McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Returning Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year Emily Fellows scored two goals, including the game-winner to break a 1-1 tie in the second half, as 24th-ranked Linfield held off the Pacific Lutheran women's soccer team 2-1 Saturday afternoon.
Pacific Lutheran takes its first loss of the conference season, falling to 3-1-3 and 5-3-3 overall. The Lutes were the last team in the NWC to take a loss this season, and Saturday's match was PLU's first defeat since a double-overtime 2-1 loss at Occidental on Sept. 7.
"It was the best effort that we've had against them in a long time, so overall I was really pleased with how we played," PLU head coach Seth Spidahl said. "They've got a couple of special players. Emily Fellows is the conference player of the year, so I thought we did a pretty good job against her, but she still managed to score both goals. Molly McCool is also a really special player."
Fellows' first goal of the match came off a rebound of a cross that Marisa Gonzalez blocked in front of the net. That gave Linfield a 1-0 advantage in the 20th minute of play. Courtney Randall tied it up early in the second half, running up the right side of the field and knocking a cross kick into the net in the 52nd minute for her second score of the season. It was not tied for long, however, as Fellows headed a pass from Ellie Schmidt just inside the left post in the 55th minute for what proved to be the game winner.
Fellows finished the match with the two goals on five total shots, while McCool matched the PLU team output with seven shot attempts. Linfield, the NWC coaches' preseason pick to win the 2013 conference title, out-shot PLU 21-to-7 in the match. Lute goalkeepers Gonzalez and Takara Mitsui were busy defending the net all day, combining for 13 saves with only the two goals allowed.
The Lutes conclude the weekend road trip Sunday with a 12 p.m. match against Willamette in Salem.
"I was happy with our effort," Spidahl said. "Linfield looked good today, and I think overall we were competitive and we can be proud of how we played. Now we have to regroup and get ready to play tomorrow against Willamette."
