PORTLAND, Ore.—An own goal decided an otherwise tightly contested match as the Pacific Boxer women's soccer team came up just short during a 1-0 season opening loss at Warner Pacific on Tuesday night.
 
The Knights were the fortunate ones on this evening at Damazo Field, getting the gift goal just 9:45 into the match when a Boxer defender accidentally headed the ball into her own net. That score would stand up the rest of the night as Warner Pacific improved to 1-1-1 on the season and Pacific stands 0-1.
 
Otherwise the match was tight. Warner Pacific had eight shots on the night to Pacific's seven, with five shots on goals for the Knights and three for the Boxers.
 
"Disappointing to say the least," said Pacific head coach Morgan Joseph. "We played some attractive football today by spells, but we need to couple that with an urgency to get forward and put the opposition on their back foot."
 
PU freshman goalkeeper Kailey Hifumi played 90 minutes in the net and had four saves.
 
"Hifumi stood out and had a solid performance", Joseph confirmed. "Emily Thompson and Mikayla Tucker had fantastic performances in midfield for us in their first collegiate match."
 
Up next for the Boxers is their home opener this Thursday (Sept. 3) against the University of Redlands. Start time at Hanson Stadium is 5:30 p.m.