Box ScoreFOREST GROVE – A flat first half gave way to an energized second half Thursday as
Lucas Sconyers (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) and
Babeck Ebadpour (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska) scored their first goals of the season to lead Pacific to a 2-0 men's soccer shutout of Warner Pacific at Hanson Stadium.
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Sconyers connected on just the Boxers' shot on goal of the match. Earning the second of back-to-back corner kicks in the 60th minute,
Garrick Knowles (Sr., Roseburg, Ore.) curled the ball to the middle of the 18-yard box, where Sconyers whipped the header into the far side of the net. It was the third assist in five matches for Knowles.
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Babeck Ebadpour (Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska) gave the Boxers an insurance goal in the 69th minute, catching the trailing edge of
Matt Kimball's (Fr., Tigard, Ore.) long pass from midfield and bury the ball into the right side of the goal.
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"We started flat and we addressed that at halftime," said Pacific head coach
Eric Mild. " We needed to be much more dynamic, believe in ourselves and believe that we could win. The team that had the best work ethic and was the most energized was going to win the game."
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After action stayed in the middle of the pitch for the opening 10 minutes, Warner Pacific succeeded in owning the momentum through most of the first half. Alejandro Catalan had the Knights' first wide open scoring in the 17th minute, but his 20-footer went off the far post. Vladan Vlaski found himself open from well above the box in the 26th minute, but Pacific goalie
Leyton Thommasen (Fr., Des Moines, Wash.) was in position to make his only save of the half.
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The Boxers nearly put it in off their first corner kick in the 43rd minute when Kellen McNamara (Jr., Missoula, Mont.) gathered the ball out of a crowd in the middle of the box. His point-blank shot was blocked by a Warner Pacific defender and was eventually gathered in by Knights' keeper Erdal Barkay.
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While Pacific controlled the ball much of the second half, the Knights had two excellent chances midway through. Andrade found himself open in the middle of the box in the 72nd minute, but was blocked by the Pacific defense. Geovanny Vazquez had an opportunity from the same spot about 30 seconds later, but his attempt was also blocked. Warner Pacific had a flurry of opportunities in the 8-yard box in the 85th minutes. Pacific kept the ball out with a save by Thommasen and two balls cleared off the goal line by defenders.
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Mild was pleased with the play of the defense as they played some of the best soccer of the season in the second half. "We were fouling a lot, so they were getting a lot of balls served into the box and our guys were getting fatigued, but they held true. They were solid. I've been preaching that we need to be more fundamentally solid defensively and they are buying into that."
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Thommasen, the reigning Northwest Conference Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week, earned his second shutout of the season while making two saves. Barkay took the loss for Warner Pacific, making one save. Warner Pacific outshot Pacific 11-10, but the Boxers held a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks, including six in the second half.
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Pacific will have a nine-day layoff from competition before opening the Northwest Conference season at Puget Sound on Sat., Sept. 20. Warner Pacific will be off seven days before opening Cascade Conference play next Thursday against Northwest Christian.
