OLYMPIA, Wash. – Northwest goalkeeper Joe Galbraith made 10 saves and the Eagles made the most of their offensive opportunities as NU earned a 3-1 win over the Evergreen Geoducks in a Cascade Conference men’s soccer match on Saturday afternoon at Evergreen Pitch in Olympia, Wash.
The Eagles (7-4-0, 5-2-0 CCC) struck first in the 11th minute as Alex Taylor sent a pass up from deep in Northwest territory and Todd Siedenburg caught Evergreen (4-5-2, 2-4-1 CCC) keeper Collin Harlow (Kirkland, Wash./Juanita HS/Shoreline CC) playing up, chipping the ball over Harlow’s head and into the net for the 1-0 lead.
Northwest made it 2-0 in the 20th minute as Josh Guerrero dribbled around two Evergreen defenders before taking a shot from five yards out for his seventh goal of the season. The Geoducks cut the deficit in half just a few minutes before halftime as Ethan Sumlin (Littleton, Colo./Littleton HS) fed a ball from the middle to Jacob Zimmerman (Olympia, Wash./Capital HS) on the left and Zimmerman chipped it over Galbraith for his first collegiate goal.
Evergreen put the offensive pressure on Northwest in the second half, outshooting the Eagles, 16-3, in the final 45 minutes but the Eagles defense stayed tough, including seven saves from Galbraith. NU’s offense also helped out in the 62nd minute as Edgar Esquivel passed in a ball to Jonathan Ellis, who took an opportunity near the top of the box and scored an insurance goal to give the visitors the 3-1 win.
The Geoducks finished with a 22-12 advantage on shots. The match saw four cautions, including three for Northwest.
Evergreen returns to action on Tuesday afternoon, hosting 24th-ranked Corban beginning at 4 p.m. on Evergreen Pitch.