Willamette Shuts Out Banana Slugs, 1-0, on Goal by Hanlon-Austin

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Goalkeeper Braydon Calder (So., Philomath, OR/Philomath HS) recorded five saves, including two stops on free kicks in the final nine minutes, as Willamette University shut out the University of California-Santa Cruz in men's soccer on Friday, Sept. 13 at Sparks Field. WU improved to 4-1, while UCSC dropped to 0-5.

The only goal was scored at 31:00 after Julian Hanlon-Austin (Fr., MF, Portland, OR/Grant HS) of Willamette put pressure on the Banana Slugs with a run into the penalty area.

After the ball bounced off several players, a defender just a few yards from the end line attempted to clear the ball. Instead it hit Hanlon-Austin and went into the net. Hanlon-Austin was credited with his second goal of the season.

Willamette outshot the Banana Slugs 8-6 in the first half. Hanlon-Austin took three shots for WU in the first half, while Brock Kobayashi and Peter Shelling each took two shots for UCSC.

The Bearcats earned a 5-3 edge in total shots during the final 45 minutes to end the game with a 13-9 advantage. Willamette took the first four shots of the second half, including a header just seven yards from goal by Yazan Hishmeh (So., F, Ventura, CA/Saint Bonaventure HS) that struck the crossbar at 65:13.

Earlier in the half, Tyler Yates (So., MF, Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) unleashed three shots for Willamette at 49:40, 61:04 and 63:55. His third shot was cleared by a UC-Stanta Cruz defender as the ball headed toward the goal.

The Banana Slugs had two corner kicks and eight free kicks in the final 15 minutes. Several of the restarts were well into the attacking third of the field.

At 81:22, Brent Goldewski blasted a shot from the top of the penalty area that was saved by Calder. Eight and a half minutes later at 88:54, D.J. Fuller powered a shot at Calder, who grabbed the ball and held on to help preserve the win.

Calder played well throughout the match. His total of five saves included a diving stop in the first half, plus his two saves on free kicks in the second half.

In addition, he stopped cold a couple of UCSC breakaways, including one at 55:10 in which he rushed out from the goal line and to his left to grab the ball off the foot of an onrushing player 12 yards from goal. Calder has accumulated 13 saves this season to go along with two solo shutouts and two combined shutouts.

Although Willamette took more total shots during the game, each team finished with five shots on goal during the match, while UC-Santa Cruz achieved a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.

A total of 41 fouls were called, with 22 on Willamette and 19 on UCSC. Four yellow cards were issued -- three to Banana Slug players Zach Hummel, Jaden Mustacchio and Shawn Sprague, and one to Willamette player Stefan Wutte (Fr., MF, Dallas, OR/West Salem HS).

The Bearcats don't play again until Saturday, Sept. 21, when they will host Whitman College in Willamette's Northwest Conference opener. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. (PDT) at Sparks Field. Willamette also will play at home on Sunday, Sept. 22 versus Whitworth University at 2:30 p.m.