Kim Scores Second Half Equalizer in 1-1 Tie with Pacific Lutheran

SALEM, Ore. – Men's Soccer extended its unbeaten streak to four games thanks to a second half goal by Sean Kim off an assist from Rory McKee, as Willamette tied conference-leading Pacific Lutheran, 1-1, in Northwest Conference play Sunday afternoon on Sparks Field.

With today's result, Willamette improves to 3-7-5 overall and 3-4-4 in NWC play. Meanwhile, Pacific Lutheran remains unbeaten in NWC action improving to 9-1-4 overall and 7-0-3 in conference games.

"We could not be prouder of the guys, as the team worked really hard all weekend" said first-year head coach Matt Corti-Young when talking about today's result. "They just continue to show lots of courage and fight."

Pacific Lutheran, who controlled 58% of the possession in the first half would get on the board first when Trevor Thompson teamed with Craig Johnson on his team-leading 14th goal of the season in the 10th minute. Johnson would begin the play with a through ball onto the awaiting foot of Thompson, who one-timed the ball into the lower right corner with his left foot. At first, the goal was not called as the referees needed to consult before allowing the goal to count for the visiting Lutes.

Neither team would find the back of the net for the final 35-plus minutes of the first half, as Kim led the Bearcats with three shots and Thompson unleashed a game-high six shots that included a pair of target in the opening half.

The second half was a complete different story for the Bearcats, as Willamette came out with firepower at the start of the second half. The Bearcats controlled the ball for much of the second half and found the equalizer in the 75th minute, as McKee slotted a pass to Kim, who used his right foot to place the ball into the lower left corner for his fourth goal of the season.

When recapping Kim's goal. Corti-Young said, "You can't really describe what Sean can do with the ball at he feet, as you just to watch and admire. He goes at people with such speed and tenacity turning people inside out. Then he found the corner of the goal, which was really cool."

Pacific Lutheran had a chance to score the potential game-winner in the 82nd minute when Thompson got off a shot that was saved by Bearcat keeper Ryan Doyle before rolling to Owen Bliskis, who unleashed a shot that was blocked by a Willamette defender to keep the game knotted at 1-apiece.

The final chance for Willamette came in the 88th minute when Kim was able to get off his sixth shot of the afternoon but it was blocked by a Lute defender.

Both teams were able to get off double-digit shots during the game, as Pacific Lutheran tallied 18 shots compared to Willamette's 15 that included a 10-8 advantage for the Bearcats in the second half.

Doyle and PLU's Nicolas Gaston each tallied a game-high five saves, as Willamette also registered a team save during the first 45 minutes of action.

Thompson would end the afternoon with a game-high eight shots, including four on target, for Pacific Lutheran, while Kim tallied a team-leading six shots for the host Bearcats to keep their unbeaten streak alive. 

When talking about Willamette's four-match unbeaten streak, Corti-Young stated, "I said to the guys after the game that you just have to continue to believe in yourself and they giving us reason to keep believing in themselves and I think that really good to see. Having Drew come back in and make a difference today and Simon Stein play a different position. Everybody that gets onto the field keeps stepping up so that builds momentum and its fun to watch."

Willamette will put its unbeaten streak on the line when the Bearcats return to action next weekend against the Bruins of George Fox University on Saturday, October 26, with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 PM in Newberg.