PORTLAND, Ore. – A big 4-3 win for University of Providence women's soccer over Warner Pacific College has UP tied for third place in the Cascade College Conference standings. The Lady Argos held a comfortable lead for much of the game but almost lost it in the final minutes against the Knights.
 
"It was good to get the three points on the road today. Every win in the CCC is huge because there is so much parody in the conference," Head Coach Brian Clarke said.
 
Warner Pacific came dangerously close to drawing first blood in the game. The Knights earned 2 corner kicks in the first three minutes and then in the 4th minute bounced a shot off of UP's crossbar. The Lady Argos got out of that situation unscathed, however, and got on the offensive around the 10-minute mark.
 
Sophomore Eme McLaughlin got off the team's first shot of the day with 9:53 on the clock, and while that didn't score it didn't take much longer for UP to get on the board.
 
In the 11th minute, a pass from McLaughlin found senior Alejandra Guzman open inside the penalty box. Guzman received the ball and finished from 6 yards out to put the Lady Argos ahead 1-0.
 
WPC put the pressure back on, getting off 4 shots in as many minutes, but none of them were on frame and in the 19th minute Guzman again made them pay for not finishing.
 
This time, Guzman took advantage of a misplay by the Warner Pacific goalkeeper and ran onto a loose ball to score her second goal in the first 20 minutes of the game.
 
In the 29th minute, Guzman and freshman Soraya Alfaro were looking to score on a few efforts from inside the WPC penalty box. The Knight defense was able to get in the way of the shots, but the ball squirted out the top of the box right to a completely unguarded Sydney Knieriem about 23 yards out.
 
The junior midfielder, and UP's primary free kick and corner kick specialist, lined up a onetime strike that dipped hard and beat the WPC keeper to the right side of the net.
 
A chip shot by WPC beat UP goalkeeper Dakota Neumann in the 40th minute made the score 3-1 before the half. Warner Pacific actually outshot, the Lady Argos 7-5 in the half, but was UP's efficiency with its chances that made the difference.
 
An inability to finish for the Knights was the story of the second half as well. WPC got off 12 shots to UP's 3 in the second half and through the first 35 minutes of the half the home team had 3 corner kicks, 2 shots on goal, and another shot that hit off the crossbar. None of those scores, however, just like in the first half, the Lady Argos eventually made them pay.
 
This time it was McLaughlin, not Guzman. The sophomore received a well-timed through ball from senior midfielder Serafina Robles that she controlled, before sidestepping the keeper and finishing on an open net.
 
That goal came in the 82 minutes, putting the Lady Argos up 4-1 and seemingly sealing the win for UP.
 
Warner Pacific had other thoughts, and in the final five minutes of play, the Knights finally found the finishing touch. WPC scored in the 86th and 87th minute to close within 1 goal of the Lady Argos.
 
After the second of those two scores UP tightened up and didn't allow another shot before the final horn gave them the win.
 
McLaughlin's goal was her 4th of the year, which leads the team, and  her  assist was her first of the season. The two goals for Guzman were her first of the year, her first since her sophomore year, and her first multi-goal game since October 17, 2015.
 
The win makes UP's record 3-4 (2-1) and has the team in a four-way tie for third place in the CCC. The team's next game will be against the second team in the standings, Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 30.