Bryan Irwin |
Junior striker Bryan Irwin buries game-winner in 89th minute
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. --- The No. 25 Portland Pilots case for an at-large NCAA playoff bid got a big boost with a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Cal Poly Friday evening. Junior Bryan Irwin buried the game-winner in the 89th minute, less than a minute after the Mustangs had equalized, to extend the Pilots’ unbeaten streak to eight matches.
The game-winner came at 88:42 when junior Alex Elliott sprinted down the left flank and sent a low cross to the near post. Irwin got on the end of the pass and redirected the ball into the right corner with the outside of his right foot. The goal came just 58 seconds after Cal Poly tied the score at 3-3 on a corner kick.
“We adapted well after the half and got three good goals to win this thing,” Portland head coach Bill Irwin said. “The guys stuck with it to the final horn and were confident the entire match. Even trailing at the half, we felt like we were going to win.”
Portland (10-4-5) has now won five matches in a row, perhaps none more important than beating the Mustangs (10-4-4)) on the road. Cal Poly was ranked No. 31 in the latest NCAA RPI ratings, while Portland was No. 42. A total of 48 teams get in the men’s tournament and the Pilots have positioned themselves well with the late season run.
Irwin finished the game with two goals and an assist, while Elliott added a goal and assisted on the game-winner.
It was a quite the back-and-forth affair on Friday as momentum shifts were frequent and furious between the two sides. The evenly played match finished with 11 shots for each team, including seven shots on goal per side.
Portland freshman goalkeeper Austin Guerrero made three saves, while Cal Poly’s Collin Sculley also stopped three shots. The Pilots defense also cleared an attempt off the line early in the match.
The Pilots got on the board first when Irwin took a cross from junior Leland Wright. Sculley came off his line and deflected the cross, but Irwin got to the loose ball and finished to the open net.
The Mustangs answered with two consecutive goals to take a 2-1 lead. In the 28th minute, Julian Alvarez notched his sixth goal of the season, rebounding a shot that was cleared off the line by the UP defense and finishing past Guerrero. Daniel Gray put Cal Poly on top in the 39th minute with a 10-yard strike off a pass from Josh Didion.
After the halftime break, Portland re-took the lead with goals from Elliott and freshman Frankie Lopez. Elliott tallied his team-leading seventh goal in the 50th minute off a corner kick taken by senior Michael Gavin. Lopez corralled a cross from Irwin drilled a 12-yard shot over the head of Sculley.
That set up the dramatic 88th minute goal by David Zamora, cleaning up the mess after a corner kick scrum to equalize at 3-3, and Portland’s game winner seconds later.
“We have a lot of goal scorers on this team,” Irwin said. “We are full of confidence right now and believe that we are going to win every game. Tonight was an important result, but now we’ve got to shift our focus to Santa Clara.”
Portland will have one final opportunity to make another big impression on the NCAA selection committee when the Pilots host WCC rival and No. 3 ranked Santa Clara at Merlo Field on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Broncos have already clinched a playoff berth and the WCC title, while Portland is second in the league standings.
“Our guys are looking forward to the (Santa Clara) match,” Irwin noted. “It will undoubtedly be a battle, but we’ll be ready to bring it. This team wants to keep playing into the playoffs and we’re definitely playing like a postseason team right now.”
