Box Score Portland, Ore. - Tristan Blackmon continue his hot weekend with another two goals, but Portland scored five unanswered goals for a 5-2 win over the Pacific men's soccer team Sunday.
Blackmon, who scored twice in a 4-3 loss to Gonzaga on Friday scored the first two goals of the match as Pacific led 2-0 in the 54th minute. But the Pilots rallied with three goals in a span of 6:03 and tacked on a pair of goals late. Blackmon now has a team-high six goals on the season.
"I was proud of the fact that we put together maybe our best 45 minutes of football. We set a new standard for ourselves in building that 2-0 lead," head coach Ryan Jorden said. "But I was disappointed we didn't have the ability to see the game through and not maintain the determination, fight and quality to continue to dictate the game as we had early on."
In the 12th minute, the Tigers pushed ahead on offense, only to have the play disrupted by the Pilots defense. However, Blackmon out-raced the defense to a loose ball just inside the box and poked it past the on-rushing keeper for a 1-0 Pacific lead.
In the 30th minute, off a restart just outide the box, the Pilots found Michael Escobar on the doorstop, but Josh Adachi robbed him with a save from point-blank range. Adachi added another save on a restart in the 33rd minute.
The Tigers spent the final 10 minutes mostly with possession, trying to build in the offensive end. Portland mounted a pair of counter-attacks, with Keenan Whyte breaking up a Pilots chance in the 37th minute, and the backline blocking a shot in the 43rd.
Pacific survived a shot by Coner Johnston off the cross bar in the 44th minute. Adachi posted four first half saves as Pacific carried a 1-0 lead into intermission.
Blackmon opened the second half with a sharp-angle shot, forcing Portland keeper Paul Christensen to make a save. On the Portland counter-attack, Adachi charged out of the net to clear away the ball before the Pilots turned it into a breakaway.
Christensen saved a point-blank shot from Esteban De La Torre off a Pacific corner kick to keep the match 1-0 in the 52nd minute,
Blackmon finished a slick attack as Andres Ochoa played a through-ball into the penalty area and Blackmon finished to the lower left corner for a 2-0 lead.
Eddie Sanchez on the counter-attack finished on the run from the right side into the lower left side to bring the Pilots within one in the 59th minute. Just 1:44 later, Erik Edwardson curled a shot from the 18-yard line into the top right corner to knot the game at 2-2 with just over 30 minutes to play.
In the 65th minute, off a scrum in front, Sanchez hit the cross bar, but Derek Boggs was there for the rebound to give the Pilots a 3-2 lead. Edwardson hit the post for Portland in the 72nd minute, and the Tigers broke on the counter-attack, but a cross from Tyson Fox to the far post didn't connect. Edwardson headed home a corner kick in the 85th minute to seal the win, and Sanchez added a sharp-angle goal to add insult to injury just 17 seconds before full time.
Pacific falls to 2-7-0 overall, while Portland moves to 3-5-3 on the year.
Adachi finished with four saves while Andrew Ciminelli made one in 13:49 of work. Christensen posted three saves for the Pilots.
The Tigers will face Saint Mary's on the road next Saturday at 4 p.m., and then play host to Cal State Fullerton on Monday, October 13 at 7 p.m.