FOREST GROVE, Ore.—The Pacific University men's soccer roared into its new era Friday evening, equaling a school record with nine goals during a 9-0 shutout of first-year program Multnomah University at Hanson Stadium.
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"I saw some qualities in the attack that I liked," said Pacific head coach
Eric Mild after his first match in the role. "Some of the goals that we scored were outstanding, where we connected numerous passes before we put the ball in the back of the net. A couple of the goals came off corner kick plays that we were working on, which was encouraging as well."
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Leading the way offensively for the Boxers was midfielder
Mark Watson (Sr., Clackamas, Ore.), who netted a hat trick in his first match back in the program after a year at Northwest Nazarene University. Watson's first goal against the Lions came in the 13
th minute when he finished a
Jake Passas (So., Minden, Nev.) cross into the net with his right foot. His second came 16 minutes later off a give-and –go play with
Babeck Ebadpour (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska), and he completed the hat trick in the second half with a shot from the area.
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"Mark had a great game in the attack," Mild said of the senior. "He's a creative and dynamic player on offense. Any time you score three goals in a game, you can walk away feeling good, and him transferring into the program will certainly help us down the road this season."
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Pacific got on the scoresheet early, enjoying a lead before two minutes elapsed. Defenseman
Lucas Sconyers (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) found the ball at his feet and looked up to find a streaking
Matt Kimball (Fr., Tigard, Ore.). An accurate pass gave Kimball only the keeper to beat, and the freshman buried the shot for his first collegiate goal.
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The Boxers tripled their lead by the ninth minute, scoring a second at 6:26 off a corner kick when the ball bounced in off a Multnomah player. Thirty seconds later, captain
Ian Farley (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) opened his 2014 scoring campaign off a pass from
Garrick Knowles (Sr., Roseburg, Ore.).
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Less than two minutes later, Pacific scored again off a set piece when
Kellan McNamara (Jr., Missoula, Mont.) headed a corner kick from Knowles. With the goal, McNamara equaled his season total from 2013.
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Watson's first two goals rounded out the scoring summary in the first half and the Boxers went into the break up 6-0.
Leyton Thommasen (Fr., Des Moines, Wash.) started his first career match in goal for Pacific, but did not have to make a save.
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Pacific dominated possession to begin the second half as well, adding to its lead three minutes in when Farley slid a shot into the right post for his second on the match.
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Watson's third goal came six minutes after Farley's second-half score, and freshman
Jaren Otani (Fr., Wailuku, Hawaii) capped it off with his first collegiate score in the 72
nd minute. He slid a short pass from
Diego Lopes into the right post to put his name on the ledger.
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The Boxers' nine goals equaled a school record, matching the Boxers' scoring production in 1985 against the same Multnomah Lions.
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Pacific had a couple chances to get the record-setting 10
th goal as two Boxer shots hit the woodwork. Sconyers headed a shot into the crossbar 32 minutes into the first half, while Ebadpour hit the post with 1:35 remaining in the contest. Â
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Multnomah did tally a shot on net. In the 53
rd minute, Jordan Lovell fired a ball on frame towards the Pacific goal. Boxer goalie
Harrison Clair (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) caught the shot to preserve the clean sheet.
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With the win, Mild tallied his first victory as the Boxer head coach. He was hired to take over the program in February after five years at UC Davis. This is not his first time at the helm, however, as he headed the Cal State Stanislaus squad for seven years.
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Friday's match at Pacific was only Multnomah's (0-2-0) second since reinstating the men's soccer program this year. It had been discontinued some time after 1985. The Lions continue their comeback season Wed., Sept. 3, when they face cross-town rival Warner Pacific College at 7:00 p.m.
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Pacific (1-0-0) doesn't have a long wait before retaking the pitch. The Boxers now head north to Kirkland, Wash., for a match at Northwest University Sat., Aug. 30. That match will kick off at 3:00 p.m.
