WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The George Fox men's soccer team fell to the Whitman Blues in a tough 2-0 loss after a heavily defensive game.
How It Happened
The first half of the game against the Blues was a defensive test for both teams. The first shots of the game were attempted by Whitman, but did no harm as both missed to the right of the goal. The Blues maintained their aggression and kept putting up shots around the goal. However, none of them found the back of the net thanks to defense from goalkeeper
Chase Nelson. Throughout the first half Nelson was a force that Whitman could not get past; after his first save at the 14 minute mark, he had two more consecutive saves on low left shots in minutes 18 and 19, respectively.
Alongside Nelson, George Fox's defense made it all the more difficult for Whitman to get on the board. 34 minutes in, the Bruins offense started to pick up with a shot from
Carson Tapia. As he approached the goal to score, he shot, but the ball found its way into the Blues goalkeeper's hands. It wasn't long after that
Kellin Aguiar infiltrated Whitman's territory for a shot of his own, but it also was cut short by the goalkeeper. The Blues put up a few more shots of their own in the final minutes; however, none of the shots found their way into the back of the net due to another save from Nelson. The first half ended scoreless after George Fox put a stop to all 12 attempts made by Whitman.
In a change of pace, it was the Bruins who fired first in the second half — Issac Williams attempting a shot in the fifth minute which missed wide. It didn't take long for Williams to come back for another shot, but it also unfortunately missed the back of the net. Continuing GFU's offensive streak was
Kaimi Victor who also attempted a shot. Whitman attempted a few shots as well, but they — like GFU's — didn't fall until the 76th minute. In a sudden setback, Whitman's high right shot touched the back of the net for the first advantage of the game, 1-0.
The Bruin offense began to put up more shots — made by Williams, Aguiar, and
Carson Tapia — in hopes of tying the game, but they couldn't connect. Despite the Bruin's best attempts, the Blues were able to sneak one more goal into the net and gain an even bigger advantage to make the score 2-0, a score that ended up as the final.
Top Performances
Issac Williams had the most shots with a total of four followed by
Kellin Aguiar and
Carson Tapia with two each. Goalkeeper
Chase Nelson ended with five saves and in his full 90 minutes of playing.
Coach's Thoughts
"A few moments decided it," Bruin head coach
Paul Karver said, "Whitman is a a true challenge as always and there is no question why they are on top of the league. We gave it a proper effort and in the end it was a few moments where we lacked quality and they didn't. Games in our conference hang on a knife's edge and today was no different."
What It Means
Whitman is now 12-0-5 (11-0-2 NWC) and George Fox is 5-9-4 (3-8-3 NWC) for the season.
What Happens Next
The Bruins will play next in Spokane, Wash. against Whitworth. The game on Sunday, November 2 against the Pirates will begin at 1:45 pm
