Men’s Soccer looking for offensive spark: Loggers relying heavily on defense to keep them in games

The football team wasn’t the only team to go into overtime last weekend. The men’s soccer team had a tough match that ended in a tie against Whitworth.  The team had a 3 game winning streak going into the upcoming matches over the mountains. Senior Kyle Benson (Mukilteo, Wash.) said, “I feel extremely confident in our team going into this weekend”. The Loggers also remain undefeated at home.

In preparation for the game Benson said of his team, “Our strategy to win has been in our preparation for this week and following our coach and philosophy without doubts.” Benson was certainly prepared when he scored for the Loggers in the game’s first period.

Whitworth didn’t wait long after the second period to retaliate; their goal was scored off a rebound shot 2 minutes into the second period. Whitworth had 7 shots on goal in the second half, only one getting past sophomore goalie Chris McDonald (Newton, Mass.). McDonald had a 0.48 GAA average going into last weekend’s matches with 4 shutouts in 8 games.

When the 90 minutes of regulation game play were up, Puget Sound and Whitworth went into overtime. In the first 10 minutes of overtime, Whitworth had another 3 shots on goal, although none were successful. Going into the next 10 minutes of overtime, Puget Sound got a shot on goal by freshman Carson Swope (Portland, Ore.) which was saved by Whitworth goalie Brian Sherpe.  The Logger men ended their match against Whitworth tied 1-1.

In the next day in Walla Walla, the Loggers came out firing against Whitman. The team had a total of 10 shots, three of which coming from Benson. Freshman Landon Gauthier (Fox Island, Wash.), freshman Andrew White (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), and Swope also had shots on goal, but none of them were successful in punching one through for the Loggers.

Two of Whitman’s goals came in the first period of the game, the last coming in the second period. McDonald had three saves for the Loggers but with 17 shots against the loggers, 6 of which were on goal, he had his work cut out for him.

This is the conference first loss for the men’s soccer team and only the second loss of the year. With a young team which includes only 1 senior and 16 freshmen the Loggers are making a good showing thus far. With over half the team not having played in college until this year, the Loggers will be facing some far more experienced teams.

This week the men’s team comes home and will defend against the Pacific Boxers and the George Fox Bruins. The Loggers have yet to lose at home.