip. The Boxers will play at Whitworth on Saturday and Whitman on Sunday. Kickoff for both matches is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Â
