SALEM, Ore. - The Whitworth men's soccer team used three first-half goals to build an early lead before holding off UC Santa Cruz in the second half for a 3-2 win on Sunday at the campus of Willamette University.

With the victory, Whitworth (5-0-0) concluded the non-conference portion of its schedule with four wins on the road while UC Santa Cruz (4-2-1) had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Pirates also defeated the Banana Slugs last season, 4-0. Both matches were neutral-site contests at Willamette.

Transfer Eduardo Lopez gave Whitworth an early lead, scoring his first goal in a Pirate uniform on a header in the 4th minute of the match. Micheal Ramos assisted the goal, his fourth assist of the year. Ramos has recorded at least one assist or one goal in each match this season.

The Pirates then added a pair of goals within a minute of each other to open a 3-0 lead later in the first half. Colin Shockman scored a long goal from outside the box off a slight deflection in the 22nd minute, assisted by Samual Jarrett. Less than 30 seconds later, Ramos netted his fifth goal of the season in the 23rd minute off an assist from Kyle Cacoyannis.

"It was great to start the game with high energy and tempo, and to be very purposeful with what we do," head coach Morgan Cathey said. "I think we had a strong desire from the first second, and it really was a whole team effort."

UC Santa Cruz battled back after halftime, as Zach Hummel scored his third goal of the season in the 61st minute. Mark Barbosa cut the lead to 3-2 in the 87th minute but the Pirates held on for the victory.

Tony Watters made four saves for Whitworth. The Banana Slugs had a 14-6 advantage in shots, including a 9-1 edge in the second half. UC Santa Cruz also held a slight 7-5 edge in shots on goal.

Cathey commended his team for a strong week of preparation leading up to the match, as well as the involvement of players both in the game and on the bench against the Banana Slugs.

"It was a very complete performance from our whole group," Cathey said. "We traveled the whole team, and that was really by design. We knew it was going to take the whole team to bring the most out of ourselves."

Whitworth begins Northwest Conference play next weekend with a pair of home matches against Linfield and Willamette.