McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Linfield men’s soccer team matched its opponent in nearly every statistic Saturday afternoon, except for the one that really mattered: the final score. The visiting Willamette Bearcats outscored the home team 3-0, dealing the Wildcats their fifth consecutive shutout on Senior Day at the Linfield soccer field.

The ‘Cats actually outshot the Bearcats 14-12 and the clubs earned an equal number of corner kicks with five apiece, but the visitors were far more accurate in and around the goal despite extremely muddy conditions.

Quick, too. Willamette scored just 69 seconds into the game, the fastest an opponent has scored against Linfield this year. Setting up the score was Kevin Martin, who gained possession after a throw-in on the right sideline. He got the ball to teammate Brendan Dineen, who headed it into the lower left corner of the net.

About 7 ½ minutes later, Adan Vasquez scored an unassisted goal from the left side of the box, shooting the ball over Linfield goalkeeper Scott Goodman to put the Bearcats up 2-0. Mike McGrew wrapped up the scoring blitz, scoring the final point of the match on an unassisted goal in the 22nd minute.

Though both teams got off plenty of shots in the second period – five each – neither would score after the break.

Willamette keeper Alfredo Zuniga made five saves to earn his sixth win of the year. His Linfield counterpart, Goodman, prevented three goals, including a couple of diving saves.

Offensively for the ‘Cats, Danny Snelgrow put up a team-high three shots and Harper Taylor (Sr., Clackamas, Ore.) added two shots on goal.

A much-improved Bearcat team ends the season tied for fifth in the Northwest Conference with a 5-8-1 league record and 6-9-2 overall win-loss mark. Willamette finished seventh in the NWC last year after earning just one conference win.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, end the 2011 season with a disappointing 1-12-1 record in league matches, 2-14-1 overall.

‘CAT SCRATCH: The match marked the final game for Linfield seniors Kyle Brouse, Zach Farrington and Wil Hiles…Farrington graduates with the third-most minutes played in program history...Linfield outshot its opponent for just the fifth time all season…the Wildcats were shut out 12 times this year…Willamette earned the season sweep over Linfield for the first time since the 1999 season.