TACOMA, Wash. - Scoring off a rebounded shot early in the second half, the University of Puget Sound Loggers made that one goal stand up as the pre-season Northwest Conference favorites squeezed past the feisty George Fox University Bruins 1-0 in women's soccer action Saturday afternoon here at Baker Stadium.

The Loggers, who are pursuing their 11th straight conference championship, and the Bruins, who were picked eighth in the conference pre-season poll, battled through a scoreless first half, even though UPS had 13 shots to one for George Fox.  Bruin goalkeeper Alyssa Montero turned away all three of the Loggers' first-half shots that were on target.

The home team broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half.  Theresa Henle's shot in the box was blocked by a Bruin defender, but the rebound went directly to Kylie Beeson, who reversed it into the net for her first score of the season.

From that point on, the game returned to the defensive struggle it had been in the first.  The George Fox defense bent under five more UPS shots but did not break, while the Loggers limited the Bruins to only three more shots.  None of the four George Fox shots in the game were on goal, while Puget Sound managed only five good shots on the day out of a total of 20.

Montero made four saves for the Bruins, while UPS goalies Casey Thayer and Kara Merfeld had no stops to make in splitting the shutout.  Michelle Young had half of the Bruins' shots with two, while Rosie Jaye took four shots for the Loggers.  UPS held a 12-4 advantage in corner kicks. 

NEXT:  George Fox (1-3-2, NWC 0-2) visits 23rd-ranked Linfield College (5-0, NWC 1-0) Sunday for a 12:00 noon clash ... Puget Sound (2-2-1, NWC 1-0-1) is off for a week, hosting Linfield next Saturday at 12:00 noon.