MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Mike Murega scored his second game-winner of the season in the 73rd minute, lifting the Pacific Lutheran University men's soccer team past host Linfield University 1-0 on Sunday to remain in first place in the Northwest Conference standings.
The visiting Lutes (7-1-2, 5-0-1 NWC) dominated the stat sheet but was unable to get a goal to show for the effort until
Connor O'Brien fed the ball to Murega in the 73rd minute for the game's lone score.
Pacific Lutheran, unbeaten in its last nine games, owned a 12-6 edge in shots, taking four of the five on goal while owning a 10-1 edge in corner kicks.
Chris Jamrok earned the start between the posts, making one save to collect his third clean sheet of the season. It was Jamrok's first start since mid-September and is the third consecutive shutout for the goalkeeper. The Wildcats' (3-5-3, 2-3-1 NWC) Jacob Toves made three saves while allowing one goal.
"Another solid performance for us this weekend on the road," said Head Coach
John Yorke.
"We thought we did some really good things on both sides of the ball. Linfield did as well and they're a very tough to play against. Credit to our guys for finding a way to get the result in a very tough game on the second day on the road."
PLU's suffocating defense has allowed just one goal during NWC play, currently owning a shutout streak of 307 minutes.
The Lutes are back in action on Saturday with first place on the line with Whitman College traveling to East Field. The defending league champion, Whitman enters the game with an identical 5-0-1 record in conference play. Kickoff is set for noon.
