Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- Finding themselves trailing by three goals at the half, the Pilots exploded for three goals in the second half, but the Loyola Marymount Lions would hold on for a 4-3 win in a wild West Coast Conference men's soccer match played on Friday night at Sullivan Field. Derek Boggs, Eddie Sanchez and Steven Corbett scored for the Pilots, who drop to 8-9-0 (3-6-0 WCC) on the year.
 
Down 3-0 to first-place LMU (11-3-2, 7-1-1 WCC), Boggs got the first one back with a header on a corner kick from Hugo Rhoads in the 56th minute. It's the second goal this season for Boggs, Portland's junior starting center back.
 
Sanchez then made it a one-goal game on what's quickly becoming a common occurrence as the freshman midfielder scored a free kick from distance in the 70th minute. Sanchez bent one just inside the top left corner of the frame from outside the box for his league-leading 12th goal of the year, pulling the Pilots within 3-2.
 
LMU then responded with a quick goal from Adrien Sanchez less than two minutes later, but the Pilots answered with an even quicker goal 18 seconds after that. This time Corbett put away a rebound off a shot by Jordan Baeza to give the Pilots new life, making it a 4-3 game with about 17 minutes left in regulation.
 
The Pilots then caught a break in the 81st minute when LMU's Connor Hunsucker was shown a straight card, giving Portland a man-advantage in during the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
Portland immediately went on the attack following the red and Jaime Velasco rattled the cross bar on a header in the 83rd minute. Sanchez then sent one wide and Boggs was just high on a header in the 88th minute. Thomas Iwasaki then blasted a shot wide right on a volley in the closing minute and LMU would prevail.
 
The Pilots attempted 15 shots in the second half after being credited for just one shot during the game's first 45 minutes. LMU ended with a slim 17-16 edged in total shots.
 
Perez scored two of LMU's first-half goals to finish with a hat trick. John McFarlin opened the scoring with a goal in the 24th minute and Perez followed with goals in the 29th and 42nd minutes.
 
Portland goalkeeper Jason Dodson made five saves in the night, while LMU's Paul Blanchette countered with four stops.
 
The Pilots next head south for a WCC match against the San Diego Toreros on Sunday afternoon. The game, which is set to begin at 2 p.m. at Torero Stadium, is the final road contest of the regular season for Portland.