By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Samuel Twenhafel (Sr., D, Anchorage, AK/South Anchorage HS) provided the Bearcats with two assists, and Jett Starr (Sr., F, Portland, OR/Cleveland HS) scored his team-leading eighth goal of the year, as Willamette University defeated Lewis & Clark College 4-0 on Sunday, Oct. 15 at Sparks Field. Prior to the game, Willamette honored its seven seniors, including Twenhafel and Starr.
The shutout win improved the Bearcats to 6-7-1 overall, 6-3-1 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette outshot the L&C 25-1, as the Pioneers fell to 0-14-0 on the season, 0-10-0 in the NWC.
Luke Varav (Jr., M/F, Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park HS) opened the scoring at 38:41 on a 21-yard shot from the left side. Varav's shot went into the upper right corner of the goal following a slight deflection from L&C goalie Declan Cloutier. Twenhafel earned an assist on the play.
Willamette doubled its lead to 2-0 before halftime on a goal by Ryan O'Grady (So., D, Los Angeles, CA/John Marshall HS) at 42:39. O'Grady connected with the goal on an 11-yard shot toward the lower left corner. The scoring play began when a pass from Simon Stein (Jr., D, Orinda, CA/Miramonte HS) near the end line was deflected in the middle and went directly to O'Grady.
Starr produced Willamette's third goal on a header at 53:30. He was seven yards out near the left post when he received the ball on a corner kick from Twenhafel. Starr headed the ball into the upper right corner of the net. He has scored a goal in seven of the last eight games for the Bearcats.
Kiernan Van Engen (Fy., M/D, Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry HS) completed the scoring with an eight-yard header at 67:18. As with Starr's goal, the ball found the upper right corner. Dylan Ray (Fy., D, Torrance, CA/West HS), who passed the ball to Van Engen from the right side of the field, was credited with an assist.
Willamette's 25 shots included five by Max Albano (Jr., M, Aiea, HI/Maryknoll HS) and three each from Krisna LaFrance (Jr., F, Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) and Lucas Carballo (Fy., F, Riverside, CA/Bloomington HS). Daniel Estoll took L&C's only shot at 71:18 on a lengthy attempt that went wide left. The Pioneers challenged on several other occasions but were not able to create additional shots.
The Bearcats achieved a 10-0 edge in corner kicks and kept possession for 61% of the match. Goalkeepers Pierluca Carnovale (Sr., GK, Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) and Ibrahm Garza (So., GK, Portland, OR/Cleveland HS) each played 45 minutes to share the shutout, but did not have to make any saves. Carnovale returned to action after missing seven games due to an injury. He played in the first half, while Ibrahm played in the second half.
In addition to Twenhafel and Starr, other seniors for Willamette are Albano (3/2 Engineering), Carnovale, Simon Kidder (Sr., M, Bend, OR/Summit HS), Fernando Bitelli (Sr., F/M, Sao Paulo, Brazil/Roseburg HS, Ore.), Sean Kim (Sr., F, Sunnyvale, CA/Homestead HS),
Up next for Willamette is a game at the University of Puget Sound on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff in Tacoma, Washington, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. PDT.
