#7 LOGGERS WIN INSTANT CLASSIC, 2-1
TACOMA, Wash. - In what can only be described as an instant classic in what has become a fantastic rivalry, the seventh-ranked Puget Sound Loggers scored a goal late in regulation and then put home the game-winner in overtime to earn a 2-1 win over the visiting Whitworth Pirates in a Northwest Conference men's soccer match on Sunday afternoon at Peyton Field at Baker Stadium in Tacoma.
The Loggers (9-0-0, 4-0-0 NWC) and Pirates (7-2-1, 5-1-0 NWC) battled through the first half as neither team was able to get a goal in the defense-minded contest. In the second period, Whitworth broke the draw in the 69th minute when Caleb Barnhill broke free of a UPS defender and fired a shot past Pete Van Sant (Santa Cruz, Calif.). The Loggers evened things up in the 80th minute when Scott Blanchet (Gig Harbor, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) took the ball from a scrum near the goal line and powered a shot into the net to push the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Loggers used the momentum they gained in the later stages of regulation to keep the ball in their offensive half of the field and Greg Swanson (University Place, Wash./Curtis) found Mark Conrad (Seattle, Wash./Willamette) near the far post on the cross from the endline. Conrad was able to get up and put the ball into the net to give Puget Sound the 2-1 overtime win.
The game was physical on both sides with 23 fouls called in the 97-minute contest and three yellow cards dished out by the offiicals. Whitworth finished with 19 shots on the game, compared with 15 for the Loggers but Van Sant showed why he was named an All-American in 2006, making seven saves to earn the win.
The Loggers will next be in action on Saturday afternoon when they play host to Pacific.
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