Box ScoreFOREST GROVE – Nathanael Fleming's goal late in the first half proved to be all that Whitman needed Saturday afternoon as the Missionaries took a 1-0 victory from Pacific in Northwest Conference men's soccer action at Hanson Stadium.
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Fleming broke open what proved to be a lackluster first half offensively for both teams in the 43rd minute. Daniel Kim found Fleming on a pass from the top of the 18-yard box, and Fleming turned quickly to score his second goal of the season.
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The goal punctuated a match where the Boxers (3-5-0, 0-3-0 NWC) struggled to get anything going offensively.   Whitman outshot the Boxers 14-3, with the Boxers only putting one shot on goal the entire contest. The Boxers did hold a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
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Neither team put together much in the way of quality scoring opportunities for most of the first half. Pacific's only shot of the frame came in the 12th minute as
Elan Yogi (So., Mililani, Hawaii) stroked an opportunity wide of the net. The first shot on goal for either team did not come until the 34th minute when Logan Grime's shot from 20 yards away rolled easily to the hands of Pacific netminder
Leyton Thommasen (Fr., Des Moines, Wash.).
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Pacific's only shot on goal came off a free kick in the 48th minute.Â
Garrick Knowles (Sr., Roseburg, Ore.) lofted the free kick high and on frame, but Whitman goalkeeper Stuart Ellsworth leaped perfectly to make the save and prevent the ball from skirting just under the crossbar.
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The Boxers were again recipients of solid scoring opportunity off of a foul when Thomas Motzer was shown a yellow card in the 70th minute.Â
Ian Farley (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) took the free kick from the top of the 18-yard box, but his attempt to go top shelf was over the crossbar. Whitman responded with their own good look of Riley Paul's corner kick in the 73rd minute, but Thommasen came between two Missionaries' offensive players to pull away the save.
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Thommassen dropped to 3-50 with the loss for the Boxers, making five saves on the Missionaries' six shots on goal. Stuart Ellsworth improved to 2-2-0 with his first shutout of the year.
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Pacific returns to the Hanson Stadium pitch on Sunday, hosting Whitworth for a 2:30 p.m., kickoff. Live stats and video will be available at GoBoxers.com. Whitman will play at Linfield on Sunday.
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