KIRKLAND, Wash.- The Pacific University men's soccer team were edged by Northwest University (Wash.) after the Eagles nicked a late winner to steal the 2-1 victory.
 
Northwest (2-1) scored on the stroke of halftime to open the scoring. The Boxers (1-1) battled to equalize with just a few minutes left in regulation, but it would be the hosts who would score the decisive goal in the dying seconds to hand Pacific their first loss of the season.
 
The Eagles recorded 11 shots with seven on target, creating a multitude of scoring chances and holding much of the possession. Pacific struggled in the opening minutes but improved as the match progressed, finishing with a total of eight shots with four on target.
 
The Eagles were bright to start the contest, enjoying majority of the possession in the opening 20 minutes. Pacific were very dangerous in transition, however, as Cade Taniguchi (Senior/Kula, HI) and Jericho Lara (Junior/Makawao, HI) were finding space down the flanks in their wide positions. 
 
The Boxers nearly scored against the run of play in the 21^st minute when Nico Allen (Junior/Sierra Vista, AZ) found some space in behind the Northwest defense before laying off to Joey Musto (Junior/Makawao, HI), who fired his shot just over the crossbar.
 
Despite some solid defending from the Boxers in the first half, the Eagles found the opening goal with just seconds remaining in the half and the hosts would go into the break with a 1-0 lead.
 
The beginning of the second half would be quite cagey until Musto found Noah Edwards (Freshman/Honolulu, HI) in the 72^nd minute with a clever ball on the edge of the box but the forward's shot was always rising and sailed high.
 
The Boxers nearly equalized with 10 minutes to play when Allen was sent through on goal, but he couldn't apply the finishing touch as his shot was denied by the Eagles' goalkeeper.
 
Pacific began playing some of their most impressive soccer of the match as they pushed for an equalizer. The Boxers were awarded a penalty in the 85^th minute and Brodie Buchert (Freshman/Riverside, CA) stepped up to take the spot kick. He confidently smashed his penalty into the back of the net to score his first collegiate goal and level the score at 1-1.
 
The momentum was short lived, however, as Eagles' forward Elliot Misic netted the winner just two minutes later to steal the 2-1 victory.
 
 
By The Numbers
 

• Edwards and Buchert each tallied two shots.
• Zach Aderinto (Freshman/Kailua-Kona, HI) made four saves between the posts.
• Northwest has won three of their last four contests against Pacific.

 
Up Next
 
Pacific will face The Evergreen State College tomorrow at 1 p.m. to cap off their trip to Washington.
 
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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