Clark's 1st Goal Not Enough for Whit Men

News Release Date:
Saturday, October 3

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- A second-half goal by freshman Andrew Clark, his first as a collegian, wasn't enough as Whitman College dropped a 2-1 Northwest Conference soccer decision to Willamette University Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.

Willamette, which scored both of its goals in the first half, upped its record to 2-3 in the NWC and 3-7 on the season.

Andrew Clark

Whitman, suffering through its third straight 2-1 setback, saw its record fall to 1-3-1 in conference and 2-5-2 overall.

Clark's unassisted 20-yard scoring strike -- a hard, low shot to the right side of the goal -- came with about 18 minutes left to play and pulled Whitman within reach at 2-1. But Willamette keeper Eben Hellekson made two saves in the closing minutes to preserve the Bearcat victory.

"We created more pressure in the second half, but we weren't as effective as we should have been because of turnovers," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We had a lot of the ball, but we also gave it away a lot. We couldn't hold the ball coming out of the back, and we couldn't hold it in the midfield or up top. It's something we need to continue working on."

Loftin Langsdorf, assisted by Erik Kaufman, gave Willamette an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the 13th minute of the first half. His shot from 15 yards out found the top corner of the net.

With Pete Kline getting the assist, Casey Dineen gave the Bearcats a 2-0 cushion with a header from 15 yards at the 28:01 mark.

Whitman defensive mistakes led to both goals, Washington said. "In one case, we didn't do a very good job covering the far post, and in the other, our keeper was probably too far out. Willamette capitalized in both cases."

Of Willamette's 13 shots, Langsdorf had four, all of which were on goal. Whitman finished with 11 shots, getting two each from Clark, Chris Reid, Sam Freedman and Jordan Thomas.

Whitman had a slight 7-6 advantage in shots on goal. 

The Missionaries continue NWC play when they host Linfield at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Willamette is in Spokane on Sunday to play Whitworth.

Box score

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu