KIZAMU TSUTAKAWA
Goal & Assist To Lead Boxers
Goal & Assist To Lead Boxers
1st Place Showdown Looms After Shutout
Summary:
Men's Soccer: Win : 3-0 | Stats
Pacific set the table for a first place showdown with Whitworth after winning their eighth straight and notching their sixth straight shutout in a 3-0 blanking of Whitman
FOREST GROVE – Pacific registered their sixth straight shutout and laid the groundwork for a battle for first place in the Northwest Conference men’s soccer standings Saturday as the Boxers posted a 3-0 victory over Whitman at Lincoln Park Stadium.
Kizamu Tsutakawa (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) scored a goal and an assist while Kevin Fujimoto (Sr., Honolulu, Hawaii) and Luis Quintana (Fr., Quilcene, Wash.) each tallied as the Boxers (12-2-1, 8-1-1 NWC) registered their eighth consecutive win and their ninth consecutive match without a loss.
They also maintained a tie for first with Whitworth in the NWC standings after the Pirates scored a 1-0 overtime win at George Fox. The Boxers and Pirates play tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., at Lincoln Park Stadium.
Goalkeeper Andrew Stevermer (Jr., Gillette, Wyo.) posted his eighth shutout of the season and saw his scoreless streak extend to 754 minutes. Stevermer made three saves as the Boxers outshot the Missionaries 24-9 with an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Pacific wasted little time pushing the pace and scored just nine minutes into the contest. Kevin Fujimoto (Sr., Honolulu, Hawaii) scored his third goal of the season after Tsutakawa dribbled to the end line and fed a pass across the goal line to the right post. Sean Mills (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) redirected it to Fujimoto was waiting to knock it in from just three yards out.
Tsutakawa made it a 2-0 Pacific advantage in the 29th minute. Ruma Perez (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) started the play by feeding the ball from the end line into the central area of the penalty box. The ball bounced between a couple of Pacific offensive players and a couple of Whitman sweepers before Tsutakawa connected for his fourth goal of the year from five yards out.
The Missionaries (3-8-3, 2-6-2 NWC) came as close any anyone has to scoring on the Boxers in the last six matches in the 37th minute. Sam Freedman managed to beat his defender to the left of the goalie Stevermer, who came off the goal line to punch the ball away for the save. Beau Morton was in perfect position for the rebound and launched a bullet from 10 yards out that deflected off the middle of the crossbar before being cleared by the Pacific defense.
Whitman’s closest second half chance came in the 68th minute when Todd Wallenius took aim with a header from five yards out off of the far post. Despite the spin on the ball, Stevermer was able to let the ball go past the post and across the end line for a goal kick. Chris Reid had just the second shot on goal for the Missionaries in the 75th minute, redirecting a free kick towards the goal and into the hands of Stevermer.
Pacific added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute with many of the regular offensive starters out of the match. Antonio Madeddu (Fr., Milwaukie, Ore.) had a point-blank attempt, which was saved by Whitman’s Devin Kuh. Quintana was in the right spot for the rebound and connected for his first goal of the season and of his collegiate career.
Kuh finished with eight saves in the loss for Whitman. Freedman and Reid each had three shots to pace the Missionaries offensively.
Tomorrow’s match can be heard live via a webcast on the Boxers Sports Network. It can be accessed at GoBoxers.com. Pacific will also honor their seniors in the team’s final regular season home match. Whitman plays Sunday at George Fox.
Posted by Blake Timm (timmbr@pacificu.edu) on Oct 24, 2009 at 5:20 PM
