By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
NEWBERG, Ore. -- Willamette University's defense limited George Fox University to just three shots, while Luke Varav (So., M, Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park HS) and Edwin Ortiz (Sr., F, Salem, OR/North Salem HS) scored goals in the second half, as the Bearcats defeated the Bruins, 2-0, at the Austin Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 21. Willamette took 17 shots, including 10 shots on goal in the win. All three of GFU's shots were not on target.
The Bearcats, who are ranked #13 in NCAA Division III, improved to 11-1-2 on the season and to 9-1-0 in the Northwest Conference. George Fox dropped to 2-9-3 overall, 0-6-3 in the NWC.
Willamette outshot the Bruins 8-0 in the first half, but were unable to score. GFU goalkeeper Cade Matsumoto kept the score at 0-0 by earning five of his eight saves in the first half.
Two of Matsumoto's three saves in the second half occurred at 58:13 on a shot by Varav and at 61:04 on a shot by Jett Starr (Jr., F, Portland, OR/Cleveland HS). A few minutes later, the Bearcats took a flurry of shots, as a strike by Sean Kim (Jr., F, Sunnyvale, CA/Homestead HS) was blocked at 64:30, a shot by Ardem Baronian (Sr., M/F, Los Altos, CA/St. Francis HS) was blocked at 64:48, and four seconds later Varav scored.
Varav's shot from the top of the 18-yard box was powerful and went off the arm of Matsumoto, who dove in an attempt to record a save. The ball then hit the bottom of the crossbar and went into the net. It was Varav's third goal of the season.
All three of GFU's shots were in the second half. One was about 10 minutes prior to the first goal. The effort by Santiago Munevar was blocked. The second, by Joshua Chang, went wide left at 66:57 and the third, also taken by Chang, was blocked at 79:21.
Baronian forced Matsumoto to make his final save for the Bruins at 85:56. The Bruins took a corner kick at 89:19 with hopes of tying the score, but the Bearcats were able to counter-attack. A foul was called on GFU with about 13 seconds left. A quick restart led to Ortiz scoring into an empty net from 35 yards out with eight seconds remaining.
Varav led all players with four shots -- all on target. Baronian, Kim, and Pierce Gallaway (Sr., M, Carmel, CA/Carmel HS) each took three shots for the Bearcats. WU goalkeeper Pierluca Carnovale (Jr., GK, Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) led the defense, but did not have to make a save to claim the shutout. He has earned four solo shutouts and one shared shutout this season, while contributing a 1.09 goals against average.
Willamette will play Pacific University at Sparks Field on the Willamette campus on Sunday, Oct. 23. Game time for the Senior Day match-up is set for 2:30 p.m. (PDT). The Bearcats will close out the regular season with three consecutive road games.