TACOMA, Wash. – The EOU men’s soccer team now has now collected two wins in just four days over two Northwest Conference squads as the Mountaineers (3-0) shut out Puget Sound (0-1), 1-0, Tuesday evening at East Field.
“We wanted to press [Puget Sound] hard to create turnovers and try to push our tempo in the first 15 minutes,” said head coach Kenny Huber. “Our guys’ work ethic has been very good and each game we play, our discipline and the way we play is getting better. We have a tough match against Whitworth on the 11th before we start conference play and I’m excited to see what our guys can do.”
For nearly the first 20 minutes of the first half, neither team had recorded a shot until senior forward Julian Wells fired a shot in the 23rd minute that was saved by the Loggers’ keeper Wren Norwood. Minutes later, EOU junior keeper Aidan Wright logged a save of his own to keep Puget off the board.
The Mountaineers finally broke the stalemate in the 37th minute when sophomore forward Oscar Munoz collected his first goal of the year. Munoz settled a cross he received from senior midfielder Jesus Pelayo and launched a shot that found its way to the upper right for the tally. It was Munoz’s fourth goal of his career.
EOU recorded two more shots before heading into the locker room with a 1-0 advantage.
Looking to protect the one goal lead, the Mountaineers’ defense held their ground and limited the Loggers to just one corner kick compared to five in the first period. Although the home side launched five shots, keeper Wright was vital to keeping them off the board. Wright collected three of his four saves on the night in the second half. His last save came in the 78th minute as it was the Loggers’ last real threat of the match.
BY THE NUMBERS
8 – Total of shots EOU launched (three on target).
4 – Number of saves Wright recorded for the Blue and Gold.
2 – Wins EOU has over NCAA III institutions.
UP NEXT
EOU squares off against Whitworth in Spokane, Wash., this Monday. The match is slated for a 2:30 p.m. kick off.
FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS
Facebook |
Twitter |
Instagram |
YouTube