Box
Score
NEWBERG, Ore. - Down 2-1 at the half against an upset-minded
George Fox University squad, the defending Northwest Conference
champion Whitworth College Pirates exploded for five goals in the
second half to defeat the Bruins 6-2 in men's soccer action on a
chilly, gray Sunday afternoon here at rain-drenched Morse Field.
Whitworth got on the board quickly in the first half, Chris
Johnson crossing from right to left to a wide-open Sean Lambrecht
for a goal from eight yards away past sliding Bruin keeper Jake
Maguire just 5:30 into the game. The Pirates gave the goal back 10
minutes later, however, when the Bruins' Matt Gurlides hooked a
shot from the right side of the keeper's box across the mouth of
the goal, and a diving Ben Dixon, trying to block the shot, instead
headed it past Whitworth keeper Kevin Bostock for an "own goal".
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead just before the end of the period
when Brian Story fed Gurlides streaking down the right side, and
the Bruins' leading scorer outraced the Whitworth defense to angle
a shot from just inside the top of the box into the left corner of
the net at the 44:11 mark. It was Gurlides' sixth goal of the
season.
Whitworth tied the game eight minutes into the second half when
Seyedali stole the ball near midfield, sped down the middle, and
lined a shot into the upper right corner from 20 yards away for his
fourth goal. The Pirates then took the lead for good at 58:49 when
Jordan Lister passed to Chris Johnson in the left corner, and he
sent a pass from the left baseline into a mass of players near the
net for Niko Varlamos, who deflected it into the net for his fourth
goal of the year.
Lister made it 4-2 Pirates when he secured a loose ball and
rifled it home from the left side of the box for his second goal of
the season at 60:09. Seyedali and Lambrecht teamed up again for
Lambrecht's fifth goal at 66:02, and Elly Bulega rounded out the
Whitworth scoring with his first goal of the season when he put in
a deflected shot by Kenshiro Uki at 85:34.
The Pirates out-shot the Bruins 28-17 overall and 13-9 in shots
on goal. Goalkeepers Bostock and Maguire each made seven saves.
George Fox (6-6-2, NWC 2-6-1) next visits Pacific Lutheran
University and Whitworth (7-3-3, NWC 6-1-2) host Pacific University
Saturday, both games at 2:30 p.m.
