Box Score TACOMA, Wash.—The Puget Sound women's soccer team grabbed an early lead and didn't look back, beating Pacific 2-0 Sunday at Peyton Field in Tacoma, Wash.
The Loggers tallied two shots on goal in the first eight minutes of the game. Annie Jonsson fired a ball on frame in the seven minutes into the period, but Pacific keeper Kayla Davidson hopped in front of it for her first save of the day. Less than a minute later, Jonsson found herself a few yards off to the left of the goal, but didn't have a scoring angle. She instead crossed it over to Kylie Beeson on the far post, who then netted the ball and put the Loggers ahead. Beeson's score was the earliest Logger goal of the year.
The best scoring chance for Pacific in the first period came off a corner 26 minutes into the match. Almao Lucy booted a dangerous ball into the Puget Sound box, but Logger keeper Lauren Thomas came off her line to snare the ball before a play could develop. Thomas did not have much to do in the first half as the Boxers couldn't manage a shot in the first 45 minutes of the match.
A few minutes later, the Loggers added to their lead. Defender Meghan Ellis found a loose ball at her feet after a corner and launched a shot on target. Davidson made saved the shot but couldn't control the rebound, which fell to Logger defender Lauren Swanson who tapped it in for her second goal of the year.
The Loggers kept up the pressure for the rest of the half, registering four shots and being called offside twice in the final 15 minutes. Pacific did not register a shot, but they did take two corner kicks and see a few more attacks break down in front of the Logger net.
The Logger offense kept up pressure for most of the second half, creating eight shots, five of which were on goal. Three of them came in a span of five minutes as Jonsson tallied another shot on target in the 58th minute, which Davidson saved. Three minutes later, the Loggers earned a corner kick, during which Robin Vieira saw an attempt saved by Davidson. To wrap up the busy five minutes for Puget Sound, Lauren Hamilton took her one shot on frame of the match, only to see it end up in Davidson's hands again.
More than an hour into the match, Pacific tallied their first shot, a blocked attempt taken by Almao Lucy. The Boxer offense proved potent in the final 15 minutes of the match, as the visitors put together four shots, two on target, and attempted a corner kick. The first shot on goal of the match for Pacific came in the 78th minute, where a shot by Lucy ended up in Thomas' hands. Twenty seconds later, Thomas turned aside a Kara Lankey shot for a Boxer corner.
With five minutes left, the Boxers saw their closest chance at a goal as Lankey stood over a free kick from 25 yards out. She made an attempt on goal, but the ball hit the crossbar and barely rolled backwards for a Logger goal kick. With the clean sheet, the Loggers defense tallied its seventh shutout of the year.
"We were joking yesterday that one day we'll win by two. Fortunately our day came early," said Puget Sound head coach Randy Hanson. "Overall we played well, keeping the ball, moving the ball, and creating chances. Then in the second half, the last 10 minutes leave a little bit of a bad taste in your mouth because they put some pressure on us, but we weathered that and were able to secure the win"
The Loggers (7-2-2, 4-1-2) will now hit the road for two matches and head over to eastern Washington. They take on Whitworth Saturday, Oct. 19 in Spokane, Wash., and Whitman Sunday, Oct. 20 in Walla Walla, Wash. Both matches will start at 12:00 p.m.
