McMINNVILLE, Ore. – From start to finish, Spencer Augustin and the 19th-ranked Pacific Lutheran men's soccer team had their way with Linfield, soundly defeating the Wildcats 8-0 Sunday afternoon at the Linfield soccer field.
Augustin netted four goals and assisted on another as the Lutes won a program-record ninth straight match to maintain their hold on first place in the Northwest Conference with 10-1 record in league matches and 13-2 overall mark. The previous record for consecutive wins was eight set by the 1987 PLU men's soccer team.
The Wildcats are now 1-9-1 in the NWC and 2-11-1 overall.
PLU wasted little time getting on the board, scoring three goals in rapid succession to claim a 3-0 advantage less than 13 minutes into the first period.
Chad Kearns, the reigning NWC Offensive Player of the Year, scored first for the Lutes in the 13th minute. Linfield keeper Grant Loriaux ran out to stop the play and dove for the ball at Kearns' feet, but the forward lifted his shot over Loriaux and into the net.
About three minutes later, Kearns set up PLU's second score. He took a shot on goal, which was stopped but not controlled by Loriaux. As the ball rolled away from the keeper and the goal, Augustin came streaking down the left side of the goal box and fired his own shot into the net for his first goal of the match.
Augustin scored the third goal, beating his defender, dribbling to the right side of the box, and then crossing the ball just outside the outstretched arms of a diving Loriaux. Kearns has scored 10 goals this season.
Tyler Sedlacek had a solid look at the goal just before halftime, but PLU keeper Joe Rayburn made a great save on the hard-hit ball to keep the 'Cats off the scoreboard.
Pacific Lutheran showed no mercy after the break, scoring five more times.
The fourth tally of the match came less than five minutes into the second period on an unassisted goal by Augustin. The senior's shot attempt bounced off the right post and sprung back into the left corner of the net. Augustin completed his hat trick in the 62nd minute when he dribbled from the right baseline and sliced the ball into the left corner of the net.
For Augustin, the three goals give him 17 for the season in 15 matches, moving him into third place on the PLU single-season goals scoring list. Mark Stockwell holds the record with 21 goals in 1981, and Brian Gardner scored 19 goals in 1989.
Three different players notched the final three goals for Pacific Lutheran. Richard Renteria scored his second goal of the season in the 77th minute after receiving a cross from Brenden Cohen. About five minutes later, Alex Schisel delivered a free kick to Derek Johnson, who headed the ball into the net for his third goal. The final score was set up by a corner kick. Schisel struck the ball, which slid past several players in front of the goal before John Thompson connected with it on the right side of the goal and put it in the back of the net for his first collegiate goal.
Overall, Pacific Lutheran outshot the Wildcats 27-7. A total of 23 players saw action for the Wildcats, and 22 for the Lutes. Linfield played a man down over the final 23:22 of the match and two men down over the final 8:26 because of red cards.
(Courtesy of Linfield Sports Information Office)
