Box Score For Immediate Release – August 26^th, 2021

SALEM, ORE. | In a heated regular season opener hosted by NCAA DIII school Willamette University, the Warner Pacific Men's Soccer team fell just short of pulling off the road upset, losing 2-1 in overtime.

Despite holding a 1-0 lead through the first 50 minutes of the match, fatigue and a multitude of Willamette substitutions proved to be the Knights downfall. Willamette's deep bench provided them with ample opportunities to provide their starters with the necessary time to catch their breath, especially after an exhausting first half of action where the Knights came off to a fast and expected start under the direction of Head Coach Troy Ready.

Just 10 minutes into the game, forward Nick Evans received a perfectly crossed ball from defender Brandon Medrano, where it was just tall enough for the 6'3 Senior to complete the header into the upper left corner of the goal. After leading the team and Cascade Collegiate Conference in goals in the 2020 season, Evans led the Knights in today's game with 5 shots in total, 3 of which were shots on goal.

A relatively choppy and frustrating 40 minutes was to follow the lone goal of the first half, as both the Knights and Bearcats were unable to finish on multiple opportunities at their respective ends of the field. One of those opportunities for the Bearcats came in the 41^st minute of the game, when Warner Pacific goalkeeper Luis Hernandez was called for a penalty in his box, leading to a Willamette penalty kick that just narrowly shaved the bottom of the crossbar, and thus staying in play.

Until halfway through the 51^st minute, when Bearcats midfielder Ryan Sato placed a header from 9-yards out off a subsequent header from Bearcats midfielder Luke Varav. What looked to be the start of an easy clear of the original shot on goal, turned into a pinball-like opportunity that the Bearcats pounced on.

At the end of regulation, the Knights were ready for an opportunity to close this game out in their favor, but unfortunately that opportunity never came. In the 94^th minute, Bearcats forward Sean Kim found defender Mack van der Velde inside the Knights box, where he iced the game on a shot 8-yards out into the bottom right corner of the goal.

In a game that featured a rollercoaster of ups and downs for the Knights, the determination and competitive nature never faltered, as the 14 different players to take the field wearing the Warner Pacific Blue kept pace and never backed down against the 22 different Bearcats that stood in their way. Five different Knights took shots in this game, with two of them finding opportunities near the goal.

The Warner Pacific Men's Soccer team will look to bounce back when they take the field in another non-conference game hosted by NCAA DIII Linfield University, next Wednesday, September 1^st at 7pm PST in McMinnville, Ore.