Logger men’s soccer experienced mixed results last week, going 1-1 on a road trip that saw them take on the Whitworth Pirates and the Whitman Missionaries over the weekend of Sept. 24 to 25.
The Loggers went into their game on Saturday, Sept. 24 with plenty of confidence, having won their last three games, including two against Williamette and Linfield to open conference play.
Thus, the stage was set for a battle between two teams with undefeated conference records, as the Loggers travelled to Spokane to take on the Whitworth Pirates.
Unfortunately, the Loggers were simply outplayed by the Pirates, as they only managed one shot on goal in the entire match, and eventually lost to Whitworth 3-0.
From the beginning, the Logger defense was on its heels against the Pirates, allowing the Pirates to collect 13 shots, nine of which were on goal.
The Pirates finally broke through in the 35th minute, as JT Meyer dribbled the ball along the left sideline before arcing a shot past the Logger goalie, junior Chris McDonald (Newton, Mass.) into the right corner of the net, putting his team up 1-0.
Perhaps the Loggers’ best chance at scoring came at the end of the first half, as the Loggers had four corner kicks before the half, but couldn’t convert any of their opportunities.
The Pirates eventually broke the game open in the 83rd minute, where they scored two goals in 32 seconds. The first goal came as Pirate midfielder Cameron Bushey served the ball into the middle of the pitch, and Nate Spangler was able to finish, putting the ball in the lower left corner of the net.
Bushey also set up the next goal, passing the ball to midfielder Sam Selisch, who was able to get another shot past McDonald less than a minute later. This gave the Pirates a commanding 3-0 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Luckily, the Loggers were able to bounce back the next day against Whitman, as they defeated the Missionaries 4-0 on goals from four different Logger players.
The Missionaries looked to be in good position after the first period, which ended in a scoreless tie. The Loggers had a number of chances early, accumulating 10 shots in the first period, but failed to convert in the first half of play.
However, they finally broke through in the 54th minute, as freshman Connor LeFerriere (Tacoma, Wash.) thrust the ball into the net following an assist from senior Peter Russell (Beavercreek, Ore.) to put Puget Sound on top of the Missionaries.
The Loggers then doubled their lead just 15 minutes later, as junior forward Ryan Rash intercepted a pass and moved the ball ahead to sophomore Carson Swope, who took advantage of the Missionaries’ defensive position by scoring a second goal.
Ryan Rash eventually added a goal of his own in the 69th minute, scoring on a header following a cross from sophomore Matthew Durland. Sophomore Geoffrey Cleveland scored his first goal of the season in the 86th minute, ending the scoring and allowing the Loggers to finish on top of the Missionaries 4-0.
While the weekend was obviously a very mixed bag for the Loggers, they have to be satisfied with the end result.
Despite a brief lapse in the 83rd minute in the Whitworth game, the Loggers’ defense, lead by goalie Chris McDonald, was largely solid, as they only allowed one other goal, and McDonald collected nine saves.
And despite the setback at Whitworth, the Loggers’ conference record stands at 3-1, putting them in great position as they continue NWC play against Pacific University on Saturday, Oct. 1.