After a scoreless first half, the Pilots were much more aggressive in the second period. They maintained possession of the ball for a majority of the minutes of the final half of regulation. Despite having played solidly on defense in the first half, the Redhawks had a brief lapse midway through the second half. In the 70th minute, UP took advantage of the Seattle U breakdown as Jarad vanSchaik crossed the ball to an oncoming Luke Ryan, who shot in the go-ahead goal to the left corner.
Down 1-0, the Redhawks seemed to reignite their game on both ends of the field. They pushed the ball deep into the Portland half of the field and sailed off eight shots, with a pair on target, but were unable to see net in their effort. As the clock wound down, Seattle U continued to battle and work to try to send the game into extra periods. At the 89:46 minute mark Sean Morris (Bothell, Wash.) found Walugembe three yards outside of the goal. Morris crossed the ball to his classmate, who shot in the tying goal with 14 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
Portland attacked the Redhawk goal in the first overtime period. They fired off five shots, with one on net, but goalkeeper Ivan Dizdar (Croatia) was able to get his gloves on it easily. Offensively, Seattle U struggled to set up any clear scoring opportunities as they were held without a shot in the first overtime period.
In the final 10 minutes of action, SU began to send a flurry of players into the Pilot box. They had several solid scoring opportunities, where shots would go just high or wide of the goal. In the final minute of action freshman Brady Ballew (Marysville, Wash.) made a last chance effort, but his shot was read correctly by Portland's goalkeeper Austin Guerrero to prevent another Redhawk last second goal.
In the contest, UP outshot SU 22-21, with the Redhawks tallying eight shots on target to the Pilots seven. Between the pipes, Dizdar had six saves in the 110 minute match.
"I was very proud of the guys," said head coach Brad Agoos. "A lot of teams would have put their heads down, but we managed to find a way to come back. It was great. I think we deserved to be tied, if not ahead. I am very proud of the guys for not giving up."
"Getting the chances to win in overtime didn't happen today, but our goal is to get better every day and we are on our way to reaching that," concluded Agoos.
The Redhawk will open up MPSF conference play this weekend with a match versus the Cal State Roadrunners on Sunday, Oct. 3, at 2:30 p.m.