Box Score Photo Taken By: Jake Ryan
By: Riley Bushnell
Newberg, Ore. --- Much like their fellow athletes on the Volleyball team accomplished yesterday, the George Fox men's soccer team earned their first conference win today in a thriller against Linfield, 2-1.
Recap:
Similar to the Bruin's last match up in Tacoma, the tempo was swift early on, resulting in a 1-1 tie before 30 minutes ticked off the clock. This time, George Fox would be the first to draw blood. Midfielder Sean Owens would craft a dart of an assist, threading the needle to teammate Joab Logan who sent the ball through the hands of the goalie into the back of the net for the 1-0 advantage in the 11th minute. After a shot off the post by Diaz Moi, Brian DeGrandmont of the Wildcats would tie the game at 1-1 in the 19th minute.
Linfield kept pressing in the second half offensively. However, even with seven corner kicks and 13 shots on goal, nothing resulted in a goal the entire second half for Linfield. The same could be said for George Fox until about 5 minutes left in the game.
In the 85th minute, Joab Logan took a Linfield defender mano-a-mano, isolating him on the short side of the net. Noticing the defender was closing tight, Joab made a fantastic move to force the goalie to take a step towards him. He then fired a ball that went through the goalies legs, giving the Bruins a game-winner.
Top Performers:
With his impressive two-goal performance, Joab Logan is undoubtedly the top performer of the game although his supporting cast also played well. Sean Owens earned his first assist on the year with his pass to Joab in the first half. Lost in the impressive performance of Joab Logan was defender Rowan Blake's striking header in the 22nd minute that required a save by Linfield goalkeeper Jorge Rodriguez. George Fox's goalkeeper Murray Noble notched 8 saves in the game, a pivotal stat against the aggressive Linfield attack. Noble had three saves towards the end of the game that left Linfield's bench in disarray.
What This Means:
George Fox improves to 1-2 in-conference and 4-5 overall, while Linfield drops to 1-2 in conference and 5-4 overall.
What Comes Next:
George Fox takes a trip down to Salem to face off with the Willamette Bearcats on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
