NEWBERG, Ore. - Jon Gutierrez
and Geoffrey Wacker scored their first goals of the year, one
giving George Fox University an early lead and the other breaking a
second-half tie, as the Bruins edged the Whitman College
Missionaries 2-1 in Northwest Conference men's soccer on a cold and
damp Sunday afternoon here at Morse Field.
Whitman missed a golden opportunity to jump on top four minutes
into the game when George Fox goalkeeper Danny Kamna was called for
touching the ball with his hand immediately following a Bruin
throw-in. The Missionaries got the ball about 10 yards from
the right post and Todd Wallenius sent a rocket toward the goal,
only to have Kamna throw his body in front of the shot for a
spectacular save, and Chris Reid sent the rebound shot just wide of
the goal to the right.
Taking advantage of their escape, the Bruins got on the board
first at 39:44 when Kyle Story crossed from the left sideline to
the near post, where Gutierrez sent the ball just inside the post
with a left-footed shot. It was Story's conference-leading
eighth assist of the season.
Stymied most of the game by a Bruin defense that bent but did
not break, the Missionaries finally knotted the game at the 71:30
mark in the second half. Conner Bottomly got open near the
right post for a shot toward the far side of the net which was
deflected by Kamna, but Wallenius was in position on the left to
send the rebound into the goal for his sixth score of the
season.
The Bruins responded with the winning goal four-and-a-half
minutes later. Zach Sanders drove down the middle to the top
of the penalty box and sent a short through ball to Wacker coming
in from the right, who nailed the ball into the left side of the
net from 15 yards out. The Bruins then fought off six Whitman
shots in the final 10 minutes, with Kamna making two of his
career-high 10 saves in that stretch.
The Missionaries had 25 total shots and 11 on goal to 16 and
seven for the Bruins. Nic McDonald made five saves for
Whitman. The Missionaries had an edge in corner kicks,
5-2. The game was tightly called as George Fox was whistled
for 17 fouls and Whitman for 15.
George Fox (5-11, NWC 2-9) visits the University of Puget Sound
Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. conference game. Whitman (3-9-3, NWC
2-7-2) hosts the University of Great Falls Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in
a non-conference clash.
