SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga men's soccer team hosted Portland on Friday night and came out just short to the Pilots, 2-1.
The Pilots (4-4-6, 1-0-3 WCC) scored first in the 33rd minute with a header goal from Joe Highfield as Nicholas Dunbar dished the assist to make it 1-0 for Portland.
The Zags (6-7-2, 0-5-0) took three shots in the opening half compared to UP's five.
Chris Swider took the lone shot on goal for the Bulldogs as they went into halftime down 1-0.
Goalkeeper
Chema Preciado made three saves in the opening half and Gonzaga held possession for 43% of the time.
Ben Augee scored the equalizer for the Bulldogs in the 50th minute when the Zags were awarded a penalty kick due to a handball by Portland. It marked Augee's fourth goal of the season as the teams were tied at 1-1.
Portland scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 54th minute with a goal from Nick Fernandez and the assist from Sebastian Hernandez.
The Zags kept the pressure on in the second half as they kept taking shots, but were never able to find the back of the net. Swider recorded a last-minute shot in the 89th minute that went just above the goal.
Overall, GU outshot Portland 13-9, with 10 of those shots coming in just the second half alone.
Ian Silva led the way with four shots and four different Bulldogs recorded a shot on goal. Gonzaga also had possesion for 49% of the match.
Up Next: The Zags travel to Santa Clara on Wednesday, Oct. 30, with a 7 p.m. start time. Live stats can be found at GoZags.com and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
