Going into Sunday’s matchup against Pacific, all the Pilots needed was a win or draw and they would claim their first West Coast Conference title since 2002. They came up just short, however, as Pacific scored the lone goal of the game at the start of the second half and prevailed over the Pilots 1-0.
With the loss the Pilots drop to 11-5-1 on the year and 5-1-0 in WCC play while Pacific improves to 12-3-1 and 4-1-1 in conference play.
Despite the loss the Pilots still remain atop the WCC standings with 15 total points. Pacific’s win puts them three points closer to the first place Pilots, but they remain in second place with 13 points.
The loss could be due to fatigue that came from their rigorous schedule. The Pilots have played three games since Oct. 28, including one game against No. 6 Denver on Nov. 3 that the Pilots lost in extra time. Over that same span, Pacific played just one game.
It was clear that the Pacific players had fresh legs as they created 10 chances at goal throughout the game, while the Pilots managed just five shots in the full 90 minutes.
Junior goalkeeper Paul Christensen kept the Pilots in the game in the first half as he made three key saves. The teams went into halftime tied 0-0.
But Christensen wasn’t able to stop Pacific forward Tristan Blackmon’s early second half shot. Blackmon gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the second half.
That was all Pacific needed. The Tigers controlled the ball for the rest of the game and the Pilots took only one shot that failed to find the back of the net and the game ended with the 1-0 lead still intact.
With one game left, it’s a three-way battle for the WCC championship. Both the Pilots and Pacific play on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Pilots will face off against Saint Mary’s, who currently finds themselves three points behind the Pilots in the standings with 12.
There are many scenarios that could come out of next Saturday, but the Pilots control their own destiny and can clinch the conference title with a win against Saint Mary’s.
If Portland loses on Saturday, it would put Saint Mary’s and the Pilots even in the standings and would guarantee that the Pilots would not take the outright conference title. A tie would make things interesting and the result of Pacific’s game against Gonzaga on the same night would determine whether or not the Pilots would clinch their first title since 2002.
The matchup against Saint Mary’s is the Pilots’ home finale and it has playoff implications. Expect an electric atmosphere at Merlo on Saturday night when the Pilots and Gaels face off at 7 p.m.
