NEWBERG, Ore. — For all intents and purposes, it looked like the final match of the 2015 men's soccer season would go down in the books as a loss for Pacific University.

Host George Fox led 2-0 at the break, and took huge momentum into the locker room when one of those two scores found the net with just one second left on the clock.

But the Boxers scored three times in the second half, including two scores in the final eight minutes of play to steal a 3-2 victory over the Bruins at the Austin Sports Complex and end the season on a high note.

Coach Eric Mild's team ends the year at 7-11-1 overall and 5-8-1 in the Northwest Conference. The Bruins finish at 6-11-3 and 3-8-3 in league action.

"We never quit," Mild said. "I have been proud all season of how these guys have fought, and today was the ultimate example of that."

George Fox got on the board early with goals from Evan Cooney in the 22nd minute and Jose Becerra at 44:59. A 2-0 lead at the half in soccer? 99 percent of the time, that will hold.

"We actually played a great first half, but just made a couple of mistakes that gave them the two goals," Mild said. "Then we showed great character in coming back."

The Boxers did crawl back into the contest 13 minutes into the second half on a goal by Keola Norton (assist Matt Kimball). Still, with less than ten minutes to play, the Bruins still led 2-1 and appeared headed to the win.

With just over eight minutes left, Elan Yogi's shot from short range was blocked but he fielded the rebound and put it past goalkeeper Murray Noble to tie the match at 2-2. Two and a half minutes later, Kimball took a clearing pass from Ryan Yoshida and deposited it into the net for his ninth goal of the year--but more importantly, for the game winner.

George Fox had one more shot on goal with less than three minutes to play, but it was saved by Pacific keeper Leyton Thommasen to preserve the 3-2 triumph.

Pacific, who lost to GFU 4-1 earlier in the season, finished the campaign with a pair of victories. The victory vaulted Mild's team into fourth place in the NWC.

"Our goal at the beginning of the season was to continue to climb into the upper tier of the conference," Mild said. "We finished strong to get there. With the majority of the squad back next year, we are positioned to continue that climb."

The Boxers will lose just one starting senior to graduation from this years' squad.

"Going 4-3 in the second half of the conference season should give us momentum heading into next season," Mild added.