TACOMA, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College men's soccer played four-time defending Northwest Conference Champions Pacific Lutheran University tight for over 65 minutes, before a late scoring run led the hosts past the Pioneers.
 
THE BASICS
Pacific Lutheran 5, Lewis & Clark 1
(Lewis & Clark 0-4) 
(Pacific Lutheran 11-2) 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Sophomore captain Wesley Esparza Salazar's first collegiate goal tied the game at 1-1 in the 63^rd minute and gave the Pioneers the momentum despite being heavily outshot to that point. The hosts answered with a goal less than three minutes later and four goals in a 13:43 span to defeat the Pioneers in the first meeting between the future NWC foes. 
 
Esparza Salazar's goal was set up by freshman Aashir Walson who recorded his first collegiate assist in the contest. 
 
In net, freshman Ben Tallent put together another huge game. The freshman tied his career-high for saves in a game in the first half alone, as he stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced. He finished the game with a career-high 11 saves. 
 
Five different players scored for the hosts who earned their fourth-straight win by multiple goals. 
 
Pacific Lutheran opened the scoring in the 19^th minute when Craig Johnson scored his seventh goal of the season. 
 
Lewis & Clark tied the game with their first shot on goal of the contest. Esparza Salazar received a pass just inside midfield, he held off a defender, spun and dribbled the ball towards net and unleashed a rocket from over 25-yards out that went just under the bar for a 1-1 tie at 62:09. 
 
The hosts scored 2:52 later to take the lead and then added an insurance goal 32 seconds later to take control for goal. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Sophomore captain Beno Boda led the Pioneers with two shots in the loss. 
• Esparza Salazar has now scored in back-to-back games (scored vs Multnomah University in Thursday's scrimmage). He is tied with Ben Schwartz for the team lead in regular-season goals (one) and Andrés Soto Hernández and Schwartz for goals scored in any type of contest (two). 
• Pacific Lutheran has now scored three goals or more in eight of their 13 games.

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will return to action right away, as they travel to Pacific University on Monday night at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the teams' fifth meeting against a future conference opponent and their fifth regular-season game of the year.