Killian Burris and Ben Stevenson (33)
One Goal the Difference in Evergreen Win
SALEM, Ore. - Killian Burris scored his first collegiate goal Monday night and that was enough to give The Evergreen State College to a 1-0 men's soccer victory over the host Willamette University Bearcats at Sparks Field.
The match, played with a water break in each half because of high temperatures and haze, counted on Evergreen's record, which is now 1-0-1. Willamette played the contest as an exhibition.
Burris, a freshman from Vancouver, scored in the 73rd minute on a long-range shot that eluded the Willamette goalkeeper. Martin Ramirez was credited with the assist.
The goal came with the run of play as Evergreen held significant advantage in shots (14-8), shots on goal (9-3) and corner kicks (8-2). After the Geoducks forced Bearcats starting goalkeeper Marco Gonzalez-Yanez into four first-half saves, they came out stronger in the second half, peppering Willamette reserve keeper Quinn Nottage until Burris finally broke the scoreless deadlock.
On the other end of the field, junior goalkeeper Ben Stevenson and the Evergreen defense were solid. Stevenson came up with three saves to record the shutout while playing all 90 minutes. He has now allowed just one goal in 200 minutes this season for a 0.45 goals against average.
"This was a big team win," Evergreen head coach John Purtteman said. "Solid defending with a couple of big saves and perhaps our best forward movement to date. This after half the team drove down in a van with no (air conditioning). Big time grit and resilience."
The Geoducks return to Salem for their next match, that coming on Sept. 9 against California opponent Westmont College. The non-conference, neutral-site match will start at 4 p.m. at the Corban University soccer complex.