EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University men's soccer team held a 2-0 lead at halftime but three second-half goals for Oregon Tech gave the Owls a 3-2 come-from-behind victory. The final goal came with just three minutes to play.

The Beacons looked strong to open the game and broke through in the 31st minute. Chris Longi fired a 25-yard blast for the go-ahead score. Just seven minute later, Lucas Cash found Peter VanderBogart (pictured) with a service pass. VanderBogart made a move and chipped home the goal over the pulled keeper.

The Owls refused to go quietly, roaring back in the second half as they out-shot the Beacons 16-9 after the intermission. The first goal came in the 56th minute when Brady Jerin sent a through ball to Dustin Hirata. Hirata then fired a long ground ball from 15-yards for the score.

Later, in the 74th minute, Hirata also put away the equalizer. A free kick from Victor Corona made its way deep into the box where it bounced around and off the post before eventually finding the wide open feet of Hirata for the empty netter.

Then, with 2:59 remaining on the clock, Jimmy Merkeley fired a perfect low-percentage shot from the right side, into the right corner of the net, tucking it inside the post and just out of reach of a diving Beacon keeper.  

All-told, the Owls (5-10-1, 3-8-1 CCC) ended the night with a 22-16 advantage in shots including a 12-7 lead in shots-on-goal. Springfield native Loren Jessen (Springfield HS) got the start between the pipes for OIT and recorded the victory, making five second-half saves.

The Beacons (2-13-1, 0-11-1) got eight saves from Erik Carrazco, making his third start of the season in goal.

Northwest Christian will return to action on Saturday, playing host to The College of Idaho in their final home game of the season. Kick-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.