First Half Goal Enough for Geoducks
OLYMPIA – Tanner Williams beat a pair of defenders before scoring past goalkeeper Grant Billings as host Evergreen State defeated College of Idaho, 1-0, in a Cascade Collegiate Conference men's soccer match played Friday at Geoduck Pitch.
With the victory, the Geoducks improve to 3-4-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the Cascade Conference. College of Idaho, meanwhile, falls to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
Williams created shooting space at the top of the penalty box with a weaving 20-yard dribble. He ripped his shot past a diving Billings and into the back right side of the net for the game's only goal in the 15th minute. In fact, the sophomore forward created problems for the College of Idaho defense throughout the game as he ended up putting all three of his shots on goal.
Evergreen State finished the game with a 16-8 advantage in shots, much of that coming after a 63rd minute red card against the Coyotes. In fact, Evergreen outshot College of Idaho 10-3 in the final 45 minutes. Juan Oropeza and Issa Hassan both finished the game with a team-high four shots for the Geoducks. Nate Hunt had a team-best three shot attempts for the Coyotes.
The shutout was the second of the season for Evergreen State goalkeeper Angel Guerra, who finished with a total of four saves, two in each half.
College of Idaho's Billings was called on to make a total of five saves, four of which came in the final half.
Both teams return to Cascade Collegiate Conference action on Saturday, Evergreen State hosting Oregon Tech at noon and College of Idaho playing at Northwest University in Kirkland.