SALEM, ORE. George Fox University scored on a shot by Erich Hangartner at 29:47 and held Willamette University off the scoreboard, as the Bruins defeated the Bearcats, 1-0, in a Northwest Conference game at Spark Field on Tuesday, Sept. 26. George Fox improved its record to 5-3-1 on the season, including 1-3-0 in the NWC. Willamette, which lost for the third consecutive game, fell to 1-7-1 overall, 0-3-1 in the conference.

Hangartner scored from 10 yards after receiving a crossing pass from Matt Gurlides, who was attacking down the right side of the field. Hangartner struck the ball well, sending it out of the reach of Willamette goalie Mark Bennett (Fr. Salt Lake City, UT/West High School) and into the goal.

The teams combined for 47 total shots, but only about a third reasched the goalies. George Fox registered most of the accurate shots, posting 12 shots on goal to just four shots on goal for the Bearcats. The Bruins also claimed an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Bennett earned a season-high 11 saves, as he reached double digits for the first time this season. He made several quality saves to keep Willamette within one goal of tying the contest.

The Bearcats had perhaps their best scoring chance with just under 30 seconds remaining, when Paul Slavik (Sr., MF, Portland, OR/Grant HS) shot from about 12 yards. His blast went past GFU goalkeeper Jake Maguire, but sailed a couple of feet over the crossbar, near the left side of the goal.

Maguire recorded four saves for the Bruins as he earned his first solo shutout of the season. GFU achieved its fifth shutout as a team, but Maguire and Kyle Putnam each played 45 minutes in the other games.

Willamette will play at Sparks Field again on Saturday, Sept. 30, when the Bearcats host NWC rival Linfield College. Game time is slated for 2:30 p.m. (PDT).