Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. -- In the pair's second-to-last game of their careers, Anna Thorndike and Megan Ratfield scored goals to complete a second half comeback in a 4-2 win over the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Soccer Field.
Down 2-0 in the second half after goals by Whitworth's Tiara Pajimola and Kelly Wucherer in the 15th and 24th minutes, respectively, Thorndike and Ratfield scored four times in a span of under 20 minutes to win the match and move into a tie with Linfield for fourth place in the Northwest Conference. It was also the Pioneers' 11th overall victory of the season.
Thorndike scored in the 58th minute from about 12 yards out and again in the 72nd minute when she put the ball into the upper-left corner of the goal on a free kick from 25 yards away. The scores were her sixth and seventh of the season, the most goals on the team this year, the second of which put Lewis & Clark ahead for the first time at 3-2.
Ratfield evened the match in the 66th minute before finalizing the victory in the 77th minute. On her first score, she headed in Taylor Floyd's save of Emily Thompson's shot, getting the ball across the line before Floyd could recover. 11 minutes later, Ratfield dribbled into the box of Thompson's pass and beat a defender to score from close range. With the two goals, she increased her season total to five and her team-high points total to 18.
"It was awesome to score two goals, but it felt even better that our entire team stepped up," said Thorndike. "The fact that we turned a two-goal setback into a 4-2 win in one half is pretty incredible."
Whitworth started with Andrea Stump in goal where she had started every game for the Pirates this season, but Floyd replaced her after halftime. Stump had stopped all four shots she faced before the switch. Floyd saved four on eight shots against.
Playing the whole match, Lewis & Clark goalkeeper Sandra Alvarenga made 10 saves on 12 shots on-goal to notch her fifth win of the season.
In the match, the teams combined for 41 shots with each team holding a significant advantage in each half. Whitworth outshot Lewis & Clark 15-6 in the first half before the Pios had a 13-7 edge in the second half. Of the Pios' 19 shots in the game, 12 were in-frame, while the Pirates put 13 of their 22 on-goal.
Whitworth was aggressive to start play, forcing three Alvarenga saves in the first eight minutes before the Pios forced the action around the 25th minute, following the Pirates' two goals.
Similarly, after Lewis & Clark tied the match at 2-2, Whitworth's Leah Corra and Hannah Bokma forced saves in the 67th and 71st minutes, but Thorndike scored the go-ahead tally before Whitworth could try another.
Lewis & Clark can guarantee a winning NWC record with a victory over Whitman on Sunday at 12 p.m. In the first game between the teams, Thorndike scored an 80th minute goal to tie the match at 1-1 in the Pios' only tie of the season.
Other Northwest Conference Scores - Saturday
Puget Sound 1, George Fox 0
Linfield 0, Pacific Lutheran 0 (2OT)
