PHOTO GALLERY | EUGENE, Ore.  – The Bushnell men's soccer team secured a Cascade Conference opening victory over Walla Walla University on Friday afternoon, claiming a 2-1 win.
 
The Beacons out-shot the Wolves 20-8 and held a 12-5 margin in shots-on-goal.
 
An early onslaught saw a trio of near-misses for the Beacons with two shots shaving the crossbar and another, a header by Caleb Burke, seemingly crossing the line only to be called a goal keeper save.
 
In the 12th minute, the Beacons were able to break through as Caleb Burke found a streaking Caleb Premo coming across the box. Premo one-timed a strike from 15-feet out for the go-ahead goal.
 
Just five minutes later, the Wolves found an equalizer. An attempted clearance from a Bushnell defender pushed the ball to the top of the 18, where Pedro Reyes pounced and scored.
 
The score remained knotted at 1-1 into the intermission. Bushnell controlled much of the second half, out-shooting WWU 10-3, and broke through in the 62nd minute. A Beacon corner kick was headed off the line by a Wolves defender, but collected at the top of the box by Jorge Lopez (pictured). Lopez fired in a ground ball, threading it through a few defenders and into the net for the game-winner.
 
The goalkeepers for both sides had a strong afternoon. Walla Walla's Diego Molina finished the game with ten saves in the loss, while Bushnell's Diego Montes Carrera collected four saves in the win.
 
"Today the guys showed a great mentality," said head coach Joao Ehlers. "The game was difficult, but our guys fought until the end, created some opportunities and did well to score a few goals. We look forward to keeping up the same energy level tomorrow."
 
The Beacons will return to action on Saturday night, taking on Carroll College at 7:00 pm. Walla Walla travels to take on Corban University on Sunday at 5:00 pm.