 Prospect QuestionnaireAround The Nation |
Late Portland Goal Hands Gonzaga 2-1 Men's Soccer Loss
Oct. 24, 2008
SPOKANE, Wash. - The University of Portland's Patrick Jurney was in the right place at the right time Friday afternoon as his goal at 87:20 gave the visiting Pilots a 2-1 West Coast Conference men's soccer victory over Gonzaga University at Gonzaga Soccer Field. Michael Nielsen's throw-in from the near side went through Gonzaga (5-7-2; 2-4-1) keeper Scott Barnum's hand, the ball landing at the feet of Jurney who had half of the net to shoot at from close range for the easy decisive goal. The Bulldogs had not lost to Portland in the last seven matches, going 4-0-3 in that stretch including a victory earlier this year in Portland. The Bulldogs had tied the match at 68:55 as sophomore Nick Love, back in action with a cast on his right hand, scored his first goal of the season on a rebound from 12 yards out that caught the far post. Tye Perdido took the initial shot that was saved by Pilot (6-7-2; 3-4-0) keeper Austin Guerrero but the rebound went to Love on the right wing and he beat Guerrero to the far post. Love returned to action after missing last week's match after suffering a broken thumb on the Bulldogs southern California trip two week's ago. He was put in the hard cast Thursday and cleared to play with padding on the cast. Portland had taken a 1-0 lead when the freshman Nielsen scored his first career goal - his first career assists came on the match-winning tally - at 57:05. Frankie Lopez' shot was saved by Barnum but he was unable to corral the ball and an errant clearing pass went to Nielsen who was positioned on the right side outside the 6-yard box. Both keepers came up with critical saves. Guerrero was called on for back-to-back saves in the 14th minute when Perdido shot from the right wing and Bryan Mullaney's rebound attempt was also stopped.
Perdido's pass to the right wing for former Pilot Collin Harrison was just out of Harrison's reach. Harrison and Guerrero arrived at the ball simultaneously and Guerrero's slide snuffed Harrison's attempt at a solid shot. The Pilots Collen Warner was called for a yellow card on the play for taking down Perdido after the pass and preventing a 2-on-1 Bulldog break. Near the end of the first half Perdido rifled another hard shot at Guerrero from 16 yards on the left wing THAT THE Portland keeper turned away. The Pilots almost made it 2-0 in the 68th minute when Lopez took a right-to-left shot that Barnum got a hand on, the ball deflecting off the far post. Ryan Luke scored what appeared to be the 2-0 goal on the rebound, but the Pilots were called for offside. Two Portland players and Perdido were involved in a collision going for a ball just past midfield in the 75th minute. Portland's Ryan Kawulok left the match with an apparent ankle injury and Vlastimir Davidovic left after apparently banging heads with Perdido in the collision. Perdido remained in the match. Gonzaga's Philippe Garre nearly gave the Bulldogs the lead in the 81st minute, his low shot from 30 yards just clearing the far post. A minute later Lopez took a Gonzaga turnover deep in the zone, dribbled in on the left wing but shot high right. Guerrero had seven saves for the Pilots, Barnum three for the Bulldogs as Gonzaga held a 14-10 shots advantage and an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. There were 31 fouls called in the contest - 16 on the Pilots - and each team was issued two yellow cards, three of them for hard tackles. Gonzaga will be back in action on the road next week, heading to Santa Clara University next Friday and the University of San Francisco Sunday. |
