WP Clinches Region I Berth With Win over Yotes
CALDWELL, Idaho - Despite a furious College of Idaho rally in the final 15 minutes, Warner Pacific claimed the second Cascade Conference berth into the NAIA Region I Tournament with a 3-2 win over the Yotes at Symms Field.
After spotting the Knights (11-6, 11-3 CCC) a 2-0 lead 11 minutes into the match and trailing 3-0 with 40 minutes left, The C of I battled back late. Senior Scott Ward chested a Jay Gentle goal kick just outside the Yotes box and used a left-footed blast in the 77th minute to get the hosts on the board. Three minutes later, a Mats Boehnke throw in was mishandled by the WP keeper, allowing Kazuki Murata to rip a shot into the corner of the goal to get The C of I within a goal. However, the Yotes could not convert two corner kicks and two shots on goal, falling to the Knights for the second time this season.
WP got on the board in the eighth-minute, as Andrew Scott one-timed a Luis Galvan cross at the left corner of the six-yard box, ripping the shot into the twine for the 1-0 edge. Just two minutes later, J.B. Cunha found the net after touches from Scott and Galvan - giving the Knights the momentum.
The Yotes (11-5-1, 8-4-1) had a couple chances late in the period, as a Mauricio Both shot was cleared off the goal line by Scott, while keeper Brian Kelly made a nice save of a Murata shot from the top of the 18.
The Knights made it 3-0 five minutes into the second half, as Davor Lukic used a 1-on-1 move to clear space, ripping a shot through C of I keeper Jay Gentle.
The game was pretty even, with the Yotes holding a 21-18 in shots and an 11-5 edge in corners, but Kelly had ten saves in the win - as WP joins Concordia, Simon Fraser, and Westminster in next weekend's Regional Tournament.