SALEM, Ore. – The George Fox men's soccer team fought hard despite falling down early against the Willamette Bearcats, losing, 2-1.

How It Happened
The Bruins began the game on defense as Willamette attacked with full force. The Bearcats attempted a shot less than five minutes in, but Fox sent it high in the air and out of bounds. Fox kept good control of the ball, leaning towards the center right side of the field—freshman Liam Urbina kept a good handle on it, and Elijah Soon gained access and charged the goalkeeper. However, nearly 17 minutes in, a Willamette header led to a goal from inside the 18-yard box. The Bruins were down 1-0.

Four minutes of back-and-forth action led the Bearcats to another goal in the 25th minute. This time, a cross from the Bearcats deflected off of several players on both teams before ending at the feet of Ky Iliev, who knocked the ball into the left corner of the net to make the score 2-0.

Fox nearly answered several minutes later when Eugene Peltier had a free kick; the senior sending the ball to the far left corner, and Raiden Renggli saw an opening, sending the ball far and wide towards the goal, but missing to the right. Five minutes later, it was Peltier who shot, swerving around Bearcat defenders to shoot a straight shot to the goal—but the ball was blocked by Willamette to end the half, 2-0 in favor of the home team.

The second half was stronger for Fox, as Carson Tapia attempted a shot with a header in the early stages of the half. The best opportunity of the day came in the 65th minute, when Urbina drew a free kick just outside of the box. Peltier took  a free kick, and his placement was perfect—the forward kicked the ball up and over the defense, into the center of the goal, and just above the goalie, locking in the Bruins' goal of the night. 

The goal rejuvenated the Bruins, and gave Peltier some motivation as he attempted to score again a few minutes later; this time, the senior missed, sending it out top right. Three more shots were attempted by Fox to end the game—one by Renggli, bottom left but saved by the Bearcats, one attempt by Peltier, missing out right, and one by Alec Buongervino missing out top. Those three misses handed Fox the loss, 2-1.

Top Performances
Eugene Peltier made the lone goal of the game for the Bruins on four attempted shots. Raiden Renggli had three attempted shots, while Carson Tapia and Alec Buongervino had one attempted shot each.

What It Means
George Fox falls to 4-5-5 (2-4-4 NWC), while Willamette advances 3-5-6 (3-2-5 NWC) on their season. 

What Comes Next
The Bruins will be back in Newberg, Ore. to play against the Puget Sound Loggers (5-4-2, 4-3-1 NWC) on Saturday, October 18. The game is scheduled for 2:45 pm.