Box Score TACOMA, Wash.—With a victory over Linfield Sunday, the Puget Sound women's soccer team took the Northwest Conference lead with just two matches remaining.
The Loggers got on the scoreboard with their first shot of the game when midfielder Amalia Acorda-Fey buried a low cross from forward Robin Vieira just the second minute of the match. At just two minutes into the match, it was the fastest goal the Loggers have scored this season.
One minute later goalie Casey Thayer, making her final career start at Peyton Field, tallied her first of three saves, knocking down a header from Linfield's Ellie Schmidt. The ball bounced in front of Thayer for a couple seconds, but she hopped on the loose ball to prevent any more Wildcat attempts.
Puget Sound added its' second goal of the game in the 20th minute on a play much like their first score came on. This time, however, it was Kylie Beeson with the ball by the touchline. She fired an aerial cross to Acorda-Fey on the far post who put it in again for her second goal of the match. With the brace, Acorda-Fey has now scored two goals twice this season.
Much of the first half was played at midfield as neither team was solid in the attacking third of the pitch. Despite possessing the ball a bit more, the Loggers only registered two shots in the first half—their two goals—and Linfield saw four attempts, three of which were on net.
Just half a minute into the second half, Acorda-Fey sent a shot wide of the net, registering her third shot the day. The Wildcats responded with a great opportunity in the 49th minute when Lindzee Baker found herself one-on-one with new Puget Sound keeper Lauren Thomas. The attack was whistled offside, however, and the Loggers were spared a difficult situation.
After the play called offside, Puget Sound tallied two shots, an attempt wide by Cassie Winter and another Acorda-Fey shot that went wide as well. Frenzied moments insued just a minute later when Linfield saw two shots in a span of eight seconds. Linfield's Baker put a shot on goal to see it knocked off the line by a Logger defender, then Schmidt knocked the rebound wide of the goalmouth and out for a goal kick.
The Wildcats tallied one last shot on goal in the 81st minute, when Thomas came up and grabbed a shot from the Wildcats' Molly McCool.
In all, the Loggers took seven shots, two on frame, while Linfield put up nine shots, six on target. Thayer led all keepers with three saves, while Thomas added two and the Logger defense earned a team save, while Linfield keeper Kallina Haase didn't make a save, but only saw two shots on frame against.
"Being able to get two goals early was key," said Puget Sound head coach Randy Hanson. Give Linfield credit, they're a very formidable attacking team and the weekend was hard on them; they played yesterday and we did not. So getting two early goals was key and the longer things go, the tougher it is to make a comeback. I was really proud of our team, the way we managed the game at the end."
The Logger defense kept prolific Linfield forward Emily Fellows off the scoresheet only the fourth time this season. Fellows, who leads the conference with 19 goals scored, tallied only one shot the entire match. The shutout is Puget Sound's 12th of the season and seventh in its last eight matches.
Puget Sound (13-2-2, 11-1-2 NWC) will close out the regular season next weekend by traveling to Pacific and Lewis & Clark. The Loggers head to Forest Grove, Ore., for a showdown with the Boxers on Friday, Nov. 8, while wrapping up the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Lewis & Clark. Both matches will start at 11:00 a.m.
