Northwest Spoils Senior Night With 2-1 Decision in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. - Northwest solidified their hold on first place in the CCC men's soccer standings with a 2-1 victory over Warner Pacific tonight at David Douglas High School.
The result moves NU to 10-2 in CCC play (11-4 overall) and four points clear of second place Corban. Warner Pacific drops to 4-9 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
The host Knights managed to put a goal on the board first thanks to an NU miscue. WP's
Jameson Jones found space down the left flank and fired in a low cross through the penalty area. The ball took a deflection off an Eagle defender and into the net for a dreaded own goal in the 14th minute.
Warner Pacific were in fact the better side for much of the early action, but Northwest answered quickly after the defensive gaffe. Edgar Esquivel flicked home a service from Adam Loga, tying the game in the 18th minute. NU continued to threaten for the rest of the period, but Knight keeper
Dorian Lair turned aside one shot and several others were not on target.
Northwest came out of halftime the more aggressive side and forced Lair in to four more saves. The Eagles broke through in the 60th minute with the game winner. Do-hee Kim showed a nice bit of skill by chesting down a lofted pass and scoring from 10 yards away.
The momentum of the game turned to the Knights in the late moments, as the hosts generated two corner kicks and three shots. WP drew a foul just outside the box in the 91st minute, but NU keeper Joe Galbraith came up with the save. Shots from
Edgar Contreras and
Evgeny Potanin were blocked and the Eagles held on for the win.
The contest was the last home game for Warner Pacific seniors
Jameson Jones,
Abe Kidane,
Daniel Ervin,
Dorian Lair,
Pedro De Leon,
Ricky Carmolinga,
Scott Schnitzer, and
Josh Wright.