Box Score By: Ryan Lackey
NEWBERG, ORE. --- The Bruins dominated the flow of play in their 1-1 draw with the visiting Puget Sound Loggers on Saturday afternoon. Despite outshooting the Loggers 25-11 and forcing Loggers keeper Daniel Kirsch into eight saves, the Bruins went down 1-0 in the 49th minute on a counterattack, before Austin Fish jumped on a rebound in the box in the 77th minute to equalize.
Recap:
Encouragingly, the Bruins held possession through most of the match and stymied Puget Sound's offensive forays; Bruins keeper Murray Noble was forced into just one save. Two minutes in, Logger Cameron Lorek launched a shot well over Noble's crossbar, but from there the Bruins took their shots. Arturo Hernandez's curled effort in the sixth minute was saved well, and soon afterwards Freddy Centeno's shot spun just over the bar.
Despite taking shots in bunches, the Bruins could not seem to find the back of the net. Joel Schierman's headed chance was parried well by Kirsch, and in the 33rd minute a shot by Luis Rangel was blocked, an effort by Miguel Lopez was deflected by Kirsch, and Trevor Martin fired wide, all in rapid succession. Counting themselves unlucky, the Bruins went into halftime with the score still level.
After halftime, Puget Sound stunned the Bruins on a counterattack. Stealing the ball against the run of play, Stefan Jensen found Benjamin Whitham, who finished past a helpless Noble to give the Loggers an unexpected 1-0 lead. Energized, Puget Sound enjoyed a few minutes of sustained possession, coercing Noble into a save.
The Bruins regained their composure, though, in the 77th minute Austin Fish leapt onto a ball in the Puget Sound box and slotted home. Fish's first goal of the season drew the Bruins level at 1-1. In the first half of extra time, the Bruins had a run of shots blocked by the packed-in Puget Sound defense, and much was the case in the second half: continued good play from Kirsch and a parked bus deined the Bruins open looks. Despite pushing hard for all three points, the Bruins were stymied by the Loggers, who were happy to take a point away from home.
Top Performers:
Trevor Martin was active and found space well on the attack, leading the Bruins with six shots. Luis Rangel and Sean Owens both had three attempts, as did Fish, who got off the mark with his first goal of the season. Noble, largely untested, made a save and was largely helpless on the Loggers' goal.
What It Means:
The draw settles the Bruins' record at 6-9-3 and 3-6-3 in the Northwest Conference, where they remain in sixth, a single point behind Linfield and just two points out of fourth.
What Comes Next:
The Bruins host Pacific Lutheran tomorrow afternoon.
