McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- The George Fox men's soccer team used a complete team effort to pick up their first Northwest Conference win of the season, downing the rival Linfield Wildcats, 1-0, on the road on Sunday afternoon.

How It Happened
The Bruins withstood an early attack from the Wildcats in the opening minutes of the game before completely changing the momentum. Only seven minutes into the game, Eugene Peltier found a crossing Robert Rodarte on the back side of the post. Rodarte's header snuck by the Wildcat goalie and gave the Bruins a quick 1-0 lead. The entire attack was set up by a steal from Joshua Chang.

For the remainder of the first half, the Bruins outshot the Wildcats, giving themselves many more opportunities. Peltier and Kellin Aguiar had looks shortly after Rodarte's goal. While the Bruin offense continued to attack, the defense shut down the Wildcat attack. Cade Matsumoto saw only one shot over the final 30 minutes of the half come on goal, and the Bruins headed into the half with a 1-0 lead.

Much like the first meeting between the two teams on Sept. 24 — a game that saw a whopping 12 yellow cards — the second half ramped up the aggression from both teams. Though there was only one yellow card handed out the entire game, the second half saw 22 fouls called on both teams. Through all the aggression, the Bruin defense continued to hold off the Linfield attack.

Cade Matsumoto broke up several attempts from the Wildcats, including two saves in a two-minute time frame with 30 minutes remaining in the game. Those looks were some of the best opportunities the Wildcats had all day, but the Bruin defense held Linfield scoreless to win in an impressive 1-0 victory.

Top Performers
Rodarte's third goal of the season was the decider on the afternoon, while Pelier's cross was his second assist. After totaling only eight shots in their first matchup of the season, the Bruins outshot the Wildcats 17-12; Brennan Martin was the other Bruin besides Rodarte to notch a shot on goal, while Joshua Chang totaled three shots. Cade Matsumoto finished the day with five saves.

Coach's Thoughts
"We have been building towards a more complete game for a while as we continue to mature," Bruin head coach Paul Karver said," I'm very proud of the boys for what they did today on the road, and we look forward to taking more steps in a positive direction."

What It Means
The Bruins' first conference win improves their conference record to 1-6-3, with a 3-9-3 overall mark. The Wildcats slip to 5-10-1 (4-6-1 NWC).

What Happens Next
The Bruins return home to face the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday, Oct. 29. The two teams previously met on Sept. 18 in Spokane, Wash. in a 2-2 tie.