Zags to Wrap up Season against Portland Saturday
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SPOKANE, Wash.—The Gonzaga University men's soccer team will say goodbye to seven seniors Saturday, Nov. 15, as it hosts Northwest rival Portland in both squad's final match of the season at Luger Field in Spokane.
"The seniors are our leaders on the field and they'll want to play well Saturday; they want to end this season with a win," said Gonzaga men's soccer head coach Einar Thorarinsson. "We all do."
The Zags will honor their seven seniors during a pre-game ceremony set to begin at 12:46, 14 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of 1:00 p.m. The Zags who'll be playing their last match include Keane Ellis, Zach Hamer, Aaron Jeffery, Lars Ludwigs, Nate Pacheco, Clark Phillips, and Ben Striar. A keeper, Ellis has been with the team for five years, seeing action in four matches. He earned his first start in 2012, making a career-high eight saves at Loyola Marymount.
Four midfielders are also graduating come May. Hamer has been with the team all four years of his collegiate career. The Spokane native has played 68 matches as a Zag, starting 42 times and posting 17 points - six goals and five assists. Ludwigs is a three-year Zag, starting all 53 matches in which he's played. The senior co-captain leaves the squad with seven goals, seven assists, and 21 points. Both Jeffery and Striar have played two years at Gonzaga after transferring from other institutions. Jeffery has seen action in 12 matches—eight of them this year as a senior—and tallied one assist during his time as a Zag. Striar's played in 18, earning 11 starts and tallying one goal and one assist apiece.
Gonzaga will also say goodbye to two forwards: Pacheco and Phillips. Pacheco has played 55 matches in a Zag jersey, scoring five goals and making his way onto the All-WCC Freshman squad in 2011. He's tallied one goal and one assist as a senior, both of which came Oct. 3 in a 4-3 win at Pacific. Phillips worked his way into the starting lineup late in his freshman campaign and hasn't relinquished the spot, earning postseason All-WCC honors each year. He's currently sixth on the Zags' career goals list with 20 and seventh on the points list with 47. He is also a co-team captain this season.
The Zags enter the match coming off a split weekend, falling 2-0 at Saint Mary's Nov. 7 but beating Pacific 1-0 two days later. Gonzaga dominated offensively against the Tigers, taking 34 shots - the most by the Zags since 1999 - and finally finding the net double overtime thanks to a stellar strike from Hamer. They're 2-3-1 in West Coast Conference action this season and tied with Santa Clara for fifth place.
The Pilots enter the match 0-5-1 in WCC action, dropping both of last weekend's matches to Pacific and Saint Mary's. Michael Escobar and Eddie Sanchez are tied for the team lead with five goals apiece, but Escobar leads the squad in points thanks to an additional assist. Keeper Paul Christensen has played every minute in goal for the Pilots, making 85 saves but allowing 27 goals for a 75.9 save percentage and goals-against average of 1.42.
Live stats for the match against Portland may be found on the men's soccer schedule page of www.GoZags.com and a live stream will air on theW.tv.
