WHEATON, Illin. - Sam Engle scored the lone goal in the 87th minute as Whitworth capitalized with an opportunity in the closing minutes for the second day in a row, this time to top 15th-ranked Wheaton, 1-0, at the Bob Baptista Invitational in Illinois on Saturday evening.

Whitworth improved to 2-0-0 and was the only team to go undefeated at the invitational, a four-team event featuring Augsburg College and Millikin University along with the Pirates and Thunder. The Thunder, who entered the season at No. 15 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll, dropped to 1-1-0.

The Pirates' goal came after Micheal Ramos sent a long through ball up to Engle, who controlled the pass and finished past the Wheaton goalkeeper in a one-on-one, breakaway opportunity. A day earlier, it was Ramos who scored in the final 10 seconds of the match to give Whitworth a win over Millikin.

Freshman goalkeeper Tony Watters made six saves for Whitworth while Matt Paprocki recorded nine saves for Wheaton.

Each keeper came up with key saves on multiple occasions as both offenses consistently generated scoring chances. The Thunder outshot Whitworth 33-17 and had a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks, but Whitworth held a 10-6 edge in shots on goal.

Head coach Morgan Cathey spoke to the strong play for Whitworth during a match that featured quite a few substitutions and experience for a plethora of young players who are new to the team's system. He also spoke to the work of the Pirates as a unit defensively, keeping the shutout intact.

"It was a whole team effort," Cathey said. "Before the game, we knew that in order for us to be in tune to the game the whole time and track their runners the whole time, it was going to take more than one guy." 

The teams combined for 33 fouls, and four yellow cards were given in the hotly-contested match with a crowd of just over 1,200 in attendance.

Whitworth will travel to St. Paul, Minn., to take on the University of Saint Thomas at noon on Monday. The Pirates will play their first official home match on Sept. 6 against Corban University.